I was always a big Jimmy Martin fan, and I couldn’t believe he kept playing the Opry all those years while continuing to be snubbed. I wish he’d finally told the Opry where they could stick their membership, which considering the low-level artists they inducted was not worthy of someone of his stature and talent. Jimmy Martin deserved the Opry, but the Opry did not deserve Jimmy Martin.
Dang, you tell a fine tale! Truly. Thank you for educating me, a clueless Boomer Northerner. Listening to Jimmy Martin (for the first time), I think “This man is dancing with his voice!” Love it!
Thanks for this! You chose a great video to illustrate your essay: the voice, the look, the sidemen, the song: I am a fan of bluegrass, but not the biggest fan by any means, so I was surprised to learn that he was not a member of the Opry.
I hope you do not find it presumptuous of me to ask, but who were the banjo player and the fiddler in that video? My asking shows what I mean, I suppose, by saying I am not the biggest fan: if you identify the players I may well know the names, but I could not identify them on my own.
He was phenomenal on the original Will The Circle Be Unbroken album, on I think 4 songs, including a killer version of My Walkin Shoes Don't Fit Me Anymore. Played guitar on other tunes. Think he also did On the Sunny Side of the Mountain. Not classic bluegrass backing either.
I was always a big Jimmy Martin fan, and I couldn’t believe he kept playing the Opry all those years while continuing to be snubbed. I wish he’d finally told the Opry where they could stick their membership, which considering the low-level artists they inducted was not worthy of someone of his stature and talent. Jimmy Martin deserved the Opry, but the Opry did not deserve Jimmy Martin.
Well said.
Dang, you tell a fine tale! Truly. Thank you for educating me, a clueless Boomer Northerner. Listening to Jimmy Martin (for the first time), I think “This man is dancing with his voice!” Love it!
Thanks for this! You chose a great video to illustrate your essay: the voice, the look, the sidemen, the song: I am a fan of bluegrass, but not the biggest fan by any means, so I was surprised to learn that he was not a member of the Opry.
I hope you do not find it presumptuous of me to ask, but who were the banjo player and the fiddler in that video? My asking shows what I mean, I suppose, by saying I am not the biggest fan: if you identify the players I may well know the names, but I could not identify them on my own.
He was phenomenal on the original Will The Circle Be Unbroken album, on I think 4 songs, including a killer version of My Walkin Shoes Don't Fit Me Anymore. Played guitar on other tunes. Think he also did On the Sunny Side of the Mountain. Not classic bluegrass backing either.