5 minute read
Earl “JT” Gray
March 7, 1946 — March 20, 2021
Bluegrass guitarist, bassist, and owner of the world-famous music venue Station Inn, Earl “JT” Gray, 75, died March 20, 2021. He was a life member of the Nashville Musicians Association who joined Local 257 on July 11, 1972.
Gray was born March 7, 1946, in Corinth, Mississippi, to the late Earl Guy and Lorena Voyles Gray. After first moving to Chicago, he relocated to Nashville in 1971 to pursue his love for music. He played with the Misty Mountain Boys, and worked at Randy Wood’s Ole Time Pickin’ Parlor when he first came to town. He appeared in Robert Altman’s 1975 movie Nashville when the director filmed on location at the venue. In 1976 he formed his own band, The Nashville Skyline. In 1979 he toured for two years with Jimmy Martin as a member of the Sunny Mountain Boys. He bought the Station Inn in 1981 and began to build the venue’s reputation as a relaxed and welcoming place to hear unfailingly great bluegrass music.
It wasn’t easy, and for many years after he bought the club, Gray worked as a tour bus driver to keep the lights on. But by the mid-1980s, the quirky but intimate venue was already attracting top names, and selling out shows. Over the years, with Gray’s care, the Station Inn became the very definition of that under-the-radar type establishment that manages to produce with uncanny regularity unforgettable impromptu jams, walk-ons, and a ubiquitous small-town friendliness. The Time Jumpers had a weekly 13-year residency, and there were many other longtime regular performers including Peter Rowan, Doyle and Debbie, and The Sidemen. In 2003 Gray was given the Distinguished Achievement Award by the IBMA. In 2004 the venue was the subject of the documentary entitled The Station Inn – True Life Bluegrass.
Ultimately the venerable establishment became known internationally among informed music-lovers as a Nashville mustsee icon, with a regular audience that always seemed equal parts reverent tourists from around the globe, local players, and other music business pros. In 2005 Gray founded Station Inn Records, and released his own album, It’s About Time. The album was a collection of traditional country and bluegrass tunes, and featured many top Nashville recording musicians. Gray continued to play with his own band and also recorded and played live with many other artists.
Gray created an environment at the club that nurtured many careers, including Dierks Bentley, the Whites, Alison Krauss, and Vince Gill. Superstars of the genre regularly stopped by to jam. At Jim Rooney’s Irregulars gigs it was normal to spot any number of artists in the crowd, like John Prine, Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, and Roland White, all of whom would step up for a song or two. Bluegrass artist and songwriter Larry Cordle talked about the precious and unique environment Gray nurtured at the club.
“I met my friend JT Gray circa 1987. I may have met him previously but what I’m talking about is really beginning to know him. Our friendship grew and I began to see his vision for the club that he put every ounce of energy he had into. JT loved bluegrass music, gospel music and traditional country music and was determined to give all of us of a like mind a wonderful place to play. The Station Inn didn’t become the listening room it is today by accident. He was on a mission.
“Over the years I did label showcases, album release parties, songwriter gigs, breaking in new band member gigs — in short — every kind of music gig imaginable. We had a lot of good laughs and once in a great while I could coax him into singing “The Angels Are Singing” with me. He was a strong tenor singer and a fine bass player. JT supported me my entire career. I hope he knew just how much I appreciated him staying the course through some hard times I know, to give us our very own clubhouse, where all our favorite musicians and friends met for many special good times over the years. I’m going to miss you, old friend but I know you are safe in the arms of Jesus now and slappin’ that bass in the greatest band of all time, with all your other friends who have gone on before. RIP my friend — until we meet again,” Cordle said.
Over the decades Gray has received a host of awards and recognitions. In 2020 he was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Less than a week before his death, Gray appeared live on a remote segment of the 2021 Grammy Awards as an honored venue owner, and presented the award for Best Country Album.
Bassist Mike Bub talked about how much Gray and Station Inn have meant to local musicians.
"JT Gray was truly the best friend bluegrass musicians and bluegrass music had in Nashville. JT created an opportunity zone for bluegrass musicians in Nashville. As a new resident, it’s the first place you go to network and have an opportunity to play music, both on stage and in a jam situation. JT always staffed the bar with folks related to the music — it’s a real family oriented grassroots venue that just happens to be where some of the greatest musicians in the genre live and congregate. JT was generous in ways that differed from any other club as he was a lifelong bluegrass musician — and that benefitted so many over the last four decades," Bub said.
Gray became a Shriner in 1971 and was a member of the Al Menah Temple in Nashville.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Paul Edward Gray, Sr. Survivors include two brothers, Loyel D. L. Gray and Harold Gray; three sisters, Glenda Fowler, Judy Scillion, and Helen Harville; and a host of other family and friends. Graveside services were held March 27 at Center Hill Community Cemetery in Counce, Tennessee, with Brother Paul Childers officiating. A celebration of life was held May 16 at the Station Inn with numerous performances and remembrances of Gray.
