Curly Fox

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Curly Fox (or Curley Fox) (b. Arnim LeRoy Fox, Graysville, Tennessee, November 9,^[1] 1910 – d. November 10, 1995) was an American fiddler and country musician.

Fox was the son of a barber who taught him to play the fiddle, as did James McCarroll (a member of the Roane Country Ramblers). Fox first played professionally on the traveling Indian Medicine Show with Chief White Owl; later, he played with Claude Davis and the Carolina Tar Heels in Atlanta. Fox founded the Tennessee Firecrackers in the 1930s, and played with the Shelton Brothers on recordings they made between 1934 and 1936, in addition to recording a few of his own singles.

In 1937, Fox met singer Texas Ruby (Ruby Agnes Owen), sister of Tex Owens. They married shortly thereafter, and began playing together professionally on the Grand Ole Opry (where they performed from 1937-1939 and 1944-1948). They also performed together on various radio programs nationwide. They occasionally recorded together, including a session for King Records in 1947. In 1948, Curly and Ruby moved to Houston, Texas, where they remained for over a decade, working in radio and television.

In 1960, the pair returned to work on the Grand Ole Opry, but Ruby often fell ill and Fox frequently performed solo. An album was recorded together for Starday Records in 1963, but not long after the recording sessions, Ruby died in a house fire. After her death, Fox played solo for several years but eventually moved to Chicago to live with family. Though he ailed in his old age, he sporadically performed live; he returned to Graysville in the mid-1970s, performing with a local bluegrass outfit before retiring.