THE LONESOME PINE FIDDLERS

• Originally from Balsden, West Virginia (coal mining region).
• A hillbilly string band founded in 1937 by brothers Ned, Ray and Ezra Cline.
• 1942, Ned died in the Normandy Invasion (D-Day, WW II).
• 1949, Scruggs-style banjo player Larry Richardson joined the band, giving it a more bluegrass sound. Bobby Osborne was playing guitar at the time.
• 1951, Richardson and Osborne left, replaced by Paul Williams and the Goins Brothers.
• 1952-1954, recorded for RCA Victor.
• 1955, disbanded, then reunited in 1961 with the Goins Brothers, Ezra and “Curly Ray” Cline.
• 1963, disbanded for good.
• 2009, inducted into the IBMA’s Hall of Fame.

RECOMMENDED ALBUMS:

• Windy Mountain (Bear Family).
• Bluegrass Collection (Gusto).