Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country musician, vocalist, songwriter, and fiddler, who was known as the "King of the Hillbillies," the "Caruso of Mountain Music," and the "Backwoods Sinatra." Along with his crooning style of singing within a hardcore hillbilly genre, Roy Acuff created a music and style of entertainment which captured the hearts of his audiences by generating the uplifting of the human spirit and the pride in the character and culture of American life.
Early life
Acuff was born in Maynardville, Tennessee, the third of five children. He played semi-professional baseball, but a sunstroke in 1929, and a nervous breakdown in 1930, ended his aspirations to play for the New York Yankees.
Music career
He then turned his attention to his father's fiddle and began playing in a traveling medicine show. He toured the Southern United States and eventually formed a band called, "The Crazy Tennesseans."
In 1936, he recorded a cover of the traditional song "The Great Speckled Bird." His performance of it in his Grand Ole Opry debut was not well received. Acuff became a regular on the Grand Ole Opry in 1938, forming a backing band called the Smoky Mountain Boys, led by friend and Dobro player, Bashful Brother Oswald.
Acuff released several singles in the 1940s, such as The Wreck on the Highway, Beneath That Lonely Mound of Clay, and The Precious Jewel. He later formed a music publishing venture with Chicago songwriter Fred Rose. Hank Williams, the Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbison, among others, all initially signed with Acuff-Rose Music.
Acuff spent most of the 1950s and 1960s touring constantly, becoming one of the hottest tickets in country music. By the 1970s, Acuff performed almost exclusively with the Grand Ole Opry, at Opryland, greatly legitimizing it as the top institution in country music. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1991.
Political career
Acuff had a brief affair with politics, losing a run for the office of Governor of Tennessee as a Republican, in 1948. Acuff later campaigned in 1970, for his friend Tex Ritter in his campaign for GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in Tennessee.
Contribution to old-time music
Appalachian folk music, which comprised a major part of Acuff's musical background, became a major influence on styles like hillbilly music, country music, and bluegrass. It is one of the few regional styles of old-time music that, since World War II, has been learned and widely practiced in all areas of the United States (as well as in Canada, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere). In some cases (as in the Midwest and Northeast), its popularity has eclipsed the indigenous old-time traditions of these regions. There is a particularly high concentration of performers playing Appalachian folk music on the East and West Coasts (especially in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Pacific Northwest). A number of American classical composers, in particular Henry Cowell and Aaron Copland, have composed works that merge the idioms of Appalachian folk music with the Old World–based classical tradition.
Appalachian old-time music is itself made up of regional traditions. Some of the most prominent traditions include those of Mount Airy, North Carolina (specifically the Round Peak style of Tommy Jarrell) and Grayson County/Galax, Virginia (Wade Ward and Albert Hash), West Virginia (the Hammons Family), East Kentucky (J. P. Fraley and Lee Sexton), East Tennessee (Roan Mountain Hilltoppers), and the hardcore hillbilly genre of Roy Acuff.
Legacy
Roy Acuff made American country music and, specifically, "hillbilly" music, or music of the mountains or the backwoods areas in the southern United States, acceptable to the general American public. No longer was this genre of music seen as a disparagement, but as a part of the exciting musical culture of America. Acuff created a strong pride within those who listened to and performed this traditional music, and his shows always drew great crowds. Acuff also used religious songs in his repertoire, which additionally made spirituality and religion an acceptable form of reverence and Southern musical hospitality.
Trivia
- A popular legend is that Japanese troops during World War II would enter battle yelling, "To hell with Roy Acuff."
- In 1962, Roy Acuff was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. For his contribution to the recording industry, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located on 1541 Vine St.
- Roy Acuff is distantly related to Amy Acuff.
- Acuff was initiated as an Entered Apprentice at the East Nashville Freemasonry Lodge in 1943, and raised to Master Mason in 1944. He was made a 33rd Degree Mason on October 21, 1985.
- Acuff is thought to be one inspiration for Henry Gibson's character, Haven Hamilton, in [Robert Altman]]'s film Nashville. The fictionalized character is a composite of several well-known musicians, including Acuff and Hank Snow.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Acuff, Roy and William Neely. Roy Acuff's Nashville: The Life and Good Times of Country Music. New York: Putnam, 1983. ISBN 0-399-50874-0
- Acuff, Roy. Roy Acuff, 1936-1949. New York: Columbia/Legacy, 1992.
- Dellar, Fred, Roy Thompson, and Douglas B. Green. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music. New York: Harmony Books, 1977. ISBN 0-517-53156-9
- Schlappi, Elizabeth. Roy Acuff, the Smoky Mountain Boy. Gretna, LA: Pelican Pub. Co., 1978. ISBN 0-882-89144-8
External links
All links retrieved December 16, 2022.
- Roy Acuff Biography Who2Biographies
- Roy Acuff AllMusic
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