b. 28 July 1946, Aitkin, Minnesota, USA. After forming the bluegrass band Sugar Creek in 1965, Edwards took up songwriting. Opting for a more commercial style, he saw his own composition, ‘Sunshine’, featuring a mid-tempo driving beat via an acoustic guitar, move swiftly up the US Hot 100 in late 1971, and peak at number 4. His self-titled album also included the ballad ‘Emma’ and the follow-up single, ‘Train Of Glory’, which never charted. Subsequent albums moved towards a purer country sound, but with his sales falling Edwards eschewed his recording career to run a farm in Nova Scotia. He continued to feature on recordings by other performers, including Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett, and Tom Chapin, and resurfaced in the late 70s on the Reprise Records label. He also produced an album, Rainbow Reign, for his wife Carolina, a one-time backing singer for Edwards.
Another lengthy recording hiatus ensued, before the singer returned with a live album on his own Chronic Records label. While Edwards’ style has always veered between folk and country, his 1985 collaboration with the Seldom Scene bluegrass band saw him succeed in reworking earlier originals alongside more standard bluegrass material. ‘We Need To Be Locked Away’ from 1989’s The Natural Thing was a big country hit. In addition to recording the occasional studio album Edwards has remained busy as a session player. He also composed the soundtrack for The Mouse, and provided the narration for the video series Cruising America’s Waterways.
