Vassar Clements facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vassar Clements
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Clements during a documentary interview in 2004, Live Oak, Florida
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vassar Carlton Clements |
| Born | April 25, 1928 Kinards, SC, United States |
| Died | August 16, 2005 (aged 77) |
| Genres | Bluegrass, country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Fiddle, viola, cello, double bass, mandolin, tenor banjo, guitar |
Vassar Carlton Clements (born April 25, 1928 – died August 16, 2005) was a famous American fiddle player. He played many types of music, including jazz, swing, and bluegrass. People called him the "Father of Hillbilly Jazz." This was a special way of playing that mixed swing, jazz, and bluegrass sounds. He also used ideas from country music and other styles. In 2018, after he passed away, he was added to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Start
Vassar Clements was born in Kinard, Florida and grew up in Kissimmee. He started learning to play the fiddle when he was only seven years old. His very first song was "There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor." Soon, he formed a small band with his two cousins, Red and Gerald.
When Vassar was a teenager, he met Bill Monroe and his band, the Blue Grass Boys. They visited Florida because Bill Monroe was friends with Vassar's stepfather. Vassar was very impressed by how their fiddler, Chubby Wise, played.
Joining the Blue Grass Boys
In late 1949, Chubby Wise left Bill Monroe's band. Vassar, who was 21 years old, took a bus to try out for the group. He was told to come back the next day. Vassar was worried because he didn't have money for a hotel or a bus ticket home. Bill Monroe kindly gave him some money for a place to stay. The next day, Vassar auditioned, and he got the job! He played with Bill Monroe for seven years. He also recorded music with the band in 1950 and 1951.
Playing with Other Bands
From 1957 to 1962, Vassar Clements played with another bluegrass band called Jim and Jesse & the Virginia Boys. He also became well-known for playing with Flatt and Scruggs. They were a popular bluegrass duo. Vassar played on the famous theme song for the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. Earl Scruggs was a banjo player who had first played with Bill Monroe. Later, he became very famous with Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain Boys.
A Break from Music
In the mid-1960s, Vassar Clements took a break from playing music full-time. During this time, he worked in different jobs. He was a plumber at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a short time. He also worked in a paper mill in Georgia. He was even a switchman for a railroad company. Vassar also sold insurance and ran a convenience store. He even owned a business that sold potato chips in Huntsville, Alabama.
Return to Music and Studio Work
In 1967, Vassar Clements moved back to Nashville. There, he became a very popular studio musician. This meant other artists wanted him to play on their recordings.
After touring briefly with Faron Young, he joined John Hartford's Dobrolic Plectral Society in 1971. There, he met guitarist Norman Blake and Dobro player Tut Taylor. They recorded an album called Aereo-Plain. This album was very popular and helped make "newgrass" music more widely known. After less than a year, he started playing with Earl Scruggs again.
Wide Recognition and Collaborations
In 1972, Vassar Clements worked with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their album Will the Circle be Unbroken. This album brought him even more fame. He later played on the Grateful Dead's album Wake of the Flood. He also played on Jimmy Buffett's album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean. Within the next two years, Vassar recorded his first album as a solo artist.
In 1973, he joined a bluegrass supergroup called Old & In the Way. The band included Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, and John Kahn. Their live album, also called Old & In the Way, came out in 1975.
In 1974, he played on Highway Call. This was a solo album by Dickey Betts, who used to be the guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band.
Many people thought Vassar was an amazing fiddle player. He once said about his talent, "It was God's gift, something born in me. I was too dumb to learn it any other way. I listened to the Grand Ole Opry some. I'd pick it up one note at a time. I was young, with plenty of time and I didn't give up. You'd come home from school, do your lessons and that's it. No other distractions. I don't read music. I play what I hear."
A Long and Successful Career
During his 50-year career, Vassar Clements played with many different artists. These included Woody Herman, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Grateful Dead, Linda Ronstadt, and Paul McCartney. He was nominated for at least five Grammy Awards. He also won many other awards for his music.
He once recorded with the pop group the Monkees by chance. He had stayed behind after an earlier recording session. Vassar also appeared in two movies: Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville and Alan Rudolph's 1976 film, Welcome to L.A.. In 1987, he made a duet album with Stéphane Grappelli called Together at Last.
In 2004, he performed in a concert with a jazz group called Third Stream. A video documentary was made of this concert. The group included Jim Easton on guitar, Tom Strohman on saxophone, Jim Miller on bass, and John Peifer on drums.
Even though he played many instruments, Vassar chose the fiddle over the guitar. He remembered, "I picked up a guitar and fiddle and tried them both out. The guitar was pretty easy, but I couldn't get nothing out of the fiddle. So every time I'd see those instruments sitting side by side, I'd grab that fiddle."
Big band and swing music greatly influenced his style. He said, "Bands like Glenn Miller, Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Artie Shaw were very popular when I was a kid. I always loved rhythm, so I guess in the back of my mind the swing and jazz subconsciously comes out when I play, because when I was learning I was always trying to emulate the big-band sounds I heard on my fiddle."
Vassar Clements played on over 200 albums. He was the main artist or a featured artist on nearly 40 of them. His albums often featured "newgrass" music and what he called "Hillbilly Jazz." His last album, Livin' With the Blues, came out in 2004. It was his only blues recording. It featured guest musicians like Elvin Bishop, Norton Buffalo, and Maria Muldaur.
In 2005, he won a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for the song "Earl's Breakdown." This song was by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. It featured Clements, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, and Jerry Douglas.
Vassar Clements' last performance was on February 4, 2005, in Jamestown, New York. He passed away on August 16, 2005, at the age of 77.
Discography
- Southern Country Waltzes Rural Rhythm Records (1970)
- Vassar Mercury Records (1975)
- Superbow Mercury Records
- Crossing the Catskills (1973) Rounder Records
- Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Dave Holland (1988) Rounder Records
- Vassar Clements MCA Records
- The Bluegrass Session Flying Records
- Grass Routes Rounder Records
- Saturday Night Shuffle – A Celebration of Merle Travis Shanachie Records
- Hillbilly Jazz Flying Fish Records
- Hillbilly Jazz Rides Again (1986) Flying Fish Records
- New Hillbilly Jazz Shikata Records
- Together at Last (Stephane Grappelli & Vassar Clements) Flying Fish Records
- Nashville Jam Flying Fish Records
- Westport Drive Mind Dust Records
- The Man, The Legend Vassillie Productions
- Country Classics Vassillie Productions
- Vassar Clements Reunion with Dixie Gentlemen Old Homestead
- Once in a While (Jam with Miles Davis' ex-band members) Flying Fish Records
- Live in Telluride (1979) Vassillie Productions
- Music City USA Vassillie Productions
- Old & In the Way (1975) Rounder Records
- That High Lonesome Sound (1996) Acoustic Disc
- Breakdown (1997) Acoustic Disc
- Live at the Boarding House (2008) Acoustic Disc
- Live at the Boarding House: The Complete Shows (2013) Acoustic Disc
- The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 2 (with Béla Fleck) (1999) Warner Bros. Records
- An Americana Christmas (with Norman Blake) Winter Harvest
- The Bottom Line Encore Collection
- Vassar's Jazz (Golden Anniversary) Winter Harvest
- Back Porch Swing Chrome Records
- Dead Grass Cedar Glen Music Group
- 20 Fiddle Tunes & Waltz Favorites
- Full Circle OMS Records
- Will the Circle be Unbroken (1972) Capitol Records
- Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two (1989) Capitol Records
- Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III (2002) Capitol Records
- Old & In the Gray (2002) Acoustic Disc
- Runaway Fiddle – Buddy Spicher and Vassar Clements OMS Records
- Livin' with the Blues Acoustic Disc
- We Are All One – Michael Falzarano (2008) Woodstock Records
- I Got Blues for Ya – Michael Falzarano (2014) Hypnotation Records
- Vassar – Vassar Clements Band (1980) Flying Fish Records
