Arnim LeRoy Fox (November 9, 1910 – November 10, 1995), better known as Curly (or Curley) Fox, was an American old-time and country fiddler, singer and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

ian.

Biography

Fox was born in

Graysville, Tennessee Graysville is a town in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,471 at the 2020 census and 1,502 at the 2010 census. History Graysville is named for William Gray, an early settler who was appointed postmaster in 1875. The ...

, United States, as the son of a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

. He learned to play the

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

with some help from his father and from James McCarroll, a member of the Roane County Ramblers. Fox first played professionally on the traveling Indian Medicine Show with Chief White Owl; later, he played with Claude Davis and the Carolina Tar Heels in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Fox founded the Tennessee Firecrackers in the 1930s, performing on

WSB-AM WSB (750 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It simulcasts a news/talk radio format with 95.5 WSBB-FM. WSB and WSBB-FM are the flagship stations for Cox Media Group which also owns three other Atlanta radio stations and ...

in Atlanta. For a time, he worked for promoter Larry Sunbrock on his "fiddling contest" show. Sunbrock would travel around the country with his fiddlers and arrange "world championship fiddling contests" in towns along the way. Fox played with the Shelton Brothers on recordings they made for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

between 1934 and 1936, in addition to recording a few of his own singles. In 1937, Fox met singer

Texas Ruby Ruby Agnes Owens (June 4, 1908 – March 29, 1963), professionally better known as Texas Ruby, was an American pioneering country music female vocalist and musician of the late 1930s through to the early 1960s. Her brother was famous as Tex ...

(Ruby Agnes Owens), sister of

Tex Owens Tex Owens (June 15, 1892 – September 9, 1962) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best remembered today for writing the Eddy Arnold hit Cattle Call. The youngest of thirteen children, he was born Doie Hensley Owens in Killeen, T ...

, while playing in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. They married shortly thereafter in 1939, and began playing together professionally on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

, where they performed from 1937–1939 and 1944-1948. From 1940-1944, they became a regular feature on ''Boone County Jamboree'' over WLW-AM in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. The couple was invited to be members of The Opry in the late 1930s. They occasionally recorded together, including a session for King Records in 1947. In 1948, Curly and Ruby moved to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where they remained for over a

decade A decade (from , , ) is a period of 10 years. Decades may describe any 10-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement ...

, working in radio and television. In 1960, the pair returned to work on the ''

'', but Ruby often fell ill and Fox frequently performed solo. An album was recorded together for

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

in 1963, but 72 hours after the recording sessions, Ruby died in a mobile home fire. After her death, Fox played solo for several years, but eventually moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to live with family. Though he ailed in his old age, he sporadically performed live; he returned to Graysville in the mid-1970s, performing with a local bluegrass outfit before retiring. Curly Fox died in November 1995, at the age of 85.

Notes

References

*Charles K. Wolfe, ''Classic Country: Legends of Country Music'' - 2001 *Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music'' - 2003

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Curly 1910 births 1995 deaths People from Rhea County, Tennessee American country fiddlers American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Tennessee King Records artists Starday Records artists Grand Ole Opry members 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Tennessee