Raymond Fairchild (March 15, 1939 – October 13, 2019) was an American banjo player from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the

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. He was widely known for his fast playing, his fancy and intricate picking, and his ability to mimic the sounds of both animals and humans.

Biography

Fairchild was born in

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, Swain County,

. He learned music from an early age from his mother's side of the family. His more formal musical influences included

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-finge ...

and

Don Reno Donald Wesley Reno (February 21, 1926Trischka, Tony, "Don Reno", ''Banjo Song Book'', Oak Publications, 1977, – October 16, 1984) was an American bluegrass and country musician, best known as a pioneering banjo and guitar player who pa ...

. When he was young, he played for tips at a tourist stop in

Maggie Valley Maggie Valley is a town in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,687 at the 2020 census. A popular tourist destination, it is home to Cataloochee Ski Area and the former Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park. Maggi ...

.Williams 1995, p. 61. The owner of the tourist stop, Ted Sutton, taught young Fairchild about show business.Williams 1995, p. 62. When Fairchild wasn't performing, he worked as a stonemason.Making His Own Way by Wayne Erbsen
In the mid-1960s, he formed the Frosty Mountain Boys but soon changed the name to the Maggie Valley Boys. In 1963, Fairchild was signed by Uncle Jim O'Neal to record for the Rural Rhythm label. In the early 1970s, he successfully performed at the

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, in a show broadcast at WSM in

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, Tennessee. In 1975, he met the Crowe Brothers,

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and Wayne, and together they formed a trio. The bluegrass trio lasted until 1991, when Fairchild formed the New Maggie Valley Boys with his son Zane Fairchild.Wayne Rice Bluegrass Bios
/ref> Fairchild won five awards as a champion banjo playerRehder 2004, p. 262. and scored two gold records. He sold his own line of banjos, the Cox/Fairchild banjo. Since he was reluctant to leave his home district, he performed mostly at the Maggie Valley Opry House. Fairchild died of a heart attack on October 13, 2019, aged 80.

Discography

LPs

* ''America's Most Authentic Folk Banjo'' (

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LP 115) (1961) * ''King of the Smokey Mountain 5-String Banjo Players,'' Rural Rhythm RR-146 (1963) * ''Mama Likes Bluegrass Music,'' Rural Rhythm RRFM 159 (1967)* * ''Raymond Fairchild & the Maggie Valley Boys,'' Rural Rhythm RRMVB 170 (1967)* * ''Honky Tonkin' Country Blues,'' Rural Rhythm RRRF 245 (1971) * ''King of the Smokey Mountain Banjo Players,'' Rural Rhythm RRRF 254 (1972 - Re-issue of RR-146 from 1963, with Drums, electric guitar, and electric bass overdubbed onto the original Mono recordings to create a Stereo effect)* * ''King of the Smokey Mountain 5-String Banjo Players,'' Rural Rhythm RRRF 256 (1972 - Re-issue of RRMVB 170 from 1967, with Drums, Electric Guitar, and Electric bass overdubbed onto the original Mono recordings to create a Stereo effect ) * ''King of the 5-String Banjo,'' Rural Rhythm RRRF 260 (1976)* * ''King of the 5-String Banjo,'' Rural Rhythm RRRF 261 (1976) * ''King of the 5-String Banjo'', Rural Rhythm RRRF 262 (1976) * ''King of the 5-String Banjo,'' Rural Rhythm RRRF 263 (1976)* * ''Legendary Raymond Fairchild,'' Skyline SRO 003 (1981) * ''Plays Requests,'' Skyline SRO 012 (1985) * ''World Champion Banjo,'' Skyline SRO 016 (1987) An Asterisk (*) denotes LPs which have been reissued on Compact Discs (See Below).

CDs

* Mama Likes Bluegrass Music, Rural Rhythm RHY 159* * Raymond Fairchild & The Maggie Valley Boys, Rural Rhythm RUR-170* * 31 Banjo Favorites, Rural Rhythm RHY 254* * 16 All-Time Favorites, Rural Rhythm RHY 260* * 15 Gospel Favorites, Rural Rhythm RHY 263* * 31 Banjo Favorites Vol 2, Rural Rhythm RHY 270 * Smoky Mountain Christmas, Rural Rhythm RHY 290 * The Bluegrass Banjo Collection, Rural Rhythm RHY 294 * 31 Banjo Favorites (The New Collection), Rural Rhythm RHY 324 * Little Zane,

Copper Creek Records Copper Creek Records is a record label based in Roanoke, Virginia specializing primarily in bluegrass and old-time music. History Spurred by his interest in the music of the Stanley Brothers, Gary B. Reid launched Copper Creek in October 1978. T ...

CCCD 0156 An Asterisk (*) denotes CDs which are reissues of the original LPs (See Above)

Footnotes

References

* Rehder, John B. (2004) ''Appalachian Folkways'', JHU Press * Williams, Michael Ann (1995) ''Great Smoky Mountains Folklife'', University Press of Mississippi {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairchild, Raymond 1939 births 2019 deaths American bluegrass musicians American banjoists People from Cherokee, North Carolina People from Maggie Valley, North Carolina Country musicians from North Carolina