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Jerry Grannell, a native of Colorado, has been playing music since he was about 6 years old. He played piano first- his grandfather always played the piano when he came to visit, and Jerry learned his love of music early. Later, he played the viola in school in the orchestra and in string quartets. His uncle was a beatnick (remember beatnicks?) and played the guitar in a folk group and had a coffeeshop in Blackhawk called The Gruffy Bird. Jerry got his first taste of folk music from him. When he was in 6th grade he grew vegetables in the family garden and went around the neighborhood selling them. The profits went to buying his first guitar, a Sears Silvertone, and he soon learned to play and sing with many of the songs his uncle and his friends sang at family gatherings. It wasn’t long before he was introduced to Rock & Roll and was in a group in Lakewood that played the Beach Boys, the Animals and Jefferson Airplane. They played at the roller rink for sock hops. He continued to play folk music too, mostly for friends and family. In 1974 he moved to Evergreen and met Mike Jagel who played the banjo and went to the Colorado Bluegrass Festival. They started a bluegrass group called The Bear Mountain Ramblers and he played around Colorado with Mike for many years and continues to play with him still. Jerry also picked up the bass, fiddle and mandolin and an instrument called the Strumstick. They both joined up with Quickdraw and were with them for 6 years, playing all around Colorado. They were the regional winner of the Pizza Hut Challenge, and went to Waterbury, Connecticut for the national contest. They also performed at the Bluegrass By The River Festival in Pueblo, The Girdwood Forest Faire In Girdwood Alaska, and at the Midwinter Bluegrass Festival in Colorado. They produced two CDs "Stay Tuned" and "Saloon,", and were also featured on the CBMS "Bands On Call" CD with a song that Mike and Jerry co-wrote. In 2009, Jerry joined the group The Bucktones and is playing with them still. Oddly enough, they play much of the music he played in his first band. When he joined with them, they said "most of our music is from the 60’s," to which he replied "most of my last band’s music was from the 60’s too— the 1860’s"! They play a wide variety of music including rock, Motown, originals, surf tunes, and country, as a full band and as a 3-piece acoustic ensemble. He plays the bass and acoustic guitar with them and is really enjoying playing with the Bucktones. In 2016, Jerry formed Whistlebink with Michael Wisniewski and Michael Murphy. Their music styles include eclectic, originals, classic rock, classic jazz, and country.
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Jerry Grannell
