Ron Block biography
Date of birth : 1964-07-30
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Inglewood, California
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2010-12-29
Credited as : Gospel and bluegrass singer, guitarist,
1 votes so far
Ron Block has been playing the banjo and guitar, as well as writing songs and singing, with Union Station since October 1991. Before joining Union Station, he was a member of the Lynn Morris Band and Weary Hearts. Block grew up surrounded by music in his father's music store in Lawndale, Calif. A musician himself, Block's father played bass in a rhythm and blues band. Block says his earliest memories are of the smell of old guitars and of listening to guys sitting around the store playing. When he was 11, he received his first guitar. At 13 he became fascinated with the banjo after seeing Flatt & Scruggs on television. The following year, his dad gave him a banjo for Christmas.
As he listened to the Stanley Brothers and Larry Sparks, Block became more interested in playing guitar and singing. Other musical influences include Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton, James Taylor and Benny Goodman. Alison Krauss & Union Station have recorded several of Block's songs, including "There Is a Reason" and "Pain of a Troubled Life," both of which appear on their So Long, So Wrong album. Rounder released Block's solo album, Faraway Land, in 2001.
