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Don Parmley

Musician · 1933–2016 · Wayne County, Kentucky
Best known for Banjo

Don Parmley was a Kentucky-born banjoist whose path ran from on-screen banjo work for "The Beverly Hillbillies" through The Hillmen with Vern Gosdin and Chris Hillman to founding the Bluegrass Cardinals in 1974 with his teenage son David — a 2025 IBMA Hall of Fame inductee with the band.

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  • Born October 19, 1933 in Wayne County, Kentucky; moved to Southern California as a child.
  • Started on clawhammer/drop-thumb banjo with his grandfather but switched to three-finger Scruggs style after hearing Earl Scruggs on the Grand Ole Opry.
  • Was a member of The Hillmen alongside Vern Gosdin and Chris Hillman.
  • Provided nearly all of the on-screen banjo work for the TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies" (except the intro theme).
  • Founded the Bluegrass Cardinals in 1974 in Los Angeles with Randy Graham and his then 15-year-old son David Parmley.
  • Relocated the Cardinals from Southern California to Virginia in 1976; cut self-titled debut album that year and "Welcome to Virginia" in 1977.
  • The Cardinals were a launching pad for Larry Stephenson, Mike Hartgrove, Don Rigsby, Norman Wright, Bill Bryson, and others.
  • Retired from the Bluegrass Cardinals in 1997; died June 30, 2016. Bluegrass Cardinals inducted into IBMA Hall of Fame in 2025.

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