Johnny Gimble Named Country Music Hall of Fame Musician Inductee
Fiddle legend Johnny Gimble is the newest inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. This was the news coming out of the press conference Tuesday morning (3-27) from the Country Music Hall of Fame rotunda, hosted by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Gimble was inducted in the rotating musician category. He was the first of three new inductees announced. Dottie West has also been named as the newest Veterans Era inductee, and Ricky Skaggs was named as the Modern Era inductee.
Gimble passed away on May 9th in 2015. His son Dick, and his granddaughter Emily were there to accept on his behalf. They performed a song in tribute.
John Paul Gimble was born in Tyler, Texas on May 30th, 1926, and grew up in the nearby community of Bascom. Playing fiddle in bands since age 12, Gimble first appeared with his two brothers Bill and Jack in the Rose City Swingers before moving to Louisiana and playing fiddle for Jimmie Davis. Gimble eventually joined Bob Wills full time in the late 1940’s after Wills discovered Johnny while he was playing in a band called the Rhythmaires. Johnny became a member of the most legendary lineup of the Texas Playboys. Gimble also fronted his own band from 1951 to 1953 that played as the house band at Bob Wills’ “Ranch House” club in Dallas. Gimble also appeared on the Marty Robbins #1 hit, “I’ll Go On Alone.”
By the late 60’s Gimble was a sought after session player, and played on Merle Haggard’s Bob Wills tribute record, and recordings from Chet Atkins. Gimble also played mandolin in both live and studio sessions. He was also known for being one of the very few five-string fiddle players—adding an extra lower string to hit lower notes.
Johnny Gimble’s most high-profile position may have been as a member of the Million Dollar Band—an All-Star group of session musicians that most notably appeared on the television variety show Hee-Haw. He also toured with Willie Nelson as his fiddle player from 1979 to 1981 after moving from Nashville back to Texas, and in 1983 assembled a Texas Swing group that featured Ray Price on vocals that had a hit with the song “One Fiddle, Two Fiddle” after the song was featured in the Clint Eastwood move Honkytonk Man.
Gimble was nominated for a Grammy for appearing on Mark O’Connor’s Heroes album from 1993, and made numerous appearances on Austin City Limits in the 90’s and 2000’s. A good friend of Western Swing revivalist Ray Benson and his band Asleep at the Wheel, Johnny Gimble has appeared with the group many times. He also was awarded the Academy of Country Music’s Fiddle Player of the Year awards nine times.
Johnny Gimble will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in a Medallion Ceremony later this year.
Tom Smith
March 27, 2018 @ 8:46 am
I can’t believe he wasn’t inducted a long time ago. Looong overdue.
Kevin Smith
March 27, 2018 @ 8:54 am
Ditto that. Dude made the fiddle one of the essential instruments in western swing and country. He will always be on the short list of greatest fiddlers of all time.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
March 27, 2018 @ 10:20 am
I figured he was in there already.
If I were being picky I’d say he was more western swing than country.
but to look at my top 5 country/bluegrass fiddlers It’s Benny Martin on top then Johnny Gimble and the lower ranks are a bit more crowded out by Buddy Spicher Michael Cleveland Bobby Hicks Paul Ryan and Don Rich and Kenny Baker depending on who I feel like is a top 5’er on any given day.
I’d say Gimble has better phrasing and more complex improv than Kenny Baker or Don Rich but he’s got a bit too much swing rhythm and Don Rich especially got that forward moving bluegrass drive down to a science.
Sorry I teach a fiddle workshop so talking about fiddling gets me going.
he was just on Hee Haw a couple nights ago and sat in with the haystack fiddlers and it was a joy to see him twin fiddling with Ramona Jones. Gimble’s got amazing double stops far better than Roy Clark or Kenny Baker ever did but not quite as precise as Buddy Spicher’s. Bluegrass double stops are less complex and use more basic chords so no true Bluegrasser can compete.
has anybody heard his duet album with Tiny Moore?
Mike
March 27, 2018 @ 12:30 pm
Well Don Rich has a Bakersfield feel to his fiddle playing which is awesome Hank Thompson should be on the list as well for country fiddler. Gimble is a beast to say the least. He studied chords and played hokum around the melody which made him so dang good. Id also include Randy Elmore and Jason Roberts as a country and swing fiddler as well in list students of Gimble. He could play bluegrass but really preferred not too.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
March 27, 2018 @ 12:53 pm
Randy Elmore was the focus of a project i did in tenth grade. he’s so cool.
Benny Lee
March 27, 2018 @ 11:32 am
Well deserved and long overdue.
Corncaster
March 27, 2018 @ 2:00 pm
LEGEND!
Erik North
March 27, 2018 @ 4:52 pm
Yes, one of the true legends of the form.
And just for folks interested in things like these, back in 1974, Gimble did a favor for a visitor to Nashville from England. You might have heard of this guy maybe once or twice (LOL):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuMTuSDM094&index=3&list=WL
Clyde
March 27, 2018 @ 4:53 pm
I also would have thought he was in already considering his contributions to so many legends. Seemed he always put a nice little twist into his fiddle solos.
Corncaster
March 28, 2018 @ 4:07 am
Not enough is madel of these musicians. The reason country music sounds the way it does is because the musicians learn from each other. And some of them have more to teach than others. These “musician’s musicians” are incredibly important to the continuing life and development of this style.
That’s why the pop/electronic stuff is so bad for music: by comparison, there’s nothing musical to learn. It’s like death.
Harpo
March 28, 2018 @ 4:26 pm
Yea Johnny!
Tom R.
March 29, 2018 @ 12:54 pm
He was one of the best, most in demand, and most famous of country musicians. Very well deserved honor.