Posts

103 Years and counting – an American treasure Violet Hensley

I just got off the phone doing something that only a handful of folks get to do in life. I wished “Happy Birthday” to a friend – Violet Hensley – who was celebrating her 103rd birthday.
There are moments just such as these which bring people together. Common experiences such as championship wins of athletes or sporting teams, pivotal events which shape our nation or the world, iconic performances or awards by those who inspire us through performance.
I spent a couple years of my life helping Violet bring together her life story for the book “Whittlin’ and Fiddlin’ My Own Way: The Violet Hensley Story” a few years ago.
She has entertained countless millions both live and on television through appearances on American standards such as “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Captain Kangaroo,” “To Tell the Truth,” “Regis and Kathie Lee” and countless other shows through decades of performing. She even reached her dream of playing the Grand Ole Opry, a show that came on the air when she was 9 years old and was initially heard on a battery powered radio in the rural Arkansas farm area of Alamo where she grew up. She has appeared three times since her 99th birthday.
She is one of America’s first nationally known female fiddlers and fiddler makers who had inspired generations of girls and boys on every imaginable children’s show from coast to coast to know they could play American music and even learn to build a fiddle if they desired. Someone who became the image of one of America’s most iconic theme parks and thus an American folk legend.
Much like Dolly Parton for Dollywood and Mickey Mouse for Disneyland – Violet Hensley’s smile, laughter, wit and uplifting spirit, helped shape the family memories and experiences that fueled Midwestern American culture. As she continues the path before her, this season she is working at Fall Festival in Branson at Silver Dollar City where folks have seen her for 53 seasons. They are still giving love back to her for a lifetime of entertaining, teaching, and encouraging and thanking her for all the struggles and hardships that went along with it and fueled her life experience.
Last year, the Arkansas Living Treasure was inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame. Thank you, Violet, for touching America and the world with your talents, your strong-willed work ethic and never-faltering faith! To learn more about her visit VioletHensley.com or like “Whittlin’ and Fiddlin’ My Own Way” on Facebook. There is much to learn about life from someone who lived 103 years, who raised a large family while living as a farmer/migrant farm worker, and all the time keeping the tradition of Ozark music alive and thriving.

Country Fiddlin’ at the Ford

Every time I step through the doors of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn., I am struck with the immense size of the museum and all its facilities. Knowing our genre’s starting point, having such a place to remember, honor, foster and preserve, what has been accomplished is amazing.

a

America’s Morning Show co-host Kelly Ford and Randall Franks host the Grand Master Fiddler Championship.

I stood outside the Ford Theater listening to the notes of “Sally Johnson” fill the air and looked at lines on Labor Day weekend waiting to buy their ticket and it took me back to the days of seeing the lines of country music fans waiting for a show at the former Opryland amusement park.

When I was a boy, that was the center of activity when people visited Music City; one of the big annual attractions that brought people from around the world was the Grand Master Fiddler Championship, now in its 45th year, the show is held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in its Henry Ford Theater.

While as a youth, I competed; as a Grand Ole Opry guest star, I performed, today, I am the celebrity host of the Grand Master Fiddler Championship stepping in the shoes of Roy Acuff, Porter Wagoner and Grant Turner. This year I welcomed the help of Grammy winner Jim Lauderdale, journalist Craig Havighurst and from America’s Morning Show’s CMA winner Kelly Ford who assisted me with the emcee duties.

This year’s crop of fiddlers spanned fiddlers from coast to coast from early elementary school to retirement age performing tunes from “Red Wing” to “Bridget’s Waltz.” What was consistent throughout the two-day event, was the level of proficiency shared by each competitor reflected a desire to bring home the nation’s highest fiddling honor and a chance to perform on the Grand Ole Opry.

The crowd was moved with every pull of the bow sometimes bringing the cheers to a rousing pitch.

After 14 hours of competition, Grand Ole Opry stars Riders in the Sky were on hand to entertain and help crown the 2016 Grand Master Fiddler Champion Maddie Denton from Murfreesboro, Tenn.

grandmasterfiddlerpresentation2016

From left, GMFC Board Member Ed Carnes, Woody Paul of Riders in the Sky, Maddie, GMFC Board Member Howard Harris and GMFC Celebrity Host Randall Franks.

I am especially proud because Maddie won the 2016 Randall Franks Trophy at the 1890s Day Jamboree Old Time Fiddler Convention winning an opportunity to compete in the finals this year.

Organizers Howard Harris and Ed Carnes also crowned a Youth Grand Master Ivy Phillips and a Traditional Grand Master Brian Christianson.

The organization presented the Dr. Perry Harris Award to Woody Paul of the Riders in the Sky. The Grand Master Fiddler Championship. Inc. presents the honor to individuals who have had a lasting impact on the fiddling art form. The award is named for the late Grand Master Fiddler Championship founder Perry Felton Harris, M.D., D.D.S, Colonel U.S.A.F., who convinced the Grand Ole Opry’s E.W. “Bud” Wendell that the organization needed a fiddle contest.

The Charlie Bush Award was presented to Eli Bishop honoring the traditional fiddle performance which would most reflect the tastes of former late contest volunteer and board member.

I encourage you to join us in Music City next year and enjoy the fiddling fun. The Grand Master Fiddler Championship, Inc. is a Tennessee non-profit and a U.S. IRS 501(c)(3) charitable corporation, formed to educate about and perpetuate fiddling as an art form and cultural treasure. For more info, visit www.grandmasterfiddler.com.

A fiddle and the fireplace

Some say it was a coal mine cave-in. Others say it was the fever, but whatever the reason my Grandpa Harve found himself orphaned in a time when, if children were lucky, some relative or caring neighbor took them in.

I don’t know much about his childhood, although I am told his tales of life on the Tennessee River rivaled those of Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn.”

When my dad was a boy, Harve gathered the children around the fireplace and before bed told a story of an orphaned boy named A.J. (his real initials), filled with intrigue of riverboat gamblers and the dangers of riding the rapids on a handmade raft.
Read more