VASSAR CLEMENTS
- From Kissimmee, Florida.
- Began playing the fiddle when he was five years old.
- Called “The Father of Hillbilly Jazz.”
- 1949-1956, at age 21 replaced Chubby Wise as Bill Monroe’s fiddle player.
- 1957-1961, worked with Jim and Jesse.
- 1962, retired from music due to alcohol problems. During that time, he worked as a switchman for the Atlantic Coast Railroad, as an insurance salesman, in a paper mill, and he even had a potato-chip franchise in Tallahassee.
- 1968, un-retired when offered job with Faron Young’s band. Also worked with Jimmy Martin, John Hartford and the Earl Scruggs Revue before beginning his solo career in 1973.
- 1971, performed on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” album, which won a Grammy award.
- 1973, was a member of Old & In the Way
with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman & Peter Rowan.
- As a studio musician, he has played on more than 2000 records, including albums by The Grateful Dead, Paul McCartney and the Boston Pops Orchestra.
- 1977, released The Bluegrass Sessions
album (Flying Fish).
- 1979, released Hillbilly Jazz
album (Flying Fish).
- 1991, released Grass Routes
album (Rounder).
- 2001, released Full Circle
album (OMS) with John Cowan, Ricky Skaggs, Peter Rowan, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jim & Jesse, and other guests.
- 2002, recorded and played dates with Old & In the Gray
a reunion with Grisman and Rowan.
- Died in 2005.
- 2018, was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.