Kenny Baker (musician)

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This article is about the American fiddle player. For other persons with this name, see Kenny Baker (disambiguation).

Kenny Baker (born June 26, 1926), is an American fiddle player best known for his 25 year tenure with Bill Monroe and his group The Bluegrass Boys.

[edit] Biography

Baker was born in Kentucky and learned the fiddle by accompanying his father, also a fiddler. Early on, he was influenced by the swing fiddler Marion Sumner, not to mention Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. After working for Bethlehem Steel in the coal mines of Kentucky, he served in the U.S. Navy before pursuing a musical career fulltime. He soon joined Don Gibson's band as a replacement for Marion Sumner. Baker who played western swing, had little interest in bluegrass music until he heard "Wheel Hoss" and "Roanoke". During a package show with Don Gibson, Baker met Monroe and was offered a job.

Kenny Baker served more years in Monroe's band than any other musician and was selected by Monroe to record the fiddle tunes passed down from Uncle Pen Vandiver. After leaving the Bluegrass Boys in the 1980s, Baker teamed with Josh Graves who had played dobro for Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs as a Foggy Mountain Boy. Baker teamed with Graves until Graves' death in 2006. Baker continues to record studio sessions and tour bluegrass festivals.

Baker is considered to be one of the most influential fiddlers in bluegrass music. His "long-bow" style added a smoothness and clarity to the fiddle based music of his boss, Grand Ole Opry member Bill Monroe. His long tenure with Bill Monroe included banjo player Bill Keith's development of the "melodic" method of banjo playing that included note for note representations of fiddle tunes on the banjo.

He was named to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1999.^[1] He recorded many albums^[2]for various record labels, including County Records, Jasmine, Rounder Records and most recently OMS Records. His most recent recordings include "Cotton Baggin' 2000" and "Spider Bit the Baby" on OMS Records. It was often mentioned that Kenny Baker's records were more popular at Bill Monroe concerts than the band's own releases. There were, and remain, hordes of Kenny Baker students of the bluegrass fiddle.