Benny Sims (1924–1995) was a bluegrass and country musician who played with

Flatt and Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass music, bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948 ...

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedow ...

and

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

Early years

Benny Sims was born in

Sevier County, Tennessee Sevier County ( ) is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,380. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville. Sevier County comprises the Sevierville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

in 1924. His father and uncle were musicians. Beginning at six years old, Sims played throughout his school years.

Career

In his junior year of high school, he was drafted by the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

, and assigned to aid in the sale of war bonds. Following that, he was sent to Italy to perform on a radio program that was broadcast to the Allied and U.S. Forces. After leaving the military, Benny played with The Morris Brothers, Wiley and Zeke, through which he met

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called " Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fing ...

, a previous bandmate of the brothers. Scruggs had recently formed a band with

Lester Flatt Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was an American bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades ...

, and when they found themselves in need of a fiddler in 1949, they invited Sims to join the group. After joining

, Sims played on over 25 recordings in 1949 and 1950, including "Little Girl in Tennessee", "It's Too Late Now", "

Salty Dog Blues "Salty Dog Blues" is a folk song from the early 1900s. Musicians have recorded it in a number of styles, including blues, jazz, country music, bluegrass. Papa Charlie Jackson recorded an adaptation for Paramount and Broadway in 1924. According ...

", "

Foggy Mountain Breakdown "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is a bluegrass instrumental, in the common "breakdown" format, written by Earl Scruggs and first recorded on December 11, 1949, by the bluegrass artists Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. It is a standard i ...

", "Pike County Breakdown" and "

Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" is an American traditional song. It seems to have developed from lyrics in the cowboy song "My Lula Gal", itself a development of bawdy British and Appalachian songs generally known as "Bang Bang Rosie" or "Bang Away ...

."Tottle, Jack. "Benny Sims: East Tennessee Bluegrass Pioneer." Bluegrass Unlimited Feb. 1996: pages 10, 30-31. Sims sung lead vocals on "Old Salty Dog Blues," possibly because Flatt and Scruggs had a last-minute recording session with

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, and the band was looking for material. Benny had played with the Morris Brothers, who frequently performed the song during their show. When Flatt and Scruggs changed their label, Sims recorded just six more tunes before leaving the band, including "We Can't Be Darlings Anymore," "I'll Stay Around," and "Head Over Heels In Love With You." After leaving, Sims ventured to Knoxville, Tennessee where he became a staff musician on the

WNOX WNOX (93.1 FM, "Awesome 93.1") is a commercial radio station licensed to the suburb of Karns, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville metropolitan area. The station is owned by SummitMedia and airs a classic hits format. WNOX's studios and off ...

Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round (a popular country-radio program) and another program called The Tennessee Barn Dance that aired each Saturday night. During this his time at WNOX, Sims worked with many artists including Carl Story and

Charlie Monroe Charlie Monroe (July 4, 1903 – September 27, 1975) was an American country and bluegrass music guitarist. Charlie performed with his brother, Bill, as part of the Monroe Brothers. He later formed his own group, Charlie Monroe & the Kentucky P ...

. After three years in Knoxville, Sims moved to

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. J ...

to work at WJHL-TV where he appeared on the morning show, "Hi Neighbor." The show aired only three times per week, so in Benny's extra time he performed around East Tennessee with acts like

and

Retirement

Excluding a short tour with Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Sims spent the remainder of his life in Johnson City, where he fully retired from professional entertainment and traveling in the early 1960s. Following his retirement, Sims was still musically active in his church services and gave some fiddle lessons, yet had no desire to return to the traveling life of a professional musician. He lived out the rest of his days happily with his wife, Eula, until he died on December 23, 1995. Just two months before his death, Sims was honored by the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance's dedication of the Benny Sims Scholarship Fund, which is awarded yearly to students of

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

's Bluegrass, Old-Time, & Country Music Studies Department. At this event which was held at the Paramount Theater in Bristol, Tennessee, many bluegrass superstars showed their support by performing that evening. Some of those artists include Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys,

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of ...

and The Clinch Mountain Boys,

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive k ...

, as well as students from ETSU's Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Benny American country singer-songwriters American bluegrass fiddlers 1924 births People from Sevier County, Tennessee 1995 deaths 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee Foggy Mountain Boys members United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II