The Seldom Scene

The band's original members (Auldridge, Duffey, Eldridge, Gray, and Starling) were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2014.

[2] Each of the band members had a job during the week; Duffey repaired musical instruments, Eldridge was a mathematician, Starling a physician,[1] Auldridge a graphic artist, and Gray a cartographer with National Geographic.

[3] They agreed to play one night a week at local clubs, perform occasionally at concerts and festivals on weekends, and make records.

After playing for six weeks at a small Washington, D.C., club called the Rabbit's Foot, the group found a home at the Red Fox Inn in Bethesda, Maryland.

[6] The progressive bluegrass style played by the Seldom Scene had become increasingly popular during the 1970s, especially Duffey's high tenor and the vocal blend of Duffey/Starling/Auldridge.

[1] The band's popularity soon forced them to play more than once a week[1] —but they continued to maintain their image as being seldom seen, and on several of their early album covers were photographed with the stage lights on only their feet, or with their backs to the camera.

[7] In 1977, John Starling left the group to focus on his medical career, and was replaced by singer and songwriter Phil Rosenthal, whose song "Muddy Water" had been recorded by the Scene on two earlier albums.

Rosenthal proved to be as good lead singer as Starling and his baritone voice contrasted well with Duffey's high tenor extravaganzas.

[8] In 1986, Phil Rosenthal and Tom Gray both left the band to focus on other pursuits, and were replaced by Lou Reid and T. Michael Coleman, respectively.

[1] Throughout these changes, band leader John Duffey's original plan of keeping a light touring schedule and staying close to home continued to prevail.

During 1995 and 1996, Klein and Coleman, along with original member Mike Auldridge, wanting to be part of a full-time project, left the Seldom Scene to form a new band called Chesapeake.

Duffey and Eldridge, the two remaining original members, recruited resophonic guitar player Fred Travers, bassist Ronnie Simpkins, and guitarist and singer Dudley Connell to join the band, and the reconstituted group recorded an album in 1996 and continued live appearances.

[11] Banjoist Ben Eldridge, the sole remaining original member of the Seldom Scene, assumed leadership of the band.