History / Expanding Roadways
Unlimited Dreams
The inextinguishable draw of music kept many artists performing full time in the community, with praise from all around them. That audience base changed dramatically with the onset of radio. The dream was to play music, yes, but to play music on the radio. All roads in Hickman County led to Nashville and The Grand Ole Opry. This blaze stirred the hearts and minds of many young folks, filling their dreams with stardust. Even the wars across the waters did not interrupt the will to play. Brave soldiers defended our country in battle and played their music for comfort. They came back, taking right up where they left off. The dream was to be on the radio, playing music for the world to hear. Music that had filled the hills and hollows now belonged to the world.
Jim Wood
Fiddle
From an early age, Jim Wood was fortunate to play with countless native musicians who made their dreams a reality. He learned from them, that which is intangible, and has documented the trails the music took, with the onset of Radio. Brought up a stone's throw away from Hickman County, in the midst of musical prowess, he was able to grasp the impact of this movement and style, born of this region.
Emory Martin Banjo
Emory Martin 1916-2006
Banjo
Born August 26, 1916, Emory Martin’s love of music was bred at birth. Although Emory learned to play the banjo by watching his father, he could not play the banjo the same way. Emory had been born with a six-inch stub instead of a left arm. This was fuel for the fire. Emory Martin perfected his passion, playing his first full song at age seven. Eleven years later, Emory Martin would begin playing part-time with Grand Ole Opry star Fiddlin’ Sid Harkreader. His long-time engagement allowed Martin to work with many other Opry stars, including Uncle Dave Macon and Kitty Wells. His brother, Kenny, who played guitar, and an older sister, Eva, shared Emory’s love for music. Kenny Martin also trod the boards of the Opry and played guitar and bass with Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, and Robert Lunn. After WWII, Emory rejoined Kitty Wells and her husband, Johnnie Wright, for a brief performing stint on the radio program Louisiana Hayride. In March 1950, he played behind Kitty Wells during a recording session at RCA.
Clebert Warren
Fiddle
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Ernie Ferguson and Clebert Warren both played with Emory Martin on the professional stage and in local music gatherings. Never will they, nor any other, forget his amazing skill and passion on that banjo. Emory, and brother Kenny Martin, were a vibrant part of the musical movement that stirred Middle Tennessee.
"Ole Joe Clark," a traditional tune on the banjo
Performed by Emory Martin
Ernest Ferguson 1918-2014
Mandolin
Ernest Ferguson is one of the best Country mandolin pickers of the 40's. Born in Bon Aqua, TN, he was deeply inspired by music around him and on the radio. Moving to Nashville in the 1930s, Ernie became friends and musical partners with Johnnie Wright, forming The Tennessee Mountain Boys, Johnnie & Jack. Ernie Ferguson spent much of the early 1940s playing for various radio programs with fellow Hickman County natives Paul Warren and Emory Martin. By 1944, Ernie rejoined Johnnie Wright at WNOX Knoxville. Ferguson’s career brought him back to Nashville where he joined the Bailes Brothers at WSM. He later joined Grandpa Jones, recording two sessions with him on King Records. In the fall of 1977, Ernest cut a mandolin instrumental album for Old Homestead. Ferguson eventually made his home in Fairview, TN a few miles out from the Hickman County line.
Jim Wood Re: Arthur Smith
A remarkable fiddling style grew out of the region around Hickman County. Arthur Smith, from Dickson County, neighboring Hickman, was a master fiddler who influenced many in Middle Tennessee, passing this particular style on to his students. This improvisation came to be a signature sound here and beyond. Many fiddlers from all over the country would gather at fiddling contests. Here is where the benchmark for excellence was set, and surpassed, and the place where innumerable young men honed their art.
Paul Warren 1916-2006
Fiddle
Born May of 1918 and raised on Mill Creek in Hickman County. Paul Warren’s talent on the fiddle led to an impressive musical career playing behind many prolific artists of his time. His early influences were his father (who mastered the claw hammer banjo) and Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith. In his early years, Warren practiced while he worked. He teamed up with Emory Martin to play high school dances. Paul was the finest student and his mastery of the fiddle became his way of life and saved his life during WWII. He perfected his style with the Foggy Mountain Boys, along with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs starting in 1954. Paul and the Boys crossed over from radio into television in the late 1950s and were featured in the Martha White Shows. Only illness could get him off the stage in 1977. Paul Warren passed away in 1978, one year before the passing of Lester Flatt. Paul never recorded an album of his own. His son, Johnny Warren, along with Charlie Cushman released two tribute albums honoring the best of his father’s tunes, A Tribute to Fiddlin’ Paul Warren Vol 1 & 2.
Howard “Howdy” Forrester 1922-1987
Fiddle
The fiddlers’ fiddler, Howdy Forrester was born March 31, 1922, in Hickman County and had three brothers. His mother and father both played musical instruments at family gatherings with Uncle Bob Cates, who excelled at traditional fiddle tunes played at barn dances. Howdy developed his musical skills at age 11 recovering from rheumatic fever. His mother gave him an old fiddle that had come down in the family. He already played the banjo, but once he got a fiddle in his hands, he never turned back. Howdy Forrester created the sound driving Roy Acuff's Smokey Mountain Boys for 36 years with whom he toured the world and recorded many albums. He also had a 38-year career on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN. His unique style of soaring double stops and impeccable technique dazzled the pros. His unique style was crafted from a lifetime of observation, practice, and inspiration from many players of the classic violin or country fiddle. Joe Forrester, older brother of Howard, played guitar and bass in the 1930s and 1940s with the Tennessee Valley Boys. He also played the comedic character, Lespedeza. He later played with Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys and did comedy routines with Lester Flatt.
The Ways of Music
Many created music no matter where the inspiration came from, family, church, or the thrill of merrymaking. Often it was a combination of all of these. Many, who carried on their art, put the people around them in awe of their virtuosity. Some found enduring fame nestled within their communities, and a few, with fire in their soul, found glory far beyond.
From the abundance of life in this mid-Tennessee paradise, came a life.
Born in 1879, a girl given the name of Beth Slater Whitson. A girl born in Hickman County who captured through her poems and songs a universal purity of the heart, a product of the land and the spirit of the courageous, determined, and persistent people. At the age of thirty, Beth, alone, set out
to find her dream in Chicago. By her death on April 26, 1930, she had written and published over 400 songs. Her music was woven with complex and innovative melodies. Her songs have become part of the rich cultural fabric of our nation and considered classic Americana.
"Let Me Call You Sweetheart"
Performed by Daniel Bey
Dickie Wells 1907-1985
Jazz Trombone
Born June 10, 1907, in Centerville, Tennessee, a young boy begins life wading in country creeks and running in plowed fields. Traveling from country life to Nashville and beyond, Dickie Wells took up the trombone early along the way. At the age of 19, he was already prepared to impress, and Wells’ 1926 move to New York City led him to play full time with the Lloyd Scott Band. His playing style became noticed while playing with significant NY bandleaders including Charlie Johnson, Benny Carter & Fletcher Henderson. In the mid 30’s he played with Teddy Hill and toured Europe with this group. Joining Count Basie and his Orchestra in 1938, Dickie Wells established his reputation as one of the finest and most distinctive trombone soloists in Jazz. He was renowned for his melodic improvisations that led to structured solos in tunes such as “Arabesque” and “Dickie’s Dream”. His many years performing with Count Basie presented Wells with countless opportunities to play with such jazz artists as Cecil Scott, Benny Carter, and Ray Charles. After his passing in 1985, the Wells family donated Dickie’s famous trombone to Rutgers University. In his book “The Night People” written with Stanley Dance, Dickie’s first thought is of his memory of life in Centerville, TN.
The Music of Laughter
One other great music emanates from Hickman County and its musician who emerged beautifully from this group of people. Great music called...Laughter, created and performed by a master...Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, known by the world as "Minnie Pearl". Born October 25, 1912, Sarah Ophelia Colley had a dream of being a performer. After graduating from Belmont University with a degree in theatre and dance, Sarah Colley directed and produced several plays and musicals while working with a theatre company in Atlanta. There, Ms. Colley’s chance meeting with a local woman sparked the creation of one of the best-known figures in Grand Ole Opry history: everybody’s cousin Minnie. Sarah Colley’s genius of wit and humor and her brilliant storytelling created an entirely new style of music in the halls of the Ryman Auditorium: laughter. Cousin Minnie Pearl filled the Opry with humor from her initial “Howdeeee! I’m just so proud to be here!” to her retirement over 50 years later. Minnie Pearl would light up many stages, tour with several artists, including Elvis Presley, and welcome many new faces to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. She also traveled along with Lamar Alexander and many Tennessee-born celebrities during the Tennessee Homecoming of ’86 train tour.
How to Catch a Man
"Minnie Pearl"
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon
Minnie Pearl Comedy
Mary Beth Pruett remembers her great Aunt Ophelia and the times when she was part of a large family, simply a great and funny gal from Hickman County. Ms. Pruett is a published writer, a natural storyteller, and the director of the Hickman County Public Library system.
Radio
Steve Turner
WNKX FM, Kix96
At the age of 11, back in 1957, a boy with a passion for music learned his chords from the local barber and whoever would venture to show him. He played so well with such a contagious enthusiasm that he boldly sought performance time on the local Lawrence Durham Radio Show. The radio station was located above the Thomas’ Five & Dime on the town square. All it took was one time playing and the 11-year-old Stevie Turner became a regular performer. Eventually the Saturday show turned into The Cousin Zeek and Stevie Show, yes, he came to have his own show and was the youngest DJ in the nation. In 2012 Steve Turner marked his almost uninterrupted 50th year in radio. He is the owner and general manager of WNKX FM Radio in Centerville. The station still hosts a Saturday morning show called the Grinder’s Switch Hour with a live audience, and unlike the old days, this one is streamed on the internet all over the world. And Steve still thrills audiences with his performances.
The Grinders Switch Radio Hour
Steve Turner tells how his radio station holds true to the broadcast format of days gone by with The Grinders Switch Radio Hour and continues to give musicians airtime and a live audience while creating a cultural asset for the community.
W.C. “Red” Wortham
Record Producer
Technology took a burst of development after the height of the radio days. The proximity of the county to Nashville, Music City itself, placed the county in this diverse musical hub’s back yard. What people heard on the radio drew young aspiring musicians from all over the country to try to break into the music scene. Bon Aqua Sound Studios, like Sun Studios in Memphis, saw many great musicians before they knew what fame was. In the 1940s on through the 80’s W.C. “Red” Wortham, owner, and producer of the site in the northeastern part of the county, working with all musical genres, including gospel, old-time country, blues, rock and roll, rockabilly, and soul. The genius of the man was to see something astounding in all of them and set it in vinyl. His training in the early ’30s as a guitarist for Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton was his starting point and he followed the path of recording and producing which proved to be his never-ending passion. His labels included Bullet, Delta, and Sur-Speed. Recording advances made it possible for studios to set up and make connections between artists far and near and producing a record became the top of the climb for many budding artists.
Ronn Lynn Guitar
Record Producer
Ask him to play a “lick” and he will ask you what kind. Ronn Lynn, born and raised in Hickman County is a guitarist, horn man, and is conversant in any musical genre you like. He considers himself blessed to be an outstanding sideman. Sidemen gave bands their signature sound. Sidemen gave the music, played by recognized artists, the soul that so moved the audiences. To musicians, who look to each other as teachers, the best ones are probably not known by many of us. They are the master musicians, the likes of Forrester, Warren, Ferguson and so many more. Where will the musical trails lead the current and future generations from Hickman County? Ronn is the owner and producer of Merlot Studios in Lyles, TN and is the man with his hand on the pulse of the music of the present. He sees where we came from and where, perchance, musical trails will lead the people of this remote magical land. Merlot Studio has recorded albums for the Crickets, Sonny Curtis, J.I. Allison, and hundreds more including international artists from England and Latin America.