Roy Clark, 1933-2018

The BIB learns with regret from Bluegrass Today of the death of Roy Linwood Clark, multi-instrumentalist and entertainer. With his extrovert musicianship in country, jazz, and mainstream fields, he brought bluegrass picking on guitar, banjo, and fiddle to wider audiences, especially through the influential TV series 'Hee Haw'. Several YouTube examples of his playing can be seen on the Rolling Stone magazine website.

As a boy in Washington, DC, he used to hang around outside the Stoneman family house, listening to the playing of Roni Stoneman's elder brothers. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009, and the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame in 2017.

Update 20 Nov.: Bluegrass Today reports that a ceremony celebrating the life of Roy Clark was held today. More details are in John Lawless's feature.