Senate Resolution 45

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING MIKE COMPTON UPON RECEIVING GRAMMY AWARD ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR PLAYING THE MANDOLIN ON TWO AWARD-WINNING PROJECTS.

WHEREAS, Mike Compton recently received Grammy Award acknowledgement for playing the mandolin on two award-winning projects, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Album of the Year and Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, and Down From the Mountain, Best Traditional Folk Album; and

WHEREAS, a native of Lauderdale County (Clarkdale community), Mississippi, Mike Compton was working on a farm at the age of 15 when he became fascinated with the mandolin, and moved to Nashville to pursue a recording career; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Compton's first job after moving to Nashville was with Hubert Davis & the Season Travelers at the Bluegrass Inn, when he recorded on three of the group's records on RHD Records during his nearly four years as a member; and

WHEREAS, his mandolin work caught the ear of Pat Enright, who recruited him for the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and during Compton's initial stint in the group, 1984-1988, he appeared on the four albums that first brought the band to prominence; and

WHEREAS, after a year working in the Catskill Mountains, Mike Compton returned to Nashville and became a sideman for John Hartford, then Jerry Sullivan, and performed at The Station Inn with The Sidemen; and

WHEREAS, Mike Compton was reunited with Nashville Blue Grass Band members Pat Enright and Stuart Duncan when they recorded as "The Soggy Bottom Boys" for the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, and didn't hesitate to rejoin the Nashville Bluegrass Band in January 2001 when offered his old mandolin slot back; and

WHEREAS, with two Grammy Awards, two Entertainer of the Year honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association and four wins as IBMA's Vocal Group of the Year, the Nashville Bluegrass Band has become the acoustic-music group to watch in the new millennium; and

WHEREAS, the "reinvented" group has already made headlines in Nashville, steadily appearing on The Grand Ole Opry in recent months and taking on the challenge of performing with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra in the Spring of 2001; and

WHEREAS, the Nashville Bluegrass Band was the first bluegrass group to perform in the People's Republic of China and has also staged concerts in Egypt, Brazil, Crete, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Qatar, the Azores, Iraq and Israel, not to mention Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan, Italy, Spain and England; and

WHEREAS, the group has performed with Lyle Lovett and Mary Chapin Carpenter and a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall with the Fairfield Four, and has backed artists as diverse as Bernadette Peters and Clint Black in the studio; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and pay special tribute to such an outstanding citizen as Mike Compton:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend Mike Compton upon receiving Grammy Award acknowledgement for playing the mandolin on two award-winning projects.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mike Compton and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.