Bluegrass legend Doug Dillard has died following a lengthy illness.
The beloved banjo player passed away in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday (16May12). He was 75.
The musician is famous for being part of two iconic duos - The Dillards, which featured his brother Rodney, and Dillard & Clark, which he formed in 1968 with ex-Byrds frontman Gene Clark.
The banjo player was also a regular on The Andy Griffith Show as a member of mountain family The Darlings.
Born in Missouri, he was a teenager when he formed The Ozark Mountain Boys and he tasted chart success with his brother in 1958 thanks to the country hit Banjo In The Hollow.
The success drove the Dillards to Hollywood to seek more mainstream recognition in the early 1960s and the move turned Doug into a TV star when he was picked to play a member of The Darlings on hit TV series The Andy Griffith Show.
That recognition and more musical success led to slots on tours with Bob Dylan and Joan Baez; the Dillards even opened for Elton John on his first American tour in 1972.
As well as his work as a member of The Dillards and Dillard & Clark, the banjo player also enjoyed solo success with albums like The Banjo Album, and he also formed his own namesake band in the mid 1960s with his pals Ginger Boatwright, Roger Rasnake, Jonathan Yudkin and David Grier. Their Heartbreak Hotel release scored a nomination for Best Folk-Bluegrass Album at the Grammy Awards in 1988.
Throughout his career, Dillard featured on albums by Johnny Cash, Woody Guthrie, Glen Campbell, The Monkees and The Beach Boys.
The Dillard brothers also teamed up to play bandmates in Harry Dean Stanton's group in Bette Midler movie The Rose.