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Vassar Clements

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Vassar Clements
Clements during a documentary interview in 2004, Live Oak, Florida Court
Clements during a documentary interview in 2004, Live Oak, Florida
Court
Background information
Birth nameVassar Carlton Clements
Born(1928-04-25)April 25, 1928
Kinards, SC,United States
DiedAugust 16, 2005(2005-08-16)(aged 77)
GenresBluegrass,country
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Fiddle,viola,cello, double bass,mandolin,tenor banjo,guitar
Formerly ofBill MonroeandThe Blue Grass Boys,Jim and Jesse,Earl Scruggs,John Hartford,Norman Blake,Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,Old & In the Way,Jerry Garcia,The Grateful Dead,many others

Vassar Carlton Clements(April 25, 1928[1]– August 16, 2005[2]) was an American jazz,swing,andbluegrassfiddler.Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical traditions.[3]He was posthumously inducted into theInternational Bluegrass Music Hall of Famein 2018.

Biography

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Clements was born inKinard, Florida[1]and grew up inKissimmee.He taught himself to play the fiddle at age 7, learning "There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor" as his first song. Soon, he joined with two first cousins, Red and Gerald, to form a local string band. In his early teens Clements metBill Monroeand theBlue Grass Boyswhen they came to Florida to visit Clements' stepfather, a friend of fiddlerChubby Wise.Clements was impressed with his playing.

In late 1949, Wise left Monroe's group, and the 21 year-old Clements traveled by bus to ask for an audition. When told he would have to return the next day, Clements was crestfallen, lacking the money for either a hotel room or return bus trip. Monroe gave him some money to a night's lodging, and the next day Clements auditioned and was hired. He remained with Monroe for seven years, recording with the band in 1950 and 1951.[1]

Between 1957 and 1962, he was a member of thebluegrassbandJim and Jesse& the Virginia Boys.[1]He also gained recognition joining with the popular bluegrass duo ofFlatt and Scruggson the popular theme to the hit television sitcomThe Beverly Hillbillies.Earl Scruggs' path-breaking banjo style had premiered with Bill Monroe in the late 1940s, and thereafter gained widespread renown withLester Flattand the Foggy Mountain Boys.

By the mid-1960s, however, his struggles with alcohol left him making his living inblue-collar trades,being employed briefly at theKennedy Space Centerin Florida as a plumber, in aGeorgiapaper mill,and as switchman forAtlantic Coast Line Railroad.He even sold insurance and once operated a convenience store while owning apotato chipfranchiseinHuntsville, Alabama.Sobering up, he returned toNashvillein 1967, where he became a much sought-after studio musician.

After a brief touring stint withFaron Younghe joinedJohn Hartford's Dobrolic Plectral Society in 1971,[1]when he met guitaristNorman BlakeandDobroplayerTut Taylor,and recordedAereo-Plain,a widely acclaimed "newgrass" album that helped broaden the bluegrass market and sound. After less than a year he joined up with Earl Scruggs.[1]

His 1972 work with theNitty Gritty Dirt Bandon their albumWill the Circle be Unbrokenearned even wider acclaim, and he later worked on theGrateful Dead'sWake of the FloodandJimmy Buffett'sA White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean.[1]Within the next two years, Clements would cut his first solo album.

In 1973, he joined and toured with the bluegrass supergroupOld & In the WaywithJerry Garcia,[1]David Grisman,Peter Rowan,andJohn Kahn;their self-titled live albumOld & In the Waywas released in 1975.

Clements in 1974

In 1974 he lent his talents toHighway Call,a solo album by formerAllman Brothers BandguitaristDickey Betts.

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 theGrand Ole Oprysome. 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.

In his 50-year career he played with artists ranging fromWoody Hermanand the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to the Grateful Dead,Linda Ronstadt,andPaul McCartney,and earned at least fiveGrammy Awardnominations and numerous professional accolades. He once recorded with the pop groupthe Monkeesby happenstance, when he stayed behind after an earlier recording session. He also appeared inRobert Altman's 1975 filmNashville[1]andAlan Rudolph's 1976 film,Welcome to L.A..He made a duet album withStéphane GrappelliTogether at Lastin 1987.

In 2004, he performed in concert with jazz quartet Third Stream – in which a video documentary of the concert was done with Jim Easton (guitar), Tom Strohman (sax), Jim Miller (bass), and John Peifer (drums).[4]

Though he played numerous instruments, 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 bandandswing musicwere considerable influences upon his style and musical development, and he said that, "Bands likeGlenn Miller,Les Brown,Tommy Dorsey,Harry JamesandArtie Shawwere very popular when I was a kid. 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 200 albums, including nearly 40 on which he starred or was featured. His albums often featured newgrass style music and what Clements called "Hillbilly Jazz". His last album,Livin' With the Blues,released in 2004, was his only blues recording; it featured guest appearances byElvin Bishop,Norton Buffalo,Maria Muldaur,and others.

His 2005Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performancewas for "Earl's Breakdown," by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and featured Clements, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, andJerry Douglas.

Clements, whose last performance was February 4, 2005 inJamestown,New York,died on August 16, 2005, aged 77, of lung cancer.[2][5][6]

Discography

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References

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  1. ^abcdefghiColin Larkin,ed. (1993).The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music(First ed.).Guinness Publishing.p. 83.ISBN0-85112-726-6.
  2. ^ab"Bluegrass Great Vassar Clements Dies".Billboard.August 17, 2005.RetrievedJuly 13,2019.
  3. ^Ledgin, Stephanie P. (2004).Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass.Bloomsbury Academic. p.60.ISBN0275981150.
  4. ^"Vassar Clements - Tour Dates 2004".Vassarclements.RetrievedAugust 5,2021.
  5. ^Gilbert, Calvin (August 16, 2005)."Legendary Fiddler Vassar Clements Dead at Age 77".CMT News.Archived fromthe originalon July 13, 2019.RetrievedJuly 13,2019.
  6. ^"World Music Central - Legendary Fiddler Vassar Clements Dies at 77".August 17, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon November 10, 2005.RetrievedJuly 13,2019.
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