BIRCHFIELD, BENNY (1937-)

Benny Birchfield has the reputation of being able to sing all the harmony parts in bluegrass and sing them well. He played or recorded with Earl Taylor, Jim McCall, Paul Mullins, and, most notably, the Osborne Brothers. He was with the Osborne Brothers from 1959 to 1966 and came back in 1978 to help them record a double LP of bluegrass standards on CMH Records. Sonny Osborne has referred to Benny as possibly the greatest harmony singer in the business. When Benny married country singer Jean Shepherd, he became her bandleader and harmony singer, putting his solo career on hold.