Grandpa Jones

Louis Marshall Jones (October 20, 1913–February 19, 1998), known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography

Born in the farming community of Niagara in Henderson County, Kentucky, 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 radio in Boston, Massachusetts where he met musician/songwriter Bradley Kincaid, who gave him the nickname "Grandpa" because of his off-stage grumpiness at early-morning radio shows. Jones liked the name and decided to create a stage persona based around it.

Performing as Grandpa Jones, he played the banjo, yodeled, and sang mostly old-time ballads. The vaudevillian humor was a bridge to television entertainment. Jones used the old fashioned style of banjo playing called clawhammer, which gave a rough backwoods flavor to his performances. Some of his more famous songs include, "T For Texas", "Are You From Dixie", "Night Train To Memphis" and "Mountain Dew". He also wrote the song "Eight More Miles To Louisville". Moving to Nashville, Tennessee, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Jones later became a regular cast member on the long-running television show Hee Haw, often responding to the show's skits with his trademark...
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