Grandpa Jones

Louis Marshall "Grandpa" Jones (20 October 1913 – 19 February 1998) was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was a regular cast member in Hee Haw.

Career Highlights
His father was a fiddle player, and his mother was a ballad singer. Jones spent his teenage years in Akron, Ohio, where he began singing country music tunes on a radio show on WJW. In 1931, Jones joined the Pine Ridge String Band, that provided the musical accompaniment for the very popular Lum and Abner show. By 1935 his pursuit of a musical career took him to WBZ (AM) radio in Boston, Massachusetts, where he met musician/songwriter Bradley Kincaid, who gave him the nickname "Grandpa" because of his off-stage grumpiness at early-morning radio shows. Jones liked the name and decided to create a stage persona based around it.

Performing as Grandpa Jones, he played the guitar or banjo, yodeled, and sang mostly old-time ballads. By 1937, Jones had made his way to West Virginia, where Cousin Emmy taught Jones the art of the clawhammer style of banjo playing, which gave a rough backwoods flavor to his performances. In 1942, Jones joined WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was there that he met fellow Kentuckian Merle Travis. In 1943, they made their recording debuts together for Syd Nathan's upstart King Records. Jones was making records under his own name for King by 1944 and had his first hit with "It's Raining Here This Morning".

His recording career was put on hold when he enlisted in the United States Army during World War II. Discharged in 1946, he recorded again for King. In March 1946, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee and started performing on the Grand Ole Opry. He married Ramona Riggins 14 October 1946. As an accomplished performer herself, she would take part in his performances. Jones' vaudeville humor was a bridge to television. His more famous songs include "T for Texas", "Are You from Dixie", "Night Train to Memphis", "Mountain Dew", and "Eight More Miles to Louisville".