Vassar Clements
Classic Bluegrass
Vassar Clements was one of the most broadly influential fiddlers of the 20th century — a Bill Monroe veteran who invented what he called “hillbilly jazz,” an improvisational fiddle style that moved fluidly between bluegrass, jazz, country, rock, and Western swing. His work on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1972) and Old and in the Way (1973) made him the most widely heard bluegrass fiddler of his era, and his subsequent solo career brought him into collaboration with nearly every major figure in American roots music.
- Born Vassar Carlton Clements in Kinard, South Carolina. Self-taught on fiddle from age seven. Had virtually no formal music education for his entire career.
- Joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1949 at age 21 — as Monroe's fiddler alongside bassist Jack Thompson, banjoist Rudy Lyle, and guitarist Jimmy Martin. Recorded classic 1949–1950 Decca sessions including “When You Are Lonely” and “The Old Fiddler.”
- Left Monroe in 1952. Struggled with alcoholism through the 1950s and 1960s; worked mostly outside music during that period. Played sporadically with Jim and Jesse, the Earl Scruggs Revue, and Faron Young.
- Got sober in 1967 and returned to full-time music. Played fiddle with Earl Scruggs Revue 1969–1971.
- Appeared on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1972) — a generational landmark triple album bringing Nashville roots musicians (Scruggs, Doc Watson, Mother Maybelle Carter, Roy Acuff, Jimmy Martin) together with California country-rockers. Clements's fiddle was all over the album and won him a generation of new fans.
- Joined Old and in the Way in 1973 with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, and John Kahn. The band's live recordings became one of the most influential bluegrass albums of the 1970s, introducing millions of Grateful Dead fans to bluegrass.
- Extensive solo career on Mercury, Mind Dust Records, Flying Fish, and Acoustic Disc. Landmark solo album Hillbilly Jazz (1975) codified his improvisational fiddle style that moved between genres with no regard for boundaries.
- Recorded and toured with the Grateful Dead, the Monkees, Paul McCartney (on Venus and Mars, 1975), Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, John Hartford, J.D. Crowe, the Bluegrass Album Band (on Volumes 1 and 2), and dozens of others.
- Won the 2005 Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Earl's Breakdown” with Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Jerry Douglas, Glen Duncan, Albert Lee, and Marty Stuart (from The Three Pickers album).
- Published instructional books and videos on fiddle technique. Widely considered the most-recorded American fiddler of his generation, appearing on well over a thousand albums.
- Inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 2005, the year of his death.
- Battled lung cancer for the last year of his life. Continued performing until shortly before his death on August 16, 2005 in Nashville at age 77.
- Termed his style “hillbilly jazz” — a phrase that has stuck as a genre designation for genre-crossing acoustic string music that refuses strict categorization.
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Vassar ClementsPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Doug JerniganPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Butch BaldassariPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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David BrombergPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Ellis PadgettPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Jeff WhitePlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Michael MelfordPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Reggie HarrisPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Ryan HarrisPlayed on recordings with Vassar Clements
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Ricky SkaggsPlayed on recording with Vassar Clements