Vassar Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American virtuoso jazz and bluegrass fiddler. Old and in the Way was a bluegrass supergroup in the 1970s. The group performed traditional tunes such as "Pig in a Pen" as well as bluegrass-flavoured Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of Country music.
Biography
Clements was born in Kinard, South Carolina, but grew up in Kissimee, Florida. South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the He taught himself to play the fiddle at age 7 and the first song he learned was There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor. Soon, Clements formed a local string band with two first cousins, Red and Gerald. Gerald was the fiddle player and when he got married and left, Clements had to pick up the fiddle. In his early teens, he met Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass boys when they came to Florida to visit Clements' step-father who knew Chubby Wise. William Smith Monroe ( September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American musician who developed the style of music known as Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Clements heard Wise play and was impressed.
In late 1949, when Wise left Monroe, Clements was hired as his replacement in the Bluegrass Boys where he remained for seven years.
Between 1957 and 1962, he was a member of the bluegrass band Jim and Jesse. Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of Country music. Jim & Jesse were an American Bluegrass music duo consisting of two brothers Jim McReynolds (born February 13, 1927 Coeburn Virginia Returning to Nashville in 1967, he became a much sought after studio musician.
After a brief touring stint with Faron Young he joined John Hartford's Dobrolic Plectral Society in 1971 when he met guitarist Norman Blake and Dobro player Tut Taylor, and recorded Aereo-Plain, a widely acclaimed "newgrass" album that helped broaden the bluegrass market and sound. Faron Young ( February 25, 1932, near Shreveport Louisiana – December 10, 1996) (aged 64 was an American John Cowan Hartford ( December 30 1937 &ndash June 4 2001) was an American folk, country and bluegrass Norman Blake (born March 10, 1938 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a Grammy -nominated instrumentalist vocalist and Songwriter Aereo-Plain is John Hartford's groundbreaking Bluegrass album from 1971 After less than a year he joined Earl Scruggs, who first earned widespread renown for playing the theme to sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. The Beverly Hillbillies is an American Television series about a Hillbilly family transplanted to Beverly Hills California after finding
His 1972 work with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their album Will the Circle Be Unbroken earned him even wider acclaim, and later worked with the Grateful Dead's Wake of the Flood and Jimmy Buffett's A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean. James William "Jimmy" Buffett (born December 25 1946) is a Singer, Songwriter, Author, Businessman, and recently
In 1974, he joined Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan and John Kahn in releasing the bluegrass album, Old and in the Way. Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (August 1 1942 &ndash August 9 1995 was a Musician, Songwriter, Artist, and Lead guitarist and David Grisman (born March 23, 1945 in Hackensack New Jersey) is a Jewish bluegrass / newgrass Mandolinist Peter Rowan (b July 4, 1942 Boston Massachusetts) is an American bluegrass musician and composer John Kahn ( 13 June 1947 - 30 May 1996) was an American rock bass player Old and in the Way was a bluegrass supergroup in the 1970s. The group performed traditional tunes such as "Pig in a Pen" as well as bluegrass-flavoured That same year he lent his talents to "Highway Call", a solo album by Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts. Highway Call is the first solo album by Dickey Betts (under the name Richard Betts of The Allman Brothers Band. The Allman Brothers Band is a Southern rock band based in Macon, Georgia. Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts (born December 12, 1943) is an American Guitarist, Singer, and Songwriter
He was considered by many to be an outstanding fiddle virtuoso and he described his talent saying, "It was God's gift, something born in me. I was too dumb to learn it any other way. I listened to the Grand Ole Opry some. The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly Country music radio program and concert broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee I'd pick it up one note at a time. I was young, with plenty of time and I didn't give up. You'd come home from school, do your lessons and that's it. No other distractions. I don't read music. I play what I hear. "
He didn't always earn his living playing music, though. In the mid-1960s he was employed briefly at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he worked on plumbing. The John F Kennedy Space Center ( KSC) is the NASA Space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center ( Spaceport) on Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the He also performed several other blue-collar jobs including work in a Georgia paper mill, as switchman for Atlantic Coast Line Railroad; he even sold insurance and once operated a convenience store while owning a potato chip franchise in Huntsville, Alabama. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule A paper mill is a Factory devoted to making Paper from wood pulp and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier Machine or similar apparatus The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1898 and July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad A potato chip or crisp is a thin slice of Potato, deep fried or baked until Crisp. Franchising refers to the methods of practicing and using another person's Philosophy of business. Huntsville is a city in Madison and Limestone Counties in the U Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America.
In his 50 year career he played with artists ranging from Woody Herman, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to The Grateful Dead, Linda Ronstadt and Paul McCartney, and earned at least five Grammy nominations and numerous professional accolades. Woodrow Charles Herman ( May 16 1913 &ndash October 29 1987) better known as Woody Herman, was an American Jazz The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country - folk - rock band that has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach California The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15 1946 in Tucson Arizona) is an American popular vocalist and Entertainer whose vocal styles in a variety Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences He once recorded with the pop group the Monkees by happenstance, when he stayed behind after an earlier recording session. For the group's self-titled album see The Monkees (album. For the TV series see The Monkees (TV series. He also appeared in Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville and Alan Rudolph's 1976 film, Welcome to L.A.. Robert Bernard Altman (February 20 1925 – November 20 2006 was an American Film director known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with Nashville is a 1975 American Drama film directed by Robert Altman. Alan Steven Rudolph (born 18 December 1943) is an American Film director and Screenwriter. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Welcome to LA is a 1976 film directed by Alan Rudolph and starring Keith Carradine.
Though he played numerous instruments, Mr. Clements indicated that he chose the fiddle over guitar recalling that, "I picked up a guitar and fiddle and tried them both out. The guitar was pretty easy, but I couldn't get nothing out of the fiddle. So every time I'd see those instruments sitting side by side, I'd grab that fiddle. "
Big band and swing music were considerable influences upon his style and musical development, and he said that, "Bands like Glenn Miller, Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Artie Shaw were very popular when I was a kid. A big band is a type of Musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United Alton Glenn Miller ( March 1 1904 &ndash presumably December 15 1944) was an American Jazz musician and Les Brown Sr ( March 14, 1912 – January 4, 2001) and the Band of Renown are a Big band that began in the big band era Tommy Dorsey ( November 19 1905 &ndash November 26 1956) was an American Jazz Trombonist, Trumpeter Harry James ( March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American Musician and Band leader, and a well-known Arthur Jacob Arshawsky ( May 23, 1910 &ndash December 30, 2004) better known as Artie Shaw, was an American Jazz I always loved rhythm, so I guess in the back of my mind the swing and jazz subconsciously comes out when I play, because when I was learning I was always trying to emulate the big-band sounds I heard on my fiddle. "
Vassar Clements played on over 2000 albums. His last album, Livin' With the Blues, released in 2004, featured guest appearances by Elvin Bishop, Norton Buffalo, Maria Muldaur and others. Elvin Bishop (born October 21 1942, Glendale, California) is an American Blues and Rock and roll Musician Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato, 12 September 1943, in Greenwich Village, New York) is a roots- folk
His 2005 Grammy award for best country instrumental performance was for "Earl's Breakdown," by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and featured Clements, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs and Jerry Douglas. Earl Eugene Scruggs (born January 6, 1924) is a musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger style (now called Scruggs style) on the 5-string Jerry Douglas (born as Gerald Calvin Douglas on May 28, 1956 in Warren Ohio) is an American Dobro player
Mr. Clements, whose last performance was February 4, 2005 in Jamestown, N.Y., died of lung cancer that spread to his brain on August 16, 2005 at age 77. Jamestown is a City in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous
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