"...there were artists like John Gorka, Suzanne Vega, Christine Lavin and dozens of other songwriters making their start"

...and Pierce Pettis, and David Wilcox, and Chuck Brodsky, Harvey Reid, Pat Donohue, Mike Dowling, and, and, and....it was a GREAT decade for singer songwriters. One of the best in my lifetime.

Flatpicking guitar took a quantum leap forward. Standing atop Tony Rice's, Norman Blake's and Dan Crary's shoulders came Jim Hurst, Jeff White, David Grier, Tim Stafford (I could go on and on and on here too).

New Grass Revival
Nashville Bluegrass Band
Union Station
Tony Rice Unit

Yeah, the 80's really sucked. If you were stuck under a rock.