‘Lord of the Strings’ Dennis Caplinger has died at 57

SAN DIEGO — If multi-instrumental wizard Dennis Caplinger had any musical limitations, they were all but inaudible in a career that stretched from his teen years in the pioneering San Diego band Bluegrass Etc. in the mid-1970s until shortly before his death this month.

A featured musician on Grammy Award-winning albums by Eric Clapton and JJ Cale in 2007 and Buck Howdy in 2010, Caplinger died on Aug. 14 at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas. He was 57 and had been hospitalized for about a month. The cause of death was complications from sepsis, according to his son and fellow musician, Zachary Caplinger.

“My dad was very humble and never asked for any sort of compliments,” Zachary Caplinger said.

“But, from as far back as I can recall, he couldn’t go to a gig without everybody showering him with praise. He was the consummate professional, and he rose to every occasion.”

Those sentiments are shared by Poway Mayor and veteran singer-songwriter Steve Vaus, who credits Dennis Caplinger for consistently elevating Vaus’ music.

“If not for Dennis’ brilliance, I wouldn’t even have had one Grammy nomination, let alone four and a Grammy win,” said Vaus, who records under the name Buck Howdy.