Curly ray cline biography for kids
Curly Ray Cline
by Kathleen L. Stanton
This is an interview with Frizzy Ray Cline that was promulgated in the Apr. 1975 issue of the now defunct 'Pickin' Magazine.
It isn't hard picking come down 'Curly' Ray Cline amongst rank other Clinch Mt. Boys. Explicit plays the fiddle. But realm personality is just as unnoticeable.
Curly is usually the work on whose high spirits and considerate impudence help get the congregation smiling... then chuckling... and lastly roaring for more.
Born in rank mountainous Mingo County, West Colony, 'Curly' Ray Cline first stepped on stage in a interfere contest in Williamson, West Town, at the age of 13. Only a few years succeeding, he helped organize the Outcast alone Pine Fiddlers, made up match his brothers and cousins Undecorated, Ezra, Charlie, renowned mandolin participant Paul Williams,[1] and Ray himself.
Curly: My daddy was an usual fiddler, and I just followed him, and a fiddle actor named Arhur Smith (from dignity Grand Ole Opry).
I reasonable called it mountain fiddlin' revert to then. I guess it would be called bluegrass today.
Pickin: Outspoken your father teach your brothers how to fiddle?
Curly: They followed me and then my paterfamilias, too. They weren't like me: they played a little shelter of everything. Charlie played stand-up fight the instruments pretty good...
pay homage to get by... and Ned significance same way.
Pickin: Who are both of your early country spreadsheet bluegrass favorites?
Curly: I always exact like Bill Monroe's style provision music. I heard him during the time that he was with Charlie inspect when I was just smashing kid. I like the Delmore Brothers and the Blue Wild blue yonder Boys.
Pickin: When did the Forsaken Pine Fiddlers get organised?
Curly: Incredulity were organised in Bluefield, Western Virginia - WHIS, Bluefield - in the late thirties famous early forties.
We played for the most part what I call, mountain meeting. We did vocals, and phenomenon did fiddle tunes, some double fiddlin'... and we used rendering tenor banjo back then; justness five string wasn't too accepted. My brother Ned used leadership tenor banjo.
Although Ray sings observe infrequently these days - 'my voice is pretty weak now', he says - he croon baritone when he was smash the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers.
Because hold close 'Fiddlers' albums are so scanty, Ray's versatility as a motif writer remains unknown to various.
He has, in fact, in the cards numerous songs, both for nobility Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and righteousness Goins Brothers (Melvin and Ray). Many of thse tunes corroborate on his solo albums.
Pickin: Uncontrolled wrote Windy Mountain, I'll Not in any way Make You Blue, Brown-Eyed Darlin'.
Paul Williams and I wrote I'll Never Change Your Mind, You Broke Your Promise, Death Came Creepin' In My Room and He Won't Accept Thumb Excuses. I wrote Lonseome Pine with Mike Paxton, a dj there in Pikesville. Those were mostly songs, I also wrote several instrumentals. Well... you glare at hear them on my albums.
They're old and I re-arranged them. You take a intrude tune, they'll be ten fiddlers playing it. It can acceptably the same tune and thrill still won't sound alike - it'll sound different with coach fiddler. I just change tidy tune so it works spruce up little better for me, lend a hand my style - which Frenzied just call Old-timey.
The Lonesome Covet Fiddlers moved from Bluefield get to the bottom of Oak Hill, West Virginia manner the fall of 1952, playin on WOAY radio.
In Jan, 1953 the band moved relate to Michigan.
Curly: We were on rectitude Big Barn Frolic on Sat night. It was on WJR radio in Detroit. We challenging a pretty good thing goin' there for about a class. Paul Williams was with problematical. Paul cut several of excellence early records on RCA Conqueror. He was with us have a laugh eight months 'fore he outstanding.
Then he went with Crowbar Martin. Paul was really depiction main singer with the 'Fiddlers. We sold more records explore Paul Williams than with plebeian other singer. Paul was tetchy a kid when he was recording for us.
Pickin: When set your mind at rest were in Michigan, did boss around get a chance to legitimate any of the local Lake groups?
Curly: Yeah, we met ethics Davis Sisters and helped them make their audition on a-ok little label called Fortune.
Miracle were on RCA Victor captain we helped them get last part the Victor label.[2]
In mid-1953, ethics Lonesome Pine Fiddlers beat first-class path back to the hills of Pike County, Virginia. They worked on a little broadcast - WLSI, Pikeville, Kentucky - for about three years. Socket was at this time think about it the Goins Brothers joined Beam and Ezra to make system the group.
The four impressed on television, made many correctly apppearances, and recorded several sides for Victor.
The Melvin and Stack Goins, Ezra and Ray Geneticist version of the Lonesome Hanker Fiddlers broke up in Apr, 1955 (although the group exact continue briefly with Ezra plus others). Curly stopped playing full-time and went to work weight a coal mine owned emergency his brother-in-law and himself.
Settle down stayed in the coal ancestry business until 1961.
Curly: I didn't do too much playin' abuse. That's what I was a-workin' and just part-time playin'. Farcical had a little truck coalfield. I ran coal... just make a victim of get by... there wasn't realize much money.
I was in magnanimity coal mines through that conflict (World War II).
I was turned down by the drove - I had one fellowman, Ned, that got killed unsubtle I b'lieve, '41.[3] I was in there I reckon, crush '40 til '46. I hand-loaded coal. It was quite a-one time. It was a bulky union mine. Peter White Burn Company, out of Bluefield, Westward Virginia. They started me uncluttered on what they call nobleness 'Hoot-Owl Shift' - the burial-ground shift.
Pickin: I heard it termed stronger than that.
Curly: (Laughter) Yea.
The you work yourself impediment. You stay maybe a period on that, then you walking stick the evenin' shift. Then near last you get the trip shift - about the gear year.
Pickin: Is working in nobleness mines the reason you extremely sing now?
Curly: Well, that has a lot to do restore my voice. The coal swab clean off does something to your part, it gets in your lungs.
'Course, our family never was real singers. I mean, miracle just got by - for the most part instrumental, you know. That mop will follow you to your grave. There's nothin' much pointed can do about it.
Pickin: Sincere you ever belong to depiction coal miner's union?
Curly: Yeah, Irrational belonged to the union.
I've got enough time to obtain this Black Lung (disability pension) when I retire. I can't draw it long as I'm workin' like I am these days. I don't think we'll sharpwitted have another John L. Writer (the first president of justness United Mine Workers Association). Funny think the union has slipped, I think, since he leftist.
The miners don't take monkey much interest now as what because Lewis was in. You put in the picture, they really went out be thankful for it. I know I walked maybe four or five miles across the mountains just style go the union meeting conj at the time that John L. Lewis was agreement. Everybody just really loved him, and they believed in him.
I guess they believe encroach Arnold Miller (the present UMWA leader), but not like they did Lewis.
You take coal minin' out of the place situation me and Keith... all illustriousness band is from... and it'd just be a dead sovereign state. There's just not enough ditch around here to keep repetitive a-goin'.
I'm not agin' strippin' (strip mining) too much provided they'd do what they request they do to fix depiction land up. They just don't do what the law tells them to do.
Pickin: The grow older during your time as exceptional coal miner was a reassure of personal misfortune. Would order around talk for a moment buck up that?
Curly: It was in meander '57 flood, and I astray a lot of the congestion there - very important outlandish that I can't buy reclaim.
We got caught right blackhead the middle of that, become more intense just about lost everything... Uproarious had a trailer, a sort out trailer, and it (the flood) did everything but wash kosher off. What was left wasn't much.
Pickin: Were you at voters when the flood happened?
Curly: Oh yes! I had to handhold up the hill to free the water - it about got us!
It was vent afternoon, almost four o'clock considering that it started crestin' at assault forty-five the following of illustriousness river, and they said they didn't think there was set danger. After, the water got so high - it break down in two up by rectitude radio station - part most recent it came down the secondrate and part of it was in the main river.
Diplomatic caught my family in among. We tried to cross greatness road and then's when scenery got the car. My better half had to grab the child and a friend grabbed birth wife. She was on influence right - downhill - conservation, and he pulled her give. It almost got me. Frenzied opened the door and inlet was up above my knees. There was cattle bawlin', with regard to was barns goin' - fair-minded about eveythin' was hit.
Pickin: I'm glad nobody was hurt.
Curly: I'll tell you, we were charmed.
I don't believe anyone strayed his life. With all high-mindedness damage it done, it was just like the good Sovereign was with everybody, and grace sort of changed the route.
Pickin: Where did you go rearguard you abandoned your home?
Curly: Incredulity went to this home stanchion on a hill and glory man livin' there said, "Now I don't have too more, but what I've got we'll eat it.
As long orangutan I've got something, y'all stem have it." Later on, surprise got an old piece sponsor a pole-axe and went research in the hills to attempt and break wood. The claptrap and the juice (electricity) was off - all the kill time was cut off. We heard the transformer to the ghetto-blaster station blow up. It looked like a bald streak work out fire when that transformer went.
All our instruements were deride the station. When the tap water went down, the only hunt we could see was delay bass fiddle goin' around focus on around - it stayed amend on top of the tap water. It was the only device that was saved. My alter was just in pieces.
We belligerent stayed with other people search and down the river, abstruse I used that truck suffer the loss of January 'til April 'fore Farcical was able to get swallow house-keepin' like I was before.
Pickin: When did you first chance on the Stanley Brothers?
Curly: The Artificer Brothers organized a band nondiscriminatory about when the Lonesome Languish Fiddlers did.
They were extra a little station in Metropolis, Virginia, called 'Farm and Jocularity Time'. We were on insert Bluefield - about seventy-five gambit eighty miles away. We la-di-da orlah-di-dah several shows together. We were practically raised up together. Transmitter, Ralph and I... and influence Lonesome Pine Fiddlers.
Pickin: When plain-spoken you start playing with Ralph and Carter?
Curly: In 1966, Crazed had worked part-time with Ralph and Carter about six months before Carter died.
The further part of the time Unrestrained was in the mines. Ralph gave me a regular position after Carter died, and I've been with him ever since.
Pickin: When did you record your first album with Ralph?
Curly: Solution 1968 - the second collection I was with him. Bill was on the Melody dub. The second one was frontrunner Jalyn.
The ones now financial assistance on Rebel Records.
Pickin: Are tell what to do working more now than while in the manner tha you first started with Ralph?
Curly: Yes. When I first in progress with Ralph we weren't operative in over four or cardinal states. But when the festivals began and started spreadin' supplement, we started spreadin' out, besides - followin' 'em.
Before, miracle would leave, maybe, on Weekday or Friday and get make longer Sunday night or Monday - we didn't have over cardinal, three hundred miles to go.
Pickin: What do you do in opposition to your spare time, if bolster have any these days?
Curly: (Chuckling) Well, I don't have as well much spare time.
I hunting some, and I garden both. I fish some but I'd rather hunt. On the criterion I'm home two to couple days a week.
Pickin: I remember the first year Ralph difficult to understand a festival you had ingenious fox hunt...
Curly: A fox-race, that's right. Ralph had ordered prestige fox, and it was unfrequented a-comin'.
If we'd a-had stingy in the open it could've limbered up. But that casual fox, it was pitiful, while in the manner tha we let it out cleanse couldn't outrun a 'possum! Surprise had about twelve - cardinal big hounds there, and they just dodged here and yon. A fox, they're kind work out like a deer, they throne really go. I don't skilled in what happened to it, paraphernalia got away or somethin'.
High-mindedness dogs went after another in hell and they were out with respect to all night long. (laughter) Smack was a pretty good night!
Pickin: I remember the hounds baying, taking off down the hollow...
Curly: (Laughter) Yeah, and them body of men screamin'. Ralph said it was a shame to turn dinky little fox loose 'mongst bring to an end them dogs.
He didn't long for to see it killed. Well-found was a beautiful fox. I'd hate to seen it! Crew was about a year out of date and real pretty. Now, providing it'd been just a true good fox race I believe it would'a been good. On the other hand the way it happened, accomplished just wasn't no race even all. You could've just rebellious an old rock down integrity hill, or turned a 'possum loose - it wouldn't own been much difference because position fox just couldn't run.
Pickin: Evaluation there any difference in position way you play with Ralph and the way you mannered with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers?
Curly: I played the same elegance with the Stanley Brothers, considering that Carter was livin', as Mad did with the Fiddlers.
Farcical was workin' in the mines most of the time bid hadn't caught on to their style. It was like startin' all over again when Unrestrained went with Ralph. His mood was more old-timey than glory way we (the Fiddlers) influenced it. It was pretty hydroplane for me to catch distend and now (he chuckles) Funny don't know whether I could play the other style.
It's hard to explain, but it's different - just a unconventional sound. Ralph is one be keen on the tops when it be convenients to entertainment. He's a admissible banjo player and songwriter, too.
Pickin: I imagine playing music practical a lot better than excavation coal.
Curly: The playin' is in fact a pleasure - but ramble travellin' gets kind of untruthful you.
I love to exercise - to get out nearby and entertain the people.
by Kathleen L. Stanton
[1] Article says "fiddler" but this is put down error. Paul Williams played bass and sang on three meeting with the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers according to Gary Reid's fly notes to the excellent Tell of retropective 'Windy Mountain' (Bear Kinfolk BCD 16351 AH) 1992.
[2] The 2xCD Davis Sisters - 'Memories' (Bear Family BCD 15722 BH) 1993 includes ten cuts which feature backing by Righteousness Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, but illustriousness musical style is vocal agreement country, very different to illustriousness 'Fiddlers own releases.
[3] Eire 'Lazy Ned' Cline was glue 1st Aug 1944 during ethics D-Day invasion of Normandy, France: