Tony Rice

Another influential personality in the music industry passed away in 2020. Tony Rice was reported to have left on December 25, 2020, while making his morning coffee. While his friends and family mourned, the music industry is saddened by losing a music legend that brought to life much music and had been an inspiration to many.

Born David Anthony Rice on June 8, 1951, he was 69 at that time. He was a singer, composer, and guitarist known for his bluegrass genre. Rice started his career around the 1970s, where he played for the Bluegrass Alliance. He then met J.D. Crowe and was recruited to play for the band The New South. Upon meeting David Grisman, Rice left The New South to join Grisman’s group and move to California. Although he did not have a degree in music, he was taught by John Calini, a renowned guitarist, about music theory and reading charts that extended and solidifies his guitar playing skills. It led Rice to form a band comes 1980 called Bluegrass Album Band until he sought a solo career and few collaborations in the late 1990s.