- Born
- Died
- Birth namePeter Van Kuykendall
- Pete Roberts was born on January 15, 1938 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Pete was married to Katherine "Kitsy", Marion Cain and Ann Lane. Pete died on August 24, 2017 in Warrenton, Virginia, USA.
- SpousesKatherine "Kitsy"(? - 2017) (his death)Marion Cain(? - 1984) (her death, 3 children)Ann Lane (divorced, 1 child)
- He recorded country blues men Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and the Rev. Robert Wilkins, none of whom had recorded since the 1920s and '30s. He secured copyrights for their songs that had not been previously copyrighted. The Rolling Stones covered Wilkins' "Prodigal Son", and Eric Clapton's group Cream recorded James' "I'm So Glad". Kuykendall's share of the royalties allowed him to leave his job as a sound engineer at WETA-TV, and change Bluegrass Unlimited from a mimeographed newsletter into a glossy publication.
- He was a banjoist, guitarist, and songwriter who co-founded the music magazine Bluegrass Unlimited in 1966. His compositions include the bluegrass standards "Journey's End," "Remembrance of You," and "I Am Weary Let Me Rest".
- He started out in the early 1950s, playing banjo with a husband and wife duo, Benny and Vallie Cain. He performed as "Pete Roberts" because the Cains had trouble pronouncing his Dutch surname, Kuykendall. He was a member of the Country Gentlemen for a short while, and continued to be an influence by contributing his songs for their concert sets, engineering many of their records in his studio, and picking on a few records. He also performed and recorded with Red Allen and the Kentuckians.
- He grew up in Arlington, Virginia, where he played clarinet in the school band, but later moved into boogie-woogie piano and bluegrass. In addition to banjo and guitar, he played mandolin, string bass, and fiddle.
- At one time he worked at the Library of Congress' recording division, where he transferred field recordings from fragile discs and cylinders to magnetic tape.
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