Mitch Jayne, bass player and front man for the influential bluegrass band The Dillards, passed away Aug. 2 after being diagnosed with cancer recently.

Formed in the early 1960s with Jayne, Doug and Rodney Dillard, and Dennis Webb in its original lineup, The Dillards initially practiced mountain songs, dance tunes and breakdowns, and composed songs on the back porch of Jayne’s house in Salem, Missouri. This prompted them to refer to their sound as “back porch music” and to name their 1963 Elektra Records debut, Back Porch Bluegrass. In the mid-1960s, The Dillards embarked on a 30-gig cross-country tour with their friends and country-folk-rock pioneers, The Byrds. Jayne remained with the band until 1974, and later rejoined them for reunion performances and tours in the U.S. and Europe. Although The Dillards toured and recorded for decades, helping to expose the world to the music of the Ozarks, they are best known for their recurring appearances on CBS-TV’s “The Andy Griffith Show,” in which they played The Darling Boys, a family of mountain musicians. The Dillards were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame last year.

Music was not Jayne’s only love; he also was passionate about writing. He brought the Ozarks to life through stories and novels, beginning in 1966 when his first book, Forest in the Wind, was published. His second book, Old Fish Hawk (1979), was made into a movie. Jayne also was a columnist and contributing writer for several publications and, along with his wife Diana, he hosted a Sunday evening bluegrass radio show on KOPN in Columbia, MO for several years.