Biography

Formed in 1973, the original lineup of the Lost & Found bluegrass band consisted of bass fiddler Allen Mills, banjo player Gene Parker, mandolin player Dempsey Young, and guitarist Roger Handy. The band became quite popular playing bluegrass festivals, with Mills' exceptional songwriting contributing much to the group's fame; "Love of the Mountains," recorded by the original lineup, has become a contemporary bluegrass standard. In addition to contemporary songs, the band also recorded more traditional fare, such as "The Man Who Wrote 'Home Sweet Home' Never Was a Married Man." Most of their albums feature similar material, and the band has been a strong positive force in contemporary bluegrass music for decades. By the mid-'90s, only Mills and Young had stayed, recruiting guitarist Ray Berrier and banjo player Lynwood Lunsford as replacements. Sadly, Young died at age 52 in December 2006, and in the autumn of the following year Scott Napier became the quartet's mandolinist, joining original member Mills and newer members banjoist Ronald Smith and guitarist Scottie Sparks. The group's first album in seven years, 2009's Love, Lost and Found, featured Young's final recordings with the group on half the tracks, and newcomer mandolinist Napier on the other half. In 2011 Rebel Records released the 14-track Lost & Found compilation album Down on Sawmill Road, marking the group's 30-year anniversary with the label. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi