Danny “Hootenanny” Clark had no choice on the type of music he would listen to as a child. He grew up in a home filled with bluegrass music from the time he was a baby. He was introduced to bluegrass music the first time he entered his home when he was just a few days old. “My father insisted there be no music in the hospital room when I was born. He wanted no music in the car on the way home.” When they arrived at the house, his father ran inside and put on a 78-rpm album of Flatt and Scruggs playing “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” That was the first music that Danny heard, and he’s been listening to bluegrass music ever since.
Danny is the son of Donald Roy Clark, who watched his first episode of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962. The native Californian became an avid fan of the show after hearing the opening theme song that first introduced him to the sound of Earl Scruggs's banjo. His parents knew where to find Don when Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs appeared on the show – he was planted in front of the television set. The twang of Scruggs’s banjo and the solid rhythm of Flatt’s guitar motivated young Don to buy his first Flatt and Scruggs album. Little did he know that album would start him on an unimaginable journey.
Don was enthralled by the many publicity photos of Flatt and Scruggs standing in front of their tour bus emblazoned with Martha White Flour, the long-time sponsor of The Grand Ole Opry. Hoping he could one day have a bus just like it, his childhood dreams came true in 1987 when Don purchased a 1955 Flexible bus from a feed and tackle shop in Baldwin, California. Don began driving the bus to festivals and getting autographs from the performers inside the bus door. His first autographs were from Bill Monroe and his son, James.
It wasn’t long before the bus’s door was filled with hundreds of autographs, and the bus began filling up with autographed photos, festival posters, and personal items donated to him by bluegrass and country legends.
The bus has traveled from coast to coast as the Bluegrass Bus Museum. It is said you can sit on the bus for hours and not see everything in Don’s impressive collection of bluegrass and country memorabilia. He rotates the carefully curated collection regularly and still takes donations of old pictures or something worthwhile to display on the bus.
The Bluegrass Bus Museum is a gathering place everywhere, with many of the biggest stars stopping in to visit and jam. Many of the bluegrass legends have visited the bus, including Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Marty Stuart, and Ricky Skaggs. There have also been plenty of country legends, including Grandpa Jones and Dwight Yoakum.
“The bus has been my dad’s hobby, passion, and obsession,” says Danny. “It started in Southern California, and his goal was to drive it from California to Maine. He did it, dipping down into Florida and other places in the United States. It was like the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile when it rolled into a town. It always puts a smile on people’s faces.”
Danny now helps his dad, promoting the bus and archiving videos and audio recordings for future generations. Danny has extensive museum experience—he has worked for the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in Owensboro and the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. He now resides in San Jose, California, where he plans events for the city.
Don is still the owner and operator of the Bluegrass Bus Museum. He and his wife reside in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, where they house the bus in the world-famous Bluegrass Barn. “Years ago, my parents wanted to be closer to the music industry, and they went to IBMA when it was in Owensboro. They met Lester Armistead there, who had a friend in Goodlettsville with property to sell.” The friend was banjo player Leroy Troy, who plays with Marty Stuart.
While the bus still travels to festivals, Don likes to keep it within a 200-mile radius. “The bus is getting old, and he wants to be careful to preserve it,” says Danny. Festival promoters pay to have the bus come to the festivals. “People love to tour the bus between acts.” Don sometimes hosts people in the barn. “They just need to contact me through the website to set it up.”
The Bluegrass Bus Museum has a YouTube channel where anyone can see videos of live performances that Don videoed with a shoulder-mount camera over fifteen years. “He has 400 to 500 VHS tapes that I’m transferring,” says Danny. “There are also videos on YouTube from the collections of other people.” Danny spends hours tracking down the names of everyone on stage in each video. “I want to give credit to everyone. This is a true labor of love.”
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