Jerry Douglas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jerry Douglas
Douglas in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Gerald Calvin Douglas
Born	(1956-05-28) May 28, 1956 (age 69) Warren, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Americana, bluegrass, country
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Dobro, resonator guitar, lap steel guitar, guitar
Years active	1970s–present
Labels	Rounder, MCA, Sugar Hill, Entertainment One, Koch

Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American musician. He is famous for playing the Dobro, which is a special type of resonator guitar. Many people think he is one of the best Dobro players in the world. He has won many awards, including 14 Grammy Awards! Jerry Douglas is known for being very creative with his music. He plays by himself and with many bands, like Alison Krauss and Union Station and The Earls of Leicester. He has also helped direct a TV show called "Transatlantic Sessions" since 1998.

In 2024, Jerry Douglas was added to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. This is a very special honor for bluegrass musicians.

Jerry Douglas's Music Journey

Jerry Douglas playing at MerleFest 2018

Jerry Douglas playing one of his resonator guitars

Jerry Douglas has made 14 of his own music albums. But he has also played on over 1,600 other albums! When he plays for other artists, he is called a "sideman." He has played with many famous musicians, like Garth Brooks, Eric Clapton, Dolly Parton, and Paul Simon. He also played on the soundtrack for the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? and went on tour with Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Jerry Douglas has also worked with groups such as The Whites and The Country Gentlemen. From 1996 to 1998, he was part of a group called The GrooveGrass Boyz.

Besides playing music, Jerry Douglas is also a "record producer." This means he helps other musicians make their albums. He has produced albums for artists like Alison Krauss and the Del McCoury Band. He also helps lead the music for the BBC TV show "Transatlantic Sessions."

Since 1998, Jerry Douglas has been a member of Alison Krauss and Union Station. They have toured a lot and made many popular albums. When he's not with Alison Krauss, he tours with his own bands, The Jerry Douglas Band and The Earls of Leicester. The Earls of Leicester have released successful albums like The Earls of Leicester (2014) and Rattle and Roar (2015).

Jerry Douglas also appeared with Vince Gill at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004. He even made a short appearance in a popular online video series called "United Breaks Guitars." In October 2024, he performed with Billy Strings at concerts in Baltimore, Maryland.

About Jerry Douglas's Life

Jerry Douglas was born in Warren, Ohio. Today, he lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Jill.

Awards and Special Honors

Jerry Douglas has been nominated for 32 Grammy Awards and has won 14 of them! These awards are a huge deal in the music world.

He has also won the Country Music Association's 'Musician of the Year' award three times. The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) has named him Dobro Player of the Year 10 times!

In 2004, Jerry Douglas received a National Heritage Fellowship. This is the highest honor the United States gives for folk and traditional arts. It shows how important his music is to American culture.

In 2008, he was named Artist in Residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He was also honored at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival for playing there for 25 years in a row.

In 2016, he received the Bluegrass Star Award. This award is for bluegrass artists who help share traditional bluegrass music with new people while keeping its original style. The Americana Music Association also gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Jerry Douglas even received the key to the city of Manchester, Tennessee, and Coffee County during a music festival in 2015.

Music Albums

Studio Recordings

Compilation Albums

Other Recordings He Played On

• Remembrances and Forecasts 1974 as The Country Gentlemen
• J.D. Crowe & The New South 1975 as J. D. Crowe & the New South
• Holiday In Japan 1975 as J. D. Crowe & the New South
• New South Live 1975 as J. D. Crowe & the New South
• Boone Creek 1977 as Boone Creek
• One Way Track 1977 as Boone Creek
• That Down Home Feeling 1977 as Buck White & Down Home Folks
• Buck and Family Live 1979 as Buck White & Down Home Folks
• More Pretty Girls Than One 1979 as Buck White & Down Home Folks
• Bluegrass Album, Vol. 3 – California Connection 1983 as Bluegrass Album Band
• Snakes Alive 1984 as Dreadful Snakes
• Bluegrass Album Vol.4 1985 as Bluegrass Album Band
• High Country Snows 1985 Dan Fogelberg
• T-Bone Burnett 1986 with T Bone Burnett
• Bluegrass Album, Vol. 5 – Sweet Sunny South 1989 as Bluegrass Album Band
• The Telluride Sessions 1989 as Strength in Numbers
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two 1990 with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• Skip, Hop & Wobble 1993 as Barenberg, Douglas & Meyer
• Toolin' Around "Let it Slide" with Arlen Roth and Sam Bush 1993
• The Great Dobro Sessions 1994 as Jerry Douglas and various artists, produced by Jerry Douglas
• Far From Enough 1994 with Viktor Krauss
• Bluegrass Album, Vol. 6 – Bluegrass Instrumentals 1996 as Bluegrass Album Band
• Bourbon & Rosewater 1996 as Bhatt, Douglas & Meyer
• Yonder 1996 with Peter Rowan
• Signs of Life 1996 Steven Curtis Chapman
• Leading Roll 1997 with Sammy Shelor
• The View From Here 1999 with Matt Flinner
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000 with Alison Krauss, The Whites, as Soggy Bottom Boys
• Latitude 2001, with Matt Flinner
• Lucky Man (Hal Ketchum album) 2001, with Hal Ketchum
• I Don't Need the Whiskey Anymore 2002, with Jack Lawrence
• Deja Vu (All Over Again) 2004 with John Fogerty
• All I Really Want For Christmas 2005 Steven Curtis Chapman
• Secret, Profane, & Sugarcane 2009 with Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes
• Southern Filibuster: The Songs of Tut Taylor 2010, produced by Jerry Douglas
• Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert 2010 as Jerry Douglas with Bela Fleck, Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Get Low Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2010 as Jerry Douglas
• "The Boxer", with Paul Simon and Mumford & Sons on the latter's album Babel (released September 2012) and on Douglas's own Traveler, produced by Russ Titelman (released June 2012)
• "One Light Shining" by Ruth Moody from These Wilder Things 2013
• The Earls of Leicester 2014 with The Earls of Leicester produced by Jerry Douglas
• Three Bells 2014 with Mike Auldridge and Rob Ickes produced by Jerry Douglas
• Radio 2015 with The Steep Canyon Rangers produced by Jerry Douglas
• Rattle & Roar 2016 with The Earls of Leicester produced by Jerry Douglas
• "Love Like Me" and "Everything's The Same" from Billy Strings' album Home, released 2019
• Leftover Feelings 2021 with John Hiatt, produced by Jerry Douglas and performed with the Jerry Douglas Band
• Native American 1992, with Tony Rice

With Alison Krauss or Alison Krauss and Union Station

• I've Got That Old Feeling (Producer And Performer) 1991
• Forget About It 1999
• New Favorite 2001
• Live 2002
• Lonely Runs Both Ways 2004
• A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection 2007
• Paper Airplane 2011

The Transatlantic Sessions

• Transatlantic Sessions 3 [Vol.1] (2007) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 3 [Vol.2] (2008) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• The Original Transatlantic Sessions [Vol.2] (2008) (with Jay Ungar and various artists)
• The Original Transatlantic Sessions [Vol.3] (2009) (with Jay Ungar and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 4[Vol.1] (2009) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 4[Vol.2] (2010) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)
• Transatlantic Sessions 4[Vol.3] (2010) (with Jerry Douglas and various artists)

Awards Jerry Douglas Has Won

Grammy Awards

• 1983 Best Country Instrumental Performance: "Fireball" – with The New South
• 1994 Best Bluegrass Album: The Great Dobro Sessions
• 2001 Album of the Year: Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? – various artists
• 2001 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group: "The Lucky One" – Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2001 Best Bluegrass Album: New Favorite – Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2002 Best Country Instrumental Performance: "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" with Earl Scruggs and others
• 2003 Best Country Instrumental Performance: "Cluck Old Hen" – Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2003 Best Bluegrass Album: LIVE – Alison Krauss + Union Station
• 2004 Best Country Instrumental Performance: "Earl's Breakdown" – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Featuring Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Vassar Clements & Jerry Douglas
• 2006 Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal: "Restless" – Alison Krauss and Union Station
• 2006 Best Country Instrumental Performance: "Unionhouse Branch" – Alison Krauss and Union Station
• 2006 Best Country Album: Lonely Runs Both Ways – Alison Krauss and Union Station
• 2012 Best Bluegrass Album: Paper Airplane – Alison Krauss and Union Station
• 2015 Best Bluegrass Album: The Earls of Leicester – The Earls of Leicester

Americana Music Association Awards

• 2002 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 2003 Instrumentalist of the Year
• 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist

CMA Awards

• 2002 Musician of the Year
• 2005 Musician of the Year
• 2007 Musician of the Year

IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards

• 1990 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 1991 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 1992 Instrumental Album of the Year – Slide Rule, Jerry Douglas
• 1992 Record Event of the Year – Slide Rule
• 1992 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 1993 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 1994 Instrumental Album of the Year – Skip, Hop & Wobble; Douglas, Barenberg & Meyer
• 1994 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 1995 Instrumental Album of the Year – The Great Dobro Sessions
• 1995 Record Event of the Year – The Great Dobro Sessions
• 1995 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 1997 Album of the Year – True Life Blues—The Songs of Bill Monroe
• 1997 Record Event of the Year – True Life Blues—The Songs of Bill Monroe
• 1997 Instrumental Album of the Year – Bluegrass Instrumentals, Volume 6; The Bluegrass Album Band
• 2001 Album of the Year - "O' Brother, Where Art Thou" Soundtrack
• 2001 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 2002 Instrumental Performer of the Year – Dobro
• 2003 Album of the Year – Alison Krauss + Union Station Live, Alison Krauss + Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
• 2003 Record Event of the Year – Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. III
• 2015 Entertainer of the Year - The Earls of Leicester
• 2015 Instrumental Group of the Year - The Earls of Leicester
• 2015 Album of the Year - The Earls of Leicester, Jerry Douglas, producer
• 2015 Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year - "Who Will Sing For Me" - The Earls of Leicester
• 2015 Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year - The Three Bells - Jerry Douglas, Mike Auldridge, Rob Ickes
• 2015 Dobro Player of the Year - Jerry Douglas
• 2016 Entertainer of the Year - The Earls of Leicester
• 2016 Dobro Player of the Year - Jerry Douglas

National Endowment for the Arts

• 2004 National Heritage Fellowship

Country Music Hall of Fame

• 2008 Artist in Residence