Difference between revisions of "Grandpa Jones" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
({{Contracted}})
m
Line 5: Line 5:
  
 
== Background ==
 
== Background ==
Jones spent his teenage years in [[Akron, Ohio]] where he began singing country music tunes on a local radio show. By 1935 his pursuit of a musical career took him to [[WBZ (AM)]] radio in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] where he met musician/songwriter, [[Bradley Kincaid]] who gave him the nickname "Grandpa" due to his off-stage grumpiness at early-morning radio shows. Jones liked the name and decided to create a stage persona based around it.
+
Born in Niagra, Kentucky, Jones and grew up in the factory towns of Ohio and Kentucky. He inherited a love for old-time country music from his father, who was a fiddle player, and his mother who was a ballad singer. He spent his teenage years in [[Akron]], Ohio where he began singing country music tunes on a local [[radio]] show, where he billed himself as the "Young Singer of Old Songs." By 1935 his pursuit of a musical career took him to WBZ (AM) radio in [[Boston]], Massachusetts where he met musician/songwriter [[Bradley Kincaid]], who gave him the nickname "Grandpa" due to his off-stage grumpiness at early-morning radio shows. Jones liked the name and decided to create a stage [[persona]] based around it. Still a young man in his 20s, it would not be until much later in his career that "Grandpa Jones" finally grew into his old man's stage make-up.
  
Performing as "Grandpa Jones," he played the [[banjo]], [[yodeling|yodeled]], and sang mostly old-time [[ballad]]s. Some of his more famous songs include, "T is for Texas" and "Mountain Dew." Moving to [[Nashville, Tennessee]], he became part of the ''[[Grand Ole Opry]]'' and was a regular cast member on the popular TV show, ''[[Hee Haw]]''.
+
In the 1930s he went solo and learned the banjo at a time when few performers still used the instrument. He is crediting as a major reason for the instrument's survival and continued popularity. He also [[yodeling|yodeled]], and sang old-time [[ballad]]s and novelty songs, and acted the clown. His boisterous, foot-stomping style was reminiscent of banjo great [[Uncle Dave Macon]], and his warm, whimsical stage presence was a tremendous crowd-pleaser. By the 1940s he began receiving national attention with such songs as "Rattler," and "Mountain Dew." In 1946, he moved to [[Nashville]], Tennessee and became part of the ''[[Grand Ole Opry]]''. There, he contented himself with providing comic relief and light-hearted entertainment to delighted crowds. His self-effacing "Grandpa" persona belied the fact that he was also an top exponent of the [[frailing]] style of banjo playing and a more than competent singer as well.  
  
Jones was one of the most popular cast members of the long-running ''Hee Haw''. A favorite skit had off-camera cast members asking "Hey Grandpa, what's for supper?" to which he'd describe either a delicious, country-style meal ("[[Buttermilk]] biscuits smothered in chicken gravy, home-fried potatoes, [[collard greens]] and Grandmother's fresh-baked blueberry pie à la mode!" and the cast would reply, "Yum, yum!") or, more often than not, something terrible ("Because you were bad, thawed out [[TV dinner]]s!" at which the cast would scoff, "Yuck!"). A running gag was that the window he was pretending to polish in this skit had no glass, and that Jones would slip his fingers through the empty panes. Jones also joined castmates [[Buck Owens]], [[Roy Clark]] and [[Kenny Price]] with a gospel segment at the end of each show.
+
In his later career, Jones was one of the most popular cast members of the long-running ''Hee Haw'' television show. A favorite skit had off-camera cast members asking "Hey Grandpa, what's for supper?" to which he'd describe either a delicious, country-style meal ("[[Buttermilk]] biscuits smothered in chicken gravy, home-fried potatoes, collard greens and Grandmother's fresh-baked blueberry pie à la mode!" and the cast would reply, "Yum, yum!") or, more often than not, something terrible ("Because you were bad, thawed out [[TV dinner]]s!" at which the cast would scoff, "Yuck!"). A running gag was that the window he was pretending to polish in this skit had no glass, and that Jones would slip his fingers through the empty panes. Jones also joined castmates [[Buck Owens]], [[Roy Clark]] and [[Kenny Price]] with a gospel segment at the end of each show.
  
 
A resident of rural [[Ridgetop, Tennessee]] outside of Nashville, he was a neighbor and friend of fellow musician [[David "Stringbean" Akeman]]. On the morning of November 11, 1973, Jones discovered the bodies of Akeman and his wife who had been murdered during the night by robbers.
 
A resident of rural [[Ridgetop, Tennessee]] outside of Nashville, he was a neighbor and friend of fellow musician [[David "Stringbean" Akeman]]. On the morning of November 11, 1973, Jones discovered the bodies of Akeman and his wife who had been murdered during the night by robbers.
Line 16: Line 16:
  
 
In January of 1998, he suffered a stroke after his second show performance at the [[Grand Ole Opry]] and died a few weeks later. He is interred in the Luton Memorial Methodist Church cemetery in Nashville.
 
In January of 1998, he suffered a stroke after his second show performance at the [[Grand Ole Opry]] and died a few weeks later. He is interred in the Luton Memorial Methodist Church cemetery in Nashville.
 +
 +
--------
 +
 +
 +
 +
 +
As a solo act later in the 1930s, Jones had radio shows on numerous stations from West Virginia and Connecticut to Cincinnati, where he sang folk ballads and more old-time country ballads as well as gospel songs. He also learned to play the banjo and made it an integral part of his act at a time when the instrument had all but vanished from country music; it was the combination of Jones' old-time repertory and humor that helped to keep the banjo alive as a viable, popular country instrument. Jones later hooked up with Alton and Rabon Delmore and Merle Travis, and played with them throughout World War II as Brown's Ferry Four. He and Travis also became the first artists to record for the newly founded King label, under the name of the Shepherd Brothers. Jones' own earliest solo records were also done for King during this period, among them "It's Raining Here This Morning," "Eight More Miles to Louisville," "Rattler," and "Mountain Dew."
 +
 +
 +
Those singles brought Grandpa Jones to national attention, and he was poised for the next step in his career, a move to Nashville. Before that, however, he married Ramona Riggins, who became not only his wife but his accompanist on fiddle and mandolin. In 1946, he began playing on the Grand Ole Opry and touring with acts such as Lonzo & Oscar and Cowboy Copas. He didn't stay in Nashville too long at first, moving to Lorton, VA, and a radio show in Arlington, and later on the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond. Finally, he returned to Nashville as a regular member of the Opry. Jones recorded with King Records from 1945 until 1952, when he moved to RCA Victor, where he remained for four years, recording both traditional-sounding country and topical songs ("I'm No Communist").
 +
 +
In 1956, he began a six-year stint on Decca Records, recording a total of 16 songs including the talking-blues country hit "The All-American Boy" in 1959. Jones moved to Fred Foster's Monument Records in 1962 and had a Top Five country hit the following year with "T for Texas." His career during the 1960s continued uninterrupted, and in 1969 he joined the cast of the new country music/comedy showcase Hee Haw, which gave him unprecedented national exposure for the next two decades. By 1978, he'd been elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and, by that time, was taking on the real-life role of elder statesman within the community. He continued recording into the 1980s, although his music is somewhat under-represented today on compact disc, apart from the Monument and Decca sides. In 1984, Jones published his autobiography, Everybody's Grandpa. He died February 19, 1998. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
 +
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 02:32, 24 May 2007

Grandpa Jones (born Louis Marshall Jones October 20, 1913 in Niagara, Kentucky – February 19, 1998) was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer.

Background

Born in Niagra, Kentucky, Jones and grew up in the factory towns of Ohio and Kentucky. He inherited a love for old-time country music from his father, who was a fiddle player, and his mother who was a ballad singer. He spent his teenage years in Akron, Ohio where he began singing country music tunes on a local radio show, where he billed himself as the "Young Singer of Old Songs." By 1935 his pursuit of a musical career took him to WBZ (AM) radio in Boston, Massachusetts where he met musician/songwriter Bradley Kincaid, who gave him the nickname "Grandpa" due to his off-stage grumpiness at early-morning radio shows. Jones liked the name and decided to create a stage persona based around it. Still a young man in his 20s, it would not be until much later in his career that "Grandpa Jones" finally grew into his old man's stage make-up.

In the 1930s he went solo and learned the banjo at a time when few performers still used the instrument. He is crediting as a major reason for the instrument's survival and continued popularity. He also yodeled, and sang old-time ballads and novelty songs, and acted the clown. His boisterous, foot-stomping style was reminiscent of banjo great Uncle Dave Macon, and his warm, whimsical stage presence was a tremendous crowd-pleaser. By the 1940s he began receiving national attention with such songs as "Rattler," and "Mountain Dew." In 1946, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee and became part of the Grand Ole Opry. There, he contented himself with providing comic relief and light-hearted entertainment to delighted crowds. His self-effacing "Grandpa" persona belied the fact that he was also an top exponent of the frailing style of banjo playing and a more than competent singer as well.

In his later career, Jones was one of the most popular cast members of the long-running Hee Haw television show. A favorite skit had off-camera cast members asking "Hey Grandpa, what's for supper?" to which he'd describe either a delicious, country-style meal ("Buttermilk biscuits smothered in chicken gravy, home-fried potatoes, collard greens and Grandmother's fresh-baked blueberry pie à la mode!" and the cast would reply, "Yum, yum!") or, more often than not, something terrible ("Because you were bad, thawed out TV dinners!" at which the cast would scoff, "Yuck!"). A running gag was that the window he was pretending to polish in this skit had no glass, and that Jones would slip his fingers through the empty panes. Jones also joined castmates Buck Owens, Roy Clark and Kenny Price with a gospel segment at the end of each show.

A resident of rural Ridgetop, Tennessee outside of Nashville, he was a neighbor and friend of fellow musician David "Stringbean" Akeman. On the morning of November 11, 1973, Jones discovered the bodies of Akeman and his wife who had been murdered during the night by robbers.

In 1978 Grandpa Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. An autobiography of him, Everybody's Grandpa: Fifty Years Behind The Mike was published in 1984 (with assistance from Charles K. Wolfe).

In January of 1998, he suffered a stroke after his second show performance at the Grand Ole Opry and died a few weeks later. He is interred in the Luton Memorial Methodist Church cemetery in Nashville.




As a solo act later in the 1930s, Jones had radio shows on numerous stations from West Virginia and Connecticut to Cincinnati, where he sang folk ballads and more old-time country ballads as well as gospel songs. He also learned to play the banjo and made it an integral part of his act at a time when the instrument had all but vanished from country music; it was the combination of Jones' old-time repertory and humor that helped to keep the banjo alive as a viable, popular country instrument. Jones later hooked up with Alton and Rabon Delmore and Merle Travis, and played with them throughout World War II as Brown's Ferry Four. He and Travis also became the first artists to record for the newly founded King label, under the name of the Shepherd Brothers. Jones' own earliest solo records were also done for King during this period, among them "It's Raining Here This Morning," "Eight More Miles to Louisville," "Rattler," and "Mountain Dew."


Those singles brought Grandpa Jones to national attention, and he was poised for the next step in his career, a move to Nashville. Before that, however, he married Ramona Riggins, who became not only his wife but his accompanist on fiddle and mandolin. In 1946, he began playing on the Grand Ole Opry and touring with acts such as Lonzo & Oscar and Cowboy Copas. He didn't stay in Nashville too long at first, moving to Lorton, VA, and a radio show in Arlington, and later on the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond. Finally, he returned to Nashville as a regular member of the Opry. Jones recorded with King Records from 1945 until 1952, when he moved to RCA Victor, where he remained for four years, recording both traditional-sounding country and topical songs ("I'm No Communist").

In 1956, he began a six-year stint on Decca Records, recording a total of 16 songs including the talking-blues country hit "The All-American Boy" in 1959. Jones moved to Fred Foster's Monument Records in 1962 and had a Top Five country hit the following year with "T for Texas." His career during the 1960s continued uninterrupted, and in 1969 he joined the cast of the new country music/comedy showcase Hee Haw, which gave him unprecedented national exposure for the next two decades. By 1978, he'd been elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and, by that time, was taking on the real-life role of elder statesman within the community. He continued recording into the 1980s, although his music is somewhat under-represented today on compact disc, apart from the Monument and Decca sides. In 1984, Jones published his autobiography, Everybody's Grandpa. He died February 19, 1998. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Jones, Louis M. "Grandpa" with Charles K. Wolfe. (1984). Everybody's Grandpa: Fifty Year Behind The Mike. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press.
  • Wolfe, Charles K. (1998). "Grandpa Jones". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 269-270.

External links

Template:US-country-musician-stub

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.