Acuff, Roy

Acuff, Roy (Claxton)

(born Sept. 15, 1903, Maynardsville, Tenn., U.S.—died Nov. 23, 1992, Nashville, Tenn.) U.S. singer, songwriter, and fiddler. He turned to music after an aborted baseball career and gained immediate popularity with his recordings of “The Great Speckled Bird” and “The Wabash Cannonball.” Reasserting the mournful musical traditions of Southeastern rural whites, he became a national radio star on the “Grand Ole Opry” broadcasts. In 1942 he and songwriter Fred Rose founded Acuff-Rose Publishing, the first publishing house exclusively for country music. In 1962 Acuff was elected the first living member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Acuff, (Claxton) Roy (1903–92) country music singer, fiddler, songwriter; born in Maynardville, Tenn. Forced by poor health to abandon a promising baseball career, he polished his skills as a singer and fiddler and began to play publicly in 1932. He performed on radio in the 1930s with the Tennessee Cracklers, then joined the "Grand Ole Opry" in 1938 with the Smoky Mountain Boys, becoming that radio program's first network broadcasting host. During World War II he was immensely popular and became known as "the King of Country Music." In the 1940s he appeared in several films and toured the United States. His unique moaning singing style influenced such musicians as Hank Williams. Among his most famous songs are "The Great Speckled Bird" and "Wabash Cannon Ball." Although his style of country music was somewhat pushed aside by the late 1950s, he continued to appear on "Grand Ole Opry"; he was a co-owner of Acuff-Rose, a music publishing company, and he remained active in Tennessee Republican politics.