Youngest Old-Time Fiddle Player



				*Youngest Old-Time Fiddle Player On Grand Ole Opry* Guitar and fiddle playing abilities landed Eury a spot touring with a band known as Cousin Emmy. He later married the lead singer. Sister Juanita was a featured performer when her husband formed a band called the Modern Hillbillies. In later years, the youngest Stewart, Mary, teamed with Juanita and Bill’s wife, Helen, in a trio called the Golden Girls. The fourth born, Redd, set the standard for excellence, not only among his family, but for country music as a whole when he and fellow Louisville native Pee Wee King wrote The Tennessee Waltz in 1947. Adopted as the state song of Tennessee in 1965, it is second only to Bing Crosby’s White Christmas as the biggest selling song of all-time. With so much talent under one roof constantly being raised by their energetic singing and playing, why didn’t the Stewarts form a family band? “My brothers and sisters did not get along at all when it came to music. If one of them played a song, they’d stop and say, ‘You’re not playing it right,’” said Bill. The criticism apparently had no effect on young Bill’s confidence. “By the time I was 15, I had been practicing on an old fiddle for years. I had learned lots of tunes and figured I was ready for the Grand Ole Opry.” He went to Nashville, moving in with Redd at Ma UpChurch’s Boarding House. He was at the boarding house on a Saturday afternoon when he got a call that Alonzo & Oscar were in immediate need of a fiddle player. Their regular player’s mother had died and he would be gone at least a week. “Oscar was supposed to pick me up, and I waited on the porch for him for what seemed like hours. Finally, a big Pontiac with a trailer pulled up, and I was tickled to death. “At age 15, I was about to play the Opry. I’ll never forget walking in the Ryman and seeing Tubbs and Acuff. I could feel myself shrink. It was the highlight of my life.” He did so well, Oscar promised him the job was his if the regular fiddler didn’t return. “I prayed for bigger and better things for that fiddle player,” said Bill. Next Ambridge Music ©2004-2012 All Rights Reserved
	Welcome About Us His Life Biography Discography Filmography Achievements His Music Redd's Songs Videos Memories Family Reflections Photo Gallery CD Reviews The Store Links TN Waltz (Releases) Special Thanks Newsletters Archives Golden West Cowboys Contact Us Friends of Redd Pee Wee King Patti Page Ernest Tubb Hank Williams Jett Williams Minnie Pearl Grandpa Jones Roy Acuff Gene Autry Jimmy Dickens A Note From Billy Redd's YouTube Videos