Barrier Brothers

Barrier Brothers – Originally from Southern Tennessee, the Barrier Brothers consisted of Hermann (1920-1988) on bass, Ernest (1925-1994) on banjo, and Henry Ray (1939 - ) on guitar and lead vocals. Raised on old-time music, the Barrier Brothers once played on a radio program in Corinth, Mississippi, in the early 1950s. Because labor and performance opportunities were scarce in the South, the Barrier Brothers moved to South Bend with their parents in the 1950s. While Hermann and Ernest were busy with manual labor jobs, music was only a weekend activity for the family, although they managed to keep a busy performance schedule both locally and on the road. With the addition of Missouri fiddler Gene Dykes, the Barrier Brothers distinguished themselves as a pioneering bluegrass band in the North. After recording some sides as the Barrier Brothers and their Ozark Mountain Boys with small labels owned by Ray Earle of Winona Lake, the band landed a major record deal with Philips International that resulted in three albums from 1962 to 1964. When their contract ended, the Barrier Brothers stopped touring and the two older brothers returned to Tennessee. The much younger Henry Ray Barrier still lives in Northern Indiana and has played with numerous bands. As a testament to their importance in the development of bluegrass, the Barrier Brothers are represented on several compilations of early bluegrass on Rounder.