I first heard the D maj chord played by one of my fiddlers at a gig. He was playing a harmony part and came up with the maj third. I then went back to the original recording and found that Kenny Baker (and Bill Monroe) were using the D maj as well. It appears that all of us may have been using the D min as a substitution; we just thought that the D min was part of the original chord progression.

It's also possible that Bill may have recorded it with a D min on other recordings.

As far as David's playing is concerned, I feel he is the most creative bluegrass guitarist playing today. A former bandmate of mine plays with him regularly so I've had the good fortune of hearing him numerous times.

Once David gave a guitar workshop at my home and someone asked him to play the 'Wabash Cannonball'. David started playing and what followed was indescribable. Chord melodies, cross picking, key modulations, changes in musical styles; all off the top of his head. What was really cool was the fact that David never strayed far from the melody. Amazing creativity without resorting to hot licks.....

What an amazing talent.