Early life Groce was born in 1948 in
Dallas to H.T. and Bobbie Groce, the eldest of three children. He has a younger brother, Gary (born July 7, 1951), and a younger sister, Janna (born April 8, 1961). He became interested in music while in elementary school. The family lived in the
Oak Cliff section of Dallas and he attended
Adamson High School there. His classmates included singer-songwriters
Michael Martin Murphey,
Ray Wylie Hubbard,
Owen Temple, and
B. W. Stevenson. visiting schools in twenty US states. and led to appearances on
The Tonight Show,
The Merv Griffin Show,
American Bandstand,
The Midnight Special,
The Rich Little Show,
Nashville Now,
The Disney Channel,
Dr. Demento, and
A Prairie Home Companion. Between 1979 and 1990, Groce performed on nine
Disney albums, one of which was certified
gold and five certified
platinum. The show has also featured musical pioneers including
Bill Monroe,
Ralph Stanley,
Doc Watson,
Pops Staples and
Brownie McGhee as well as modern superstars
R.E.M.,
Martina McBride and
Norah Jones. Groce retired from hosting
Mountain Stage in 2021; his successor is
Kathy Mattea. In 2016, Groce released his first recording in 27 years
Live Forever with his wife, violist Sandra Groce. and in 2020, was inducted into the
West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
Side projects In 1990, he starred in
Paradise Park, a low budget feature film made in West Virginia about life in a Mountain State
trailer park. (It was later re-released as
Heroes of the Heart.) Groce also co-wrote the title song with
Webb Wilder, who also appeared in the film with country musicians
Porter Wagoner and
Johnny Paycheck. Groce co-wrote a musical theatre version. Groce owned The
Morgantown School of Ballet from 1980 to 1985. He was part owner of West Virginia's only statewide arts and entertainment alternative tabloid,
Graffiti, from 1990 until 2004. In 2005, he became executive director of FestivALL Charleston, a ten-day festival of music, dance, theater and visual arts in
Charleston, the capital of West Virginia.
Personal life Larry Groce lives in Charleston, having moved there in 1972. He is married to Sandra Groce (née Armstrong), a classically trained
violist. They have two daughters. ==See also==