Carroll County Ramblers
Bands / Ensembles
The Carroll County Ramblers (1961–) are a bluegrass family band from Taneytown, in Carroll County, Maryland, founded in 1961 by mandolinist and singer Leroy Eyler and his wife, guitarist and singer Dottie (Dorothy) Eyler. The couple had played bluegrass and country together since the late 1950s, and Leroy kept a day job as a tool-and-die maker in Hanover, Pennsylvania, for 37 years. The band toured nationally as well as playing locally, recorded more than a dozen albums on the Zap, Adelphi, Fonotone and Alear labels, and ran its own bluegrass festival. A 1972 lineup was Dottie Eyler (vocals, guitar), Leroy Eyler (mandolin), Chris Warner (banjo), Bonnie Young (bass) and Dave Lightcap (fiddle). After Leroy's death, Dottie continued with their children, Bonnie Eyler Young (bass, vocals) and Dale Eyler (fiddle, vocals), who took over the band when she retired from performing in 2010. The band celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011 and received a proclamation from the State of Maryland in 2012. Dottie Eyler died in 2013.
In the newsletter
- No. 4 July—Sept. 1995