Grandpa Jones
Classic Country
Old-Time (Traditional)
Louis Marshall “Grandpa” Jones was a banjo player, comedian, and singer whose career bridged old-time, early country, bluegrass, and the long-running Hee Haw television era. His clawhammer-style banjo and comedic old-time-man persona (adopted at age 22 when radio sponsor Bradley Kincaid told him he “sounded like an old grandpa”) made him one of the most beloved figures in American country music for over six decades.
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- Born Louis Marshall Jones in Niagara, Kentucky; began performing on radio in Akron, Ohio, as a teenager. Adopted the “Grandpa” persona and makeup in 1935 while working with Bradley Kincaid on WBZ Boston.
- Joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1946 and remained a cast member for over five decades, one of the longest Opry tenures on record.
- Pioneering King Records artist — cut hits “Mountain Dew,” “Eight More Miles to Louisville” (his own composition), “Old Rattler,” “T for Texas,” “Rolling On,” and “I'm My Own Grandpaw” in the late 1940s and 1950s.
- Close associate of the Delmore Brothers, Merle Travis, and Red Foley; was a founding member of the Brown's Ferry Four gospel quartet with the Delmores and Travis.
- Became a national television figure on Hee Haw (1969–1993), where his banjo performances, “What's for Supper?” segment with wife Ramona, and warm personality reached audiences who otherwise might never have encountered old-time country music.
- Late-career bluegrass albums on CMH Records, including the double-LP Family Gathering and Old Time Country Music Collection, revisited his catalog with top bluegrass musicians.
- Wife Ramona Jones, an exceptional fiddle player, was his musical partner for decades; daughters Alisa and Mark Jones also became musicians.
- Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1978 and the IBMA Hall of Honor in 2000 (posthumously).
- Known for playing a working two-finger thumb-and-index banjo style as well as clawhammer — more instrumentally serious than his comedic persona suggested.
- Died in 1998 after suffering a stroke backstage at the Opry following a performance. His autobiography, Everybody's Grandpa: Fifty Years Behind the Mike, was published in 1984.
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50 Years of Bluegrass Hits1986 · CMH CMH 9036
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Old Time Country Music Collection1978 · CMH CMH 9010
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Grandpa Jones Sings His Greatest Hits1956 · King 554
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Grandpa JonesPlayed on recordings with Grandpa Jones
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Billy LinnemanPlayed on recording with Grandpa Jones
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Doyle DykesPlayed on recording with Grandpa Jones
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Joe MaphisPlayed on recording with Grandpa Jones
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Ramona JonesPlayed on recording with Grandpa Jones
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Weldon MyrickPlayed on recording with Grandpa Jones