I saw him live as a young kid with Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass and a late teen with Doc Watson in his child prodigy days when he looked like a Countrified Donny Osmond with incredible chops on mandolin and fiddle. Then I saw him on TV with Johnny Cash and playing Rockabilly guitar with his own band on Austin City Limits and in recent years, hosting Opry segments. He has learned what to do with a limited voice since those early attempts on that first Ridge Runner album and to become an excellent showman.

Most of us are lucky to claim to be a Child Progeny.