John Starling

John Lewis Starling (March 26, 1940 – May 2, 2019) was an American musician. He was an International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee bluegrass musician and composer, founding member of the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene, an otolaryngological physician for communities in Alabama, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, and an amateur architectural designer designing the field house at Virginia Military Institute, the house his parents retired in, and the floor plans for the building he practiced medicine in.

Biography John Starling was born in Durham, North Carolina, and grew up in Lexington, Virginia. His father was hired by Washington and Lee University as a biology professor. Starling discovered bluegrass and country through live radio programs, taking up the electric guitar during his teenage years. He was a graduate of Davidson College, Class of 1962, and received his medical degree from the University of Virginia in 1967. While on campus, he attended folk and bluegrass jams and met future bandmate Ben Eldridge. After graduating he served in the U.S. Army as a surgeon during the Vietnam War. In 1980 he released a solo album Long Time Gone with guest appearances from Emmylou Harris, Little Feat guitarist Lowell George, pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons and his former bandmates. With singer Claire Lynch, he formed a country-rock band, Ready Section.

His first marriage, to bluegrass singer Fayssoux Dunbar, ended in divorce. In 1976, he married Cynthia Burks. Survivors include his wife, of Fredericksburg, and son John "Jay" Starling, a dobro player residing in the Charlottesville, Virginia, area.

His recording Spring Training with banjoist/songwriter Carl Jackson and The Nash Ramblers won the 1992 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. He briefly rejoined The Seldom Scene in the mid-1990s to fill in following the departure of singer/guitarist Lou Reid, while continuing his medical practice. After his retirement from medicine in 2006, he reunited with Auldridge and Gray, along with Jimmie Gaudreau and Ricky Simpkins, as "John Starling and Carolina Star" for a final collaboration, Slidin' Home (2007). He died of congestive heart failure on May 2, 2019, at his Fredericksburg, Virginia, home, at the age of 79.

Awards Starling shared the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album with Carl Jackson for their album Spring Training.

Discography Solo albums 1980: Long Time Gone (Sugar Hill SH-3714) 1982: Waitin' on a Southern Train (Sugar Hill SH-3724)

As a member of The Seldom Scene 1972: Act I (Rebel REB-1511) 1973: Act II (Rebel REB-1520) 1973: Act III (Rebel REB-1528) 1974: Old Train (Rebel REB-1536) 1975: Live at The Cellar Door (Rebel REB-1547/8 live double album) 1976: The New Seldom Scene Album (Rebel REB-1561)

1994: Like We Used to Be (Sugar Hill SH-3822)

With Carl Jackson 1991: Spring Training (Sugar Hill SH-3789)

As a member of John Starling and Carolina Star 2007: Slidin' Home (Rebel REB-CD-1820)

Other contributions 1974: Heart Like a Wheel (Linda Ronstadt album) backing vocalist 1975: Elite Hotel (Emmylou Harris album)– acoustic guitarist, backing vocalist 1977: California Autumn (Tony Rice album)– producer, mixer, guitar and vocal accompaninist 1987: Trio (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris album) – acoustic guitar accompanist and musical consultant 1994 (released 1999): Trio II – acoustic guitar 1995: Feels Like Home (Linda Ronstadt album) – backing vocalist