Gordon Terry (October 7, 1931 – April 9, 2006) was an American bluegrass 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 ...

fiddler and guitarist. He was a member of

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

's backing band The Strangers. He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Fiddlers Hall of Fame.

Biography

Terry was born in

Decatur, Alabama Decatur () is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County, Alabama, Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City," it is located in North Alabam ...

and learned to play the fiddle at an early age. He made his first performance 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 ...

at age nine. He attended fiddlers' conventions, and won first prize at the Alabama Fiddling Championship in 1946. In 1950, he joined the Grand Ole Opry and within a year, he performed and recorded with

Bill Monroe William Smith 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 takes its n ...

. Terry served in the US Army in Korea. After his discharge, he moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and made his movie debut in '' Hidden Guns'' in 1956. He appeared in three other movies and one episode of ''

Sky King ''Sky King'' is an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. Cattle rancher King usually captured criminals and spies and found ...

''. In 1957, Terry returned for a recording session with Bill Monroe. In the following decades, he recorded with artists such as

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Wynn Stewart Winford Lindsey "Wynn" Stewart (June 7, 1934 – July 17, 1985) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound. Although not a huge chart success, he was an inspiration to such artist ...

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country singer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. His hits including " If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, Die ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

and many more. In November 1961, he recorded a square dance album with Flatt & Scruggs. Terry founded Terrytown, an amusement park in Loretto, Tennessee in 1964, but later sold it. He also founded Reunion Of Professional Entertainers (ROPE), an association with an aim to build a retirement home for entertainers. In 1981, Terry was inducted as a charter member into the Fiddlers Hall of Fame. In the 1980s, the Gordon Terry Parkway in Decatur was named after him. He died in 2006 in

Spring Hill, Tennessee Spring Hill is a city in Maury and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, located approximately south of Nashville. Its population as of 2022 is 55,800. Spring Hill is recognized as the 4th fastest growing city in Tennessee by th ...

. He was posthumously inducted into The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2006.

References

External links

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Gordon Terry on Answers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Gordon 1931 births 2006 deaths People from Decatur, Alabama American bluegrass fiddlers American country singer-songwriters American country fiddlers RCA Victor artists Apex Records artists Liberty Records artists Cadence Records artists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Alabama The Strangers (American band) members Singer-songwriters from Alabama The Tennessee Three members Blue Grass Boys members