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Meet the music makers
By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
Published: 4/13/2008
Last Modified: 4/13/2008 2:05 AM
The 2008 National Fiddler
Hall of Fame inductees are:
Roy Acuff
Life: Born Roy Claxton Acuff
on Sept. 15, 1903, in Maynardville,
Tenn.; died Nov. 23, 1992.
Contributions: World-renowned
as the “King of Country Music,”
Acuff began as a semi-pro
baseball player. However, it
didn’t take long for him to ditch
the high-stress game, pick up
his father’s fiddle and take up a
nomadic lifestyle on the road in
a traveling medicine show.
He’s perhaps most famous
for his recordings of “The
Great Speckled Bird” and “The
Wabash Cannonball,” and was a
Grand Ole Opry regular in his
backing band, Smoky Mountain
Boys. By 1940, he was the
show’s star.
Also, Acuff’s 1938 recording of
“The House of the Rising Sun” is
the first known commercial recording
of the now-legendary song.
In the early ’40s, he created
music publishing venture Acuff-
Rose with Chicago songwriter
Fred Rose. It was a country
music phenom, owning many
copyrights — including songs
by Marty Robbins, Felice and
Boudleaux Bryant and the full
Hank Williams song library.
In 1962 he was the first living
musician elected to The Country
Music Hall of Fame. He won a
lifetime achievement award from
the Kennedy Center in 1991.
Dick Barrett
Born: Aug. 6, 1918, in
Maysville, a small rural community
in Garvin County
Contributions: The story goes
that Barrett’s fi rst love was baseball,
which he abandoned
for
the fi ddle in 1927 when he first
watched acclaimed musician
Major Lee Franklin. According
to the tale, Barrett invited Franklin
back to the family farm for
a night of breakdown bowmanship.
Not too long later, Barrett’s
dad was advised, “Save your
money, Sam. That kid will never
learn anything.” Instead, the
young Barrett switched to Western
swing, which earned him
some dough and kept him out of
the cotton fields.
He was drafted early in World
War II, and after several tours of
combat, he played baseball for
the military team — the Manila
All Stars — in the Philippines.
Through it all, he stayed in
contact with Franklin, eventually
joining him in Texas fiddle jams.
He became one of the most
successful competitors ever,
with a long and colorful history
as a breakdown fiddler. He still
performs today.
Johnny Gimble
Born: John Paul Gimble, May
30, 1926, in Tyler, Texas
Contributions: He started playing
professional fiddle at age 12.
In the ’40s, Gimble played
fiddle and electric mandolin
with Bob Wills and his Texas
Playboys, a legendary act that
launched Western swing music
— and Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom
— into the international spotlight.
When asked to join the Playboys,
his now-famous response
was, “Would a baseball player
want to go with the New York
Yankees?” he said. “Would a cow
lick Lot’s wife?”
From there, he quickly distinguished
himself by using a fivestring
fiddle (most have four ).
He has since played with
legends including George Strait,
Lefty Frizzell, Willie Nelson and
Merle Haggard, and released 10
solo albums. Last year, he released
“Last of the Breed”
with Haggard, Nelson and
Ray Price.
Gimble continues to tour,
even fiddling for Carrie Underwood
during last year’s
49th Annual Grammy
Awards.
Claude “Fiddler”
Williams
Lived: Born Feb. 22, 1908,
in Muskogee. Died April 26,
2004.
Contributions: The jazz violinist
and guitarist started
young: By age 10 he had
learned to play guitar, mandolin,
banjo and cello.
The fiddle soon followed,
and his career spanned much
of the history of jazz. Known
for his swinging, bluesy style
and his musical sense of humor,
Williams performed and
recorded into his mid-90s. He
was a defining component of
the Kansas City jazz scene,
and played on Andy Kirk’s
first recording, “Blue Clarinet
Stomp.”
In the 1930s, he moved to
Illinois, where he played both
violin and guitar in a number
of ensembles, including the
Nat King Cole Trio and the
Count Basie Orchestra. In
the 1940s and ’50s he played
with saxophonist Eddie
“Cleanhead” Vinson and pianists
Hank Jones and Jay
McShann, at that point recording
his first sessions —
and getting a second wind in
his career.
In 1993, Claude was recruited
by fiddler Mark
O’Connor to teach at a camp
outside of Nashville, Tenn.,
where he shared his infectious
jump-blues style with
everyone.
Sources: Tulsa World archives,
NPR online, Johnny Gimble official
site, Country Music television online,
Yazoo Records online, Dick Barrett
online.
By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
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