Rhonda Vincent/photo submitted
Rhonda Vincent has heard it both ways – that her voice is too country to be bluegrass and too bluegrass to be country. She grew up in a family she said had “no segregation in music.”
“It was country music, which included Kitty Wells and Bill Monroe,” said Vincent, who was recently named entertainer of the year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America. “Dad would sing Jimmy Martin and mom would sing Loretta Lynn.”
Given her background, it made sense to Vincent that her new album “Only Me” would be an equal mix of both genres. “Only Me” debuted at the top of the Billboard Bluegrass Album chart when it was released at the end of January.
“George Jones seems to be a common thread that runs through here, knowingly and unknowingly,” Vincent said. “We were on the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ the day after the passing of George Jones and they asked everyone if they could sing a George Jones song in his honor. I chose ‘When the Grass Grows Over Me.’ As I am singing that, it occurred to me, how fun would it be to do a country project. We were working on a bluegrass project. I was thinking, ‘How could I do this?” And I thought why not half and half?”
Songs on the album include the title track “Only Me,” featuring Willie Nelson, “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds,” featuring Daryle Singletary, “Once a Day” and “When the Grass Grows Over Me.”
“Willie not only sings a verse and choruses, he also plays guitar and plays exact licks from ‘On the Road Again,’” she said. “I’m told he’s never done before. If that’s true, it’s very special.”
