Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass

fiddler A fiddle is a bowed 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 classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...

. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical traditions. He was posthumously inducted into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame For a professional in the bluegrass music field, election to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame is the highest honor the genre can bestow. An invitation can be extended to performers, songwriters, promoters, broadcasters, musicians, a ...

in 2018.

Biography

Clements was born in Kinard, Florida and grew up in

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. He taught himself to play the fiddle at age 7, learning "There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor" as his first song. Soon, he joined with two first cousins, Red and Gerald, to form a local string band. In his early teens Clements met

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 ...

and the Blue Grass Boys when they came to Florida to visit Clements' stepfather, a friend of fiddler Chubby Wise. Clements was impressed with his playing. In late 1949, Wise left Monroe's group, and the 21 year-old Clements traveled by bus to ask for an audition. When told he would have to return the next day, Clements was crestfallen, lacking the money for either a hotel room or return bus trip. Monroe gave him some money to a night's lodging, and the next day Clements auditioned and was hired. He remained with Monroe for seven years, recording with the band in 1950 and 1951. Between 1957 and 1962, he was a member of the bluegrass band Jim and Jesse & the Virginia Boys. He also gained recognition joining with the popular bluegrass duo of

Flatt and 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 Scr ...

on the popular theme to the hit television sitcom ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

''.

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 ...

' path-breaking banjo style had premiered with Bill Monroe in the late 1940s, and thereafter gained widespread renown with

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

and the Foggy Mountain Boys. By the mid-1960s, however, his struggles with alcohol left him making his living in blue-collar trades, being employed briefly at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

in Florida as a plumber, in a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

, and as switchman for

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

. He even sold insurance and once operated a convenience store while owning a

potato chip Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...

franchise in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. Sobering up, he returned to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1967, where he became a much sought-after studio musician. After a brief touring stint with

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 ...

he joined

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 kn ...

's Dobrolic Plectral Society in 1971, when he met guitarist Norman Blake and

Dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

player

Tut Taylor Robert Arthur "Tut" Taylor Sr. (November 20, 1923 – April 9, 2015) was an American bluegrass musician. Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-pick ...

, and recorded ''

Aereo-Plain ''Aereo-Plain'' is a 1971 studio album by American bluegrass singer-songwriter and instrumentalist John Hartford. It reached number 193 on The Billboard 200 chart. Background The music on ''Aereo-Plain'' is a blend of traditional bluegrass musi ...

'', a widely acclaimed "newgrass" album that helped broaden the bluegrass market and sound. After less than a year he joined up with Earl Scruggs. His 1972 work with the

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...

on their album '' Will the Circle be Unbroken'' earned even wider acclaim, and he later worked on the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

's '' Wake of the Flood'' and

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

's ''

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean ''A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released on June 4, 1973, as his first album for Dunhill. The title of the album is a play on the country song " A White ...

''. Within the next two years, Clements would cut his first solo album. In 1973, he joined and toured with the bluegrass supergroup Old & In the Way with

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

David Grisman David Jay Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acousti ...

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar, fiddle, dobro, banjo, bass, piano and mandolin. He has a wide vocal range and yodels. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall o ...

, and

John Kahn John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Adopted at birth by ...

; their self-titled live album '' Old & In the Way'' was released in 1975. In 1974 he lent his talents to '' Highway Call'', a solo album by former

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surnam ...

guitarist

Dickey Betts Forrest Richard Betts (December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as a longtime member of the Allman Brothers Band. A co-founder of the band when it formed in 1969, he was central ...

. He was considered by many to be an outstanding fiddle virtuoso and he described his talent saying, In his 50-year career he played with artists ranging from

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to the Grateful Dead,

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

, and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

, and earned at least five

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations and numerous professional accolades. He once recorded with the pop group

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

by happenstance, when he stayed behind after an earlier recording session. He also appeared as himself in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

's 1975 film ''

'' and

Alan Rudolph Alan Steven Rudolph (born December 18, 1943) is an American film director and screenwriter. Early life Rudolph was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Oscar Rudolph (1911–1991), a television director and actor, and his wife. Care ...

's 1976 film, '' Welcome to L.A.''. He made a duet album with

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

''Together at Last'' in 1987. In 2004, he performed in concert with jazz quartet Third Stream – in which a video documentary of the concert was done with Jim Easton (guitar), Tom Strohman (sax), Jim Miller (bass), and John Peifer (drums). Though he played numerous instruments, Clements indicated that he chose the fiddle over guitar recalling that, "I picked up a guitar and fiddle and tried them both out. The guitar was pretty easy, but I couldn't get nothing out of the fiddle. So every time I'd see those instruments sitting side by side, I'd grab that fiddle."

Big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

and

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

were considerable influences upon his style and musical development, and he said that, "Bands like

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

, Les Brown,

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

and

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

were very popular when I was a kid. I always loved rhythm, so I guess in the back of my mind the swing and jazz subconsciously comes out when I play, because when I was learning I was always trying to emulate the big-band sounds I heard on my fiddle." Vassar Clements played on over 200 albums, including nearly 40 on which he starred or was featured. His albums often featured newgrass style music and what Clements called "Hillbilly Jazz". His last album, ''Livin' With the Blues'', released in 2004, was his only blues recording; it featured guest appearances by

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in ...

Norton Buffalo Phillip Jackson (September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009), best known as Norton Buffalo, was an American singer-songwriter, country music, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist who was a versatile ...

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song " Midnight at the Oasis" and h ...

, and others. His 2005

Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the ...

was for "Earl's Breakdown," by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and featured Clements, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, and

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...

. Clements, whose last performance was February 4, 2005 in Jamestown,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, died on August 16, 2005, aged 77, of lung cancer.

Discography

*''Southern Country Waltzes'' Rural Rhythm Records (1970) *''Vassar''

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. Mercury Records released ...

(1975) *''Superbow'' Mercury Records *''Crossing the Catskills'' (1973) Rounder Records *'' Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Dave Holland'' (1988)

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

*''Vassar Clements'' MCA Records *''The Bluegrass Session'' Flying Records *''Grass Routes'' Rounder Records *''Saturday Night Shuffle – A Celebration of Merle Travis'' Shanachie Records *''Hillbilly Jazz'' Flying Fish Records *''Hillbilly Jazz Rides Again'' (1986) Flying Fish Records *''New Hillbilly Jazz'' Shikata Records *''Together at Last'' (Stephane Grappelli & Vassar Clements) Flying Fish Records *''Nashville Jam'' Flying Fish Records *''Westport Drive Mind'' Dust Records *''The Man, The Legend'' Vassillie Productions *''Country Classics'' Vassillie Productions *''Vassar Clements Reunion with Dixie Gentlemen'' Old Homestead *''Once in a While'' (Jam with Miles Davis' ex-band members) Flying Fish Records *''Live in Telluride'' (1979) Vassillie Productions *''Music City USA'' Vassillie Productions *'' Old & In the Way'' (1975) Rounder Records *'' That High Lonesome Sound'' (1996) Acoustic Disc *'' Breakdown'' (1997) Acoustic Disc *'' Live at the Boarding House'' (2008) Acoustic Disc *'' Live at the Boarding House: The Complete Shows'' (2013) Acoustic Disc *'' The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 2'' (with

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

) (1999) Warner Bros. Records *''An Americana Christmas'' (with Norman Blake) Winter Harvest *''The Bottom Line'' Encore Collection *''Vassar's Jazz'' (Golden Anniversary) Winter Harvest *''Back Porch Swing'' Chrome Records *''Dead Grass'' Cedar Glen Music Group *''20 Fiddle Tunes & Waltz Favorites'' *''Full Circle'' OMS Records *'' Will the Circle be Unbroken'' (1972) Capitol Records *'' Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two'' (1989) Capitol Records *'' Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III'' (2002) Capitol Records *'' Old & In the Gray'' (2002) Acoustic Disc *''Runaway Fiddle – Buddy Spicher and Vassar Clements'' OMS Records *''Livin' with the Blues'' Acoustic Disc *''

We Are All One ''We Are All One'' is an album by Michael Falzarano. It was released by Woodstock Records on October 28, 2008. Michael Falzarano is a rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage an ...

'' –

Michael Falzarano Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues b ...

(2008) Woodstock Records *'' I Got Blues for Ya'' – Michael Falzarano (2014) Hypnotation Records *'' Vassar'' – Vassar Clements Band (1980) Flying Fish Records

References

External links

Vassar Clements -biographyNoted fiddler played often in the Shoals

Recording: Vassar Clements, Last Chance Saloon, Poughkeepsie, NY 1976 Part 1Recording: Vassar Clements, Last Chance Saloon, Poughkeepsie, NY 1976 Part 2Recording: Vassar Clements, Last Chance Saloon, Poughkeepsie, NY 1976 Part 3Recording: Vassar Clements, Last Chance Saloon, Poughkeepsie, NY 1976 Part 4Recording: Vassar Clements, Last Chance Saloon, Poughkeepsie, NY 1976 Part 5
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060516013952/http://www.floridamemory.com/Collections/folklife/ Descriptions of recordings and images of Vassar Clements can be found at the State Archives of Florida's Florida Folklife Collection web page] {{DEFAULTSORT:Clements, Vassar 1928 births 2005 deaths American bluegrass fiddlers People from Calhoun County, Florida Deaths from lung cancer Grammy Award winners 20th-century American musicians People from Kissimmee, Florida Country musicians from Florida Old & In the Way members Bluegrass Album Band members Flying Fish Records artists Sonet Records artists Rounder Records artists Capitol Records artists Blue Grass Boys members