Bobby Thompson
Musician · 1937–2005
Best known for
Banjo
Bobby Thompson was an American banjo player, widely credited as one of the developers of the melodic, or chromatic, style of bluegrass banjo. He went on to a prolific career as a Nashville session musician.
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- Born in 1937 in Converse, South Carolina.
- Played banjo with Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys in the late 1950s, recording sides such as “Border Ride” for Starday Records.
- Is credited, along with Bill Keith, with pioneering the melodic style of banjo playing, in which scale passages are spread note-for-note across the strings.
- Became a busy Nashville studio musician, recording with artists across country and popular music.
- Was a member of the house band on the television show “Hee Haw.”
- Died in 2005.
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Jim & JessePlayed on recordings with Jim & Jesse
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Appalachian ExpressPlayed on recordings with Appalachian Express
