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Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys

Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys

Band · Active 1958–present · Nashville, Tennessee
Traditional Bluegrass

Jimmy Martin called himself the "King of Bluegrass" and had a legitimate claim to the title — his hard-driving guitar, piercing high tenor, and tightly drilled bands produced some of the most widely imitated bluegrass recordings ever made. Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, with their "Good 'n Country" style, trained a generation of future bluegrass greats and cut a catalog of songs that became standards.

  • James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005), born in Sneedville, Tennessee, and raised in the hard farming country of rural East Tennessee.
  • Joined Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys in December 1949 after a legendary audition backstage at the Grand Ole Opry; widely considered the finest lead singer Monroe ever employed.
  • Recorded with Monroe on classics including "Uncle Pen," "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome," "Sitting Alone in the Moonlight," and "Memories of Mother and Dad"; his high, cutting tenor and strong rhythm guitar gave Monroe's mid-1950s lineup a supercharged "white soul" intensity.
  • After stints with the Osborne Brothers as Jimmy Martin and the Osborne Brothers (1954–1955) on RCA, Martin formed his own Sunny Mountain Boys in 1955, signed to Decca in 1956, and spent 18 years with the Decca/MCA label.
  • Classic late-1950s lineup featured Paul Williams (brother-in-law) on mandolin and tenor vocals and a teenage J.D. Crowe on banjo — the pair Martin credited with doing more for his records than any other sidemen.
  • Other Sunny Mountain Boys alumni across the decades: Bill Emerson, Alan Munde, Doyle Lawson, Vic Jordan, and Paul Craft on banjo; Earl Taylor and Vernon Derrick on mandolin; Gloria Belle, often cited as the first female lead singer in bluegrass.
  • Starred on the Louisiana Hayride (1958–1960) on KWKH Shreveport and the Wheeling Jamboree (1960–1962) on WWVA — two clear-channel 50,000-watt stations that broadcast his music to millions.
  • Signature recordings include "Sunny Side of the Mountain," "Widow Maker," "Hit Parade of Love," "Ocean of Diamonds," "Sophronie," "20/20 Vision," "Freeborn Man," and "You Don't Know My Mind."
  • Featured guest on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's landmark 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, singing "Sunny Side of the Mountain," "Grand Ole Opry Song," and others — bringing his music to a vast new audience and earning him a gold record.
  • Despite his monumental influence, Martin was famously never invited to join the Grand Ole Opry — a snub attributed to his volatile temperament, drinking, and Bill Monroe's reported resistance to anyone calling themselves a rival "King."
  • Inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1995; his catalog is considered required listening for anyone learning traditional bluegrass.
  • Jimmy Martin
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Paul Williams
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Vernon Derrick
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Junior Huskey
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • J.D. Crowe
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Joe Zinkan
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Bill Emerson
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Bill Yates
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Chris Warner
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Floyd "Lightning" Chance
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Kenny Ingram
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Buddy Spicher
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Paul Craft
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Benny Martin
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Doyle Lawson
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Gordon Terry
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Grady Martin
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Lisa Martin
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Mike Miller
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Terry Smith
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Bill Tolbert
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Herb Hooven
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • J.T. Gray
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Lois Johnson
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Ray Edenton
    Played on recordings with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Alan Munde
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Blaine Sprouse
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Earl Taylor
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Gloria Belle
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Gloria Flickinger
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Howard "Cedric Rainwater" Watts
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Joe Edwards
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Johnny Mathis
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Kenneth Wooten
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Kirk Hansard
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Porky Hutchins
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Ray Edwards
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Robbie Blake
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Ronnie Prevette
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Roy Huskey Jr.
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys
  • Tommy Vaden
    Played on recording with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys

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