Wheatstraw Suite

Wheatstraw Suite is the fourth album by progressive bluegrass band The Dillards, released in 1968 (see 1968 in music). It is the Dillards' fourth album, and their first to move away from their traditional bluegrass sound by using a full orchestra and occasional drums.

Contents

• The dillards wheatstraw suite full album
• Release history
• Track listing
• Personnel
• Songs
• References

The band had been moving toward a more contemporary sound for a few years (they toured with The Byrds, featuring future Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin), but Wheatstraw Suite was the first time they explored the new sound on a full-length album. The seeds of the album began when the Dillards were on a vacation from Elektra records, which had released their first three records but was "surprisingly resistant" to the band's new sound. The group recorded a few folk rock singles for Capitol Records, including different versions of a few of Wheatstraw Suite's songs. Capitol, however, soon grew unsympathetic toward the Dillards' style, and they re-signed with Elektra, which was now willing to try the new, more commercial sound. However, Douglas Dillard, the group's banjoist, was unhappy with the new direction and quit. Ironically he would soon be making a similar type of country rock with Gene Clark of The Byrds as Dillard & Clark. The Dillards recruited multi-instrumentalist Herb Pedersen to replace Doug on banjo. The loss of Doug turned into a plus as Pedersen also contributed guitar and shared lead vocal duties with Rodney Dillard.

The group had already stockpiled plenty of material during their stint with Capitol and brief hiatus from recording. The album features seven original songs and six covers—the covers being drawn mostly from contemporary rock and pop musicians rather than traditionals. The Dillards' blend between pop and bluegrass on this album paved the way for a generation of country- and folk-rockers, making it potentially their most influential album.