Donna Stoneman
Musician · Carmody Hills, Maryland
Best known for
Mandolin
Donna Stoneman is a Virginia-born mandolinist nicknamed the "First Lady of the Mandolin" — the first woman to play bluegrass mandolin on a commercial recording (1957), an Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts winner with the Blue Grass Champs, and a Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee with the Stoneman Family.
- Born Donna LaVerne Stoneman, February 7, 1934 in Alexandria, Virginia; 11th surviving child of Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman and Hattie Frost Stoneman; raised in Carmody Hills, Maryland.
- Known as the "First Lady of the Mandolin"; first woman to play bluegrass mandolin on a commercial recording (1957, Blue Grass Champs, Bakersfield label).
- Co-founded the Blue Grass Champs in the 1950s with brothers Scotty and Jimmy; the group won the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts program in 1956 with "Salty Dog Blues."
- Nicknamed "Little Dancin' Donna" for her habit of dancing while playing mandolin onstage.
- Featured on Rose Maddox's 1962 Capitol bluegrass album.
- Appeared on national TV including the Steve Allen Show and a Meredith Willson Special in the mid-1960s.
- Took a long hiatus around 1971 for religious ministry; ordained November 1982, formed gospel duo with Cathy Manzer.
- Plays a Gibson F-5 mandolin (her favorite since age 18); inducted with the family into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.