Ray Goins
Musician · 1936–2007 · Bramwell, West Virginia
Best known for
Banjo
Ray Goins was a West Virginia-born banjoist who joined the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers at sixteen, co-founded the Goins Brothers with brother Melvin, and recorded a deep traditional-Stanley-influenced catalog over four decades — an inductee (with Melvin) into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
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- Born Ray Elwood Goins, January 3, 1936 in Bramwell, West Virginia; one of ten Goins siblings, most of whom played old-time or country music.
- Auditioned for and joined the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers as banjo player in 1952 at age sixteen; present for the band's first two RCA Victor sessions.
- Co-founded the Goins Brothers with older brother Melvin, performing together for decades in a traditional Stanley-influenced bluegrass style.
- Also performed and recorded with Hylo Brown & the Timberliners and with Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys.
- Began singing publicly at age sixteen; provided harmony vocals throughout his Goins Brothers career.
- Suffered a heart attack in 1994; semi-retired from full-time touring in 1997 but continued occasional appearances with "Melvin & Windy Mountain."
- Inducted (with Melvin) into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2011 and the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
- Died July 2, 2007.
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The Lonesome Pine FiddlersPlayed on recordings with The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
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Curley LambertPlayed on recording with Curley Lambert
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Hylo Brown and the Lonesome Pine FiddlersPlayed on recording with Hylo Brown and the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
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The Goins BrothersPlayed on recording with The Goins Brothers
