VEREENS, LEAD SINGER

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 - released in the UK on Atlantic Records - also included the ballad 'Emma' and the follow-up single 'Train Of Glory', which never charted. Edwards has been featured on a number of recordings by other notable performers, including Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett , and Tom Chapin. During the gap in his own recording career, he continued performing, and also produced an album, Rainbow Reign, for his wife Carolina, a one-time backing singer for Edwards. While Edwards' style has always veered between folk and country, the collaboration with the Seldom Scene bluegrass band saw him succeed in reworking earlier Edwards originals, alongside more standard bluegrass material. 'We Need To Be Locked Away' from 1989's The Natural Thing was his biggest country hit to date.

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