BOBBY HICKS
- From Newton, North Carolina. Lived in Asheville, North Carolina.
- Began playing the fiddle at age nine.
- 1954-1960, played fiddle for Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, recording such classics as “Cheyenne,” “Big Mon,” “Scotland,” “Wheel Hoss,” and “Brown County Breakdown.”
- Also worked and toured with Porter Wagoner, Mel Tillis, other country acts. Had his own dance band.
- 1963-1970, lived and worked in Las Vegas, performing with singer Judy Lynn.
- 1978, released first solo project Texas Crapshooter
(County).
- 1980’s, he was a member of the Bluegrass Album Band with Tony Rice, J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Todd Phillips and Jerry Douglas.
- 1980-2002, was a member of Ricky Skaggs’ touring band and then his bluegrass band Kentucky Thunder.
- Played fiddle on several Skaggs #1 hits, including “Uncle Pen,” “Country Boy,” “Cryin’ My Heart Out Over You,” and “I Wouldn’t Change You If I Could.”
- 1980, released a fiddle duet album with Kenny Baker called Darkness on the Delta
(County).
- 1998, released his second solo project Fiddle Patch
(Rounder). This album won the IBMA award for Instrumental Album of the Year.
- 2002, was inducted into the Fiddlers Hall of Fame.
- 2003, played dates with Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys.
- 2004, joined the North Carolina band Hazel Creek.
- Bobby and his wife Cathy operated a Wild Bird Center in a shopping center in Asheville where they sold bird feeders and birdseed.
- 2008, fell and broke one of his fingers, requiring surgery. Within three months, he was back playing again. Made several appearances with Earl Scruggs.
- 2015, released an album with guitarist Mark Kuykendall Down Memory Lane
(Rebel Records).
- 2017, released second album with Mark Kuykendall Forever and a Day (Rebel Records).
- 2017, was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
- 2024, died at the age of 91.
- 2024, was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.