It’s rare to find overnight success in bluegrass, but the Grascals got a phone call back in 2004 that any acoustic artist would love to receive.
The one and only Dolly Parton needed a backing band for an upcoming world tour, not to mention an opening act for it. When the Grascals signed on, the little-known group went from playing a handful of gigs to mainstage performances for thousands upon thousands of fans. Rounder Records released their debut album, CMT picked up their video for “Me and John and Paul,” and the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) named them the Emerging Artist of the Year in 2005, with back-to-back Entertainer of the Year trophies right after that.
Now, more than two decades after that whirlwind, Dolly Parton is once again bringing the band into the spotlight. She not only sang on “Broken Angels,” but she also co-wrote it with founding member Jamie Johnson to honor one of their mutual friends who was battling addiction. After so long apart, they even got together to create a heartfelt music video.
“Broken Angels” is the closing track on the Grascals’ excellent new album, Not That Gone. The title, as Johnson explains, is just a poetic way of saying that the Grascals are back. Indeed, the band collected a Dove Award just this month for “Broken Angels” while the poignant duet is up for Collaboration of the Year, Music Video of the Year, and Song of the Year. In addition, the new project includes songs written with Vince Gill (“Memories of Mother”) and Marty Stuart (“Farmer’s Blues”), as well as lively instrumental by founding member Danny Roberts (“Little Sugar Creek”).
While grieving the loss of their dear friend, Johnson and Roberts also share their deep appreciation for this unexpected, full-circle moment in their career.
BGS: Jamie, I was hoping you could share the story about writing and recording “Broken Angels.”
JJ: Absolutely. In my journey, early on, Dolly was there from the very beginning. Our first shows, we probably had four or five shows under our belt before we went on the road with Dolly. That’s all due to Jimmy Mattingly who played with her for years in her band.
Jimmy walked in the Station Inn and saw Terry Eldredge and I singing up on stage together. Jimmy and Terry had played with the Osborne Brothers together. Jimmy said, “Hey, man, let’s start a band.” So Terry and I named it the Grascals, and we picked all of our favorites (to round out the band): Terry Smith, Danny Roberts, David Talbot, Jimmy Mattingly, myself, and Terry. And Dolly was the first big gig we got. She was our break. She put us on her way to being the Grascals, and it’s just amazing how God put her back in our life because of this song.
And that’s because I took a scenic route to being a better person. I’m in recovery 11 and a half years now. I let her know that. I told her I’d love to write a song about my best friend, who was also in the band, and she loved him as much as I do. I had the [lyrical idea of] broken crayons, and I had the melody going. I emailed it to her, and she called back within a couple days. I missed her call! (laughs) I’m cooking chili, and I don’t recognize the number because it’s not like Dolly Parton called me every day. We emailed and stuff, and her people would call me to come in and sing on something, but never did Dolly just pick it up.
Well, it was her, and I saved the message. Thank God I’ve got it. She just told me, “Hey, who says I don’t call back?” And she said, “I love ‘Broken Angels.’ I love your idea. I love everything about it, and I love the person we’re talking about here.” She had a family member that had passed away from this disease, and several family members that suffered from it. So, she was all in. She invited me over to the office that we always went to as the Grascals. I went over there a few different times and we wrote this song. It was the most amazing experience ever in my life to create something with her.
BGS: What do you remember about filming the video with Dolly?
DR: That was the first time I’d seen Dolly in many years. The last time I saw Dolly, my hair was still dark. So she came into the room and she was meeting the new people in the band, and she kind of walked over to me and was going to shake my hand, and I was teasing her, like, “Don’t shake my hand!” She looked me in the eye, and she put my face in her hands, and she said, “Oh, we’ve changed!” I said, “Well, I’ve changed! You still look like you did.” (laughs) It was like we never missed a beat from where we were in the very beginning with her. She’s always just the life of a party. When you’re around her, she’s just fun and makes everybody feel special.
BGS: What went through your mind when you heard the finished song the first time?
JJ: Oh, I cried. Just like I cried [when she passed away], out of gratitude. Because the reality is, if I didn’t ask for help and get in recovery, this would have never happened. I would never be back in the Grascals. I would have maybe seen them guys a few more times in my lifetime, because I went home, raised my family, and I was loving my life, right where I was at. So, it brought me back to her, it brought her back to us, and it’s just so fitting in that last video, Terry Eldridge is in there, one of our founding members, and so is Jimmy Mattingly, who got it all started. He’s the one who made the call (to Dolly), and she called to bring the Grascals in (at the beginning). So, what a gift of love and compassion and hope. For it to do what it’s done, what a gift. I’m grateful for sure.
BGS: I remember when the Grascals toured with Dolly, and you were winning those big IBMA awards. When you think about that era of the Grascals’ career, what goes through your mind?
DR: It was like such a special thing. Most of us were right at 40 years old when the Grascals started. It was like, “OK, we’ve got to do it now or it’s not going to happen.” So we put this thing together, and we knew from day one rehearsal that this is special, this is really good. Then we’re working on the new album, and when Dolly called and said she wanted us to go out on the road, open her shows, and then be her band, that was almost like an automatic switch that flipped for us, to take us from a new band to, “Oh, these guys somebody.” Basically our second year out, we’re winning Entertainer of the Year. It was unreal.
When the Grascals started, it was after I had left New Tradition after all those years and ended that band, and I felt like I was winding down. I started playing with Ronnie Reno just because he wasn’t playing much. I loved Ronnie. It was very convenient, a lot of fun, and I had no intention of doing anything full-time like I’d done with New Tradition for so long. Here I thought I was winding down, and then the Grascals started, and it was just like a house on fire. We went all over the world. We did everything. We toured not just with Dolly, but with all these country acts. It was crazy, all the stuff that was going on! And then bringing Dolly back in and cutting this song, it’s almost like we’ve had a resurgence now.
Like you mentioned, Jamie, you came back to the band, but you’ve also welcomed some new people to the Grascals. What do you see as your role as helping the new players get to feel like they’re part of this band?
JJ: Laugh as hard as you can. Express yourself and have fun. We’ve made a lot of statements in our career here, and I’m grateful for that. And during this section right here, I think we’re better than ever for the mere fact that we are just loose. We walk up there and we’re giving our heart and soul to each other. We’re laughing and genuinely meaning it. You know, there was a time when we were on top of everything and the pressure – you get up there and it’s like everybody’s aiming for the top spot. Nobody’s aiming for the middle, which is where we’re at right now, and I love it there!
And I think we sound better than we’ve ever sounded. We’re recording some great music, and we’re playing a limited number of dates a year. We’re not drowning ourselves. We’re playing enough to where we go out there each and every show, around 50 to 60 at the most, and we’re getting attention, and in a good way. This go-round, there’s no pressure, so I can enjoy it so much more this season.
DR: When Jamie came back, I was a little bit nervous about when we would get him and John [Bryan] together, because they were both tenor singers. Jamie was our tenor singer and John took Jamie’s place. And I was blown away from the first time I heard them start singing together, and just how great that harmony worked. I think it shines on this record, because there’s a couple of duets with those two, and they’re just killing it. They swap out lead vocals on a couple of songs, too. I’m proud of this record, and I think so far it’s been really good for us. And of course, having this Dolly song on there – it just goes without saying that there’s no words to say how thankful we are.
JJ: Jamie Harper [the fiddle player who joined the Grascals in 2023] brought that Jimmy Mattingly vibe back to our group. He’s lively on stage. He’s so funny. His facial reactions are better than anything. He’s a great singer. He filled in some huge vocal shoes for Terry Smith, who’s one of the greatest harmony singers of all time. On top of that, he’s an incredible, lively fiddle player like Jimmy Mattingly was. So, he’s a perfect combination of those two guys. And then Kyle Perkins took the bass spot when Terry Smith retired. Kyle Perkins is the one call we made, and he said yes, and away we went. His first song he got to record as a Grascal was “Broken Angels” with Dolly Parton. A darn good start!
Photo Credit: Laci Mack
