Dudley Connell is reasonably sure it was August of 1980. He was missing too much work. Perhaps he had been playing music until 4:00 a.m. and could not wake up in time; maybe he needed to miss a Friday or a Monday to travel. So he quit his labor job with Montgomery County public schools – driving a truck, plowing snow, putting up fences, cutting down trees – and committed himself solely to the Johnson Mountain Boys. He lived in a trailer, alone, on a farm in Damascus, Maryland. Lucky for him, the landlord was a bluegrass fan, and willing to cut his tenant some slack when it came time to pay rent.

The Johnson Mountain Boys took to the road in an old Dodge van with no windows. Connell took over the booking. He called everywhere. He did whatever it took to get the band exposure, even if it meant a trip to Florida for $900. “It was an adventure,” Connell said. “It was like we all ran away from home and joined the circus. Everything was new. None of us had traveled much and it was very exciting. We went over really good. We were writing a lot. We were doing our own material.”

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