Johnny Gimble, one of the greatest and most influential
fiddlers to ever pick up a bow, died Saturday morning in Dripping
Springs, Texas, due to complications from several strokes he had
suffered in recent years. He was 88 years old and had played on
recordings by everyone from Bob Wills to George Strait.
John
Paul Gimble was born May 30, 1929, in Tyler, Texas. He learned to play
the fiddle and mandolin as a boy, and drew inspiration from a number of
influences, including jazz violinists Stuff Smith and Svend Asmussen. In
his early teens, Mr. Gimble performed on area radio stations; as a
young man, he played with Jimmie Davis, who'd become the governor of
Louisiana. Following his military service during World War II, Mr.
Gimble returned to the United States and country music. In 1949, he
began playing with the king of Western Swing, Bob Wills; three years
later, Mr. Gimble fiddled on Marty Robbins' debut single, "I'll Go on
Alone," which topped the country charts.
After leaving
Wills' Texas Playboys in the 1960s, Mr. Gimble became involved in a
number of different endeavors, including finding work as a barber,
before moving to Nashville later in the decade. In Music City, Mr.
Gimble became an in-demand session musician. He appeared on now-classic
recordings like Connie Smith's "If It Ain't Love," Merle Haggard's "If
We Make It Through December" (and a Bob Wills tribute record, "A Tribute
to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World"), Chet Atkins' 1974 album
"Superpickers" and George Strait's version of "Right or Wrong." From
1979-1981, Mr. Gimble also toured with Willie Nelson.
Over
his 60-plus years in music, Mr. Gimble won five Instrumentalist of the
Year Awards from the Country Music Association and Fiddler of the Year
Awards from the Academy of Country Music. In 1994, he was awarded a
National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Elana
James of Western Swing/jazz trio Hot Club of Cowtown, who knew Mr.
Gimble for nearly 20 years and admired him for even longer, cites him as
one of her major musical inspirations.
"Johnny is the
first fiddle player I really ever heard play Western Swing," James said.
"His tone, his humor, the easy elegance and energy in his playing was
all there from the first breath. I immediately thought that if someone
who played like that, with that level of depth and grace, had devoted
himself to Western Swing, it was OK for me to devote my love and time to
it. … The way he would phrase his solos was what I have always aspired
to and dream of for my own playing."
Though he had a
stroke in December 1999, Mr. Gimble continued making music well into his
80s, living up to the advice he gave James and anyone else who asked:
"Play every chance you get and be real lucky."
He
appeared multiple times on "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Austin City
Limits," and, in 2010, released his final album "Celebrating with
Friends," a collection of collaborations with artists like Nelson,
Haggard, Ray Benson, Dale Watson, Vince Gill and others.
Mr.
Gimble has left a lasting influence on country music and, while
numerous young fiddlers have attempted to mimic his style over the
years, James recalls one of Mr. Gimble's frequent sayings: "If you try
to play like someone else, who will play like you?"
Funeral arrangements are not known at this time.
No comments:
Post a Comment