Howdy Forrester (March 31, 1922 – August 1, 1987), born Howard Wilson Forrester, was an American bluegrass fiddler and a popularizer and practiser of the "Texas" or "show fiddle" style.Carlin 2003, p. 141. He was a long-time member of

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 ...

's Smoky Mountain Boys.

Biography

Forrester was born near Vernon, in Hickman County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

, into a family of many fiddlers; his father, grandfather, and uncle all played the fiddle. He grew up as the youngest of four brothers. In 1927, their father was killed in an automobile accident when his vehicle was hit by a train.Schlappi 1993, p. 93. In 1933, during a convalescence from

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Sign ...

where he was bedridden for months, Forrester learned to play the fiddle. After his family moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

in the mid-1930s, Forrester began performing with his brothers. In 1938, he joined The Vagabonds and landed a job on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divi ...

. When Herald Goodman of the Vagabonds formed another act called the Tennessee Valley Boys, Forrester was soon to join up.Schlappi 1993, p. 94. He and Herald Goodman received an offer in 1939 to join the ''Saddle Mountain Roundup'' radio show in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. During this time, Forrester received his nickname, "Big Howdy," by Goodman. In 1940, he moved to Nashville with his wife to work with

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 ...

and Monroe's group, the Blue Grass Boys. In 1943, he was drafted and had to leave the band (he was replaced by Jim Shumate) but his wife Billie "Sally Ann" Forrester remained with MonroeGoldsmith 2004, p. 291. as his sole accordion player until 1945. After Forrester's discharge from the US Navy in 1946, he returned temporarily to Monroe. Soon he moved to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

to join Georgia Slim Rutland and the Texas Roundup performing at KRLD-AM. In 1950, he joined

Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline an ...

before becoming a full-time member of

and His Smoky Mountain Boys in 1951. He also made recordings with

Flatt & Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American 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. Flatt and Scru ...

in the early 1950s. In 1960, he recorded a solo album called ''Fancy Fiddlin' Country Style'' for the MGM subsidiary Cub label. In 1964, Forrester joined the Acuff-Rose Artists Corporation and remained a member of the Smokey Mountain Boys until his death in 1987. He continued to record solo albums during the 1970s and 1980s. Forrester died at his home in Nashville.

Notes

References

* Carlin, Richard (2003), ''Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary'', Taylor & Francis * Goldsmith, Thomas (2004), ''The Bluegrass Reader'', University of Illinois Press * Schlappi, Elizabeth (1993), ''Roy Acuff: The Smoky Mountain Boy'', Pelican Publishing Company {{DEFAULTSORT:Forrester, Howdy 1922 births 1987 deaths American country singer-songwriters American bluegrass fiddlers Texas-style fiddlers 20th-century American singer-songwriters Foggy Mountain Boys members Singers from Nashville, Tennessee People from Hickman County, Tennessee