Willie Brewster
Musician · b. 1925 · Knoxville, Tennessee
Willie Brewster was a Tennessee fiddler who, with brother Bud, formed half of the Brewster Brothers — a 27-year run on Knoxville's Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour and ten years on the road with Carl Story's Rambling Mountaineers, contributing to over 300 of Story's Mercury and Starday sides including 1957's classic "Mocking Banjo."
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- Full name William G. ("Willie G.") Brewster; older half of the Knoxville-based Brewster Brothers duo with younger brother Bud.
- Died October 25, 2007 in Knoxville, Tennessee at age 82 (implying birth year ~1925); married to Mary Brewster for 63 years.
- Played fiddle and mandolin (also guitar); learned guitar from his sister Betty.
- Began the Brewster Brothers professional career in 1940 with brother Ray Brewster as an early sponsor of Knoxville radio station WROL.
- Hosted/played the Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour Show (radio and TV) for 27 years (roughly 1954–1972).
- Toured for about ten years with Carl Story & His Rambling Mountaineers in the 1950s–60s; the brothers played on more than 300 sides Story cut for Mercury and Starday, including 1957's classic "Mocking Banjo."
- Inducted in 2001 alongside brother Bud as part of the IBMA / Bluegrass Hall of Honor "First Generation Bluegrass" class and recognized by the Knoxville Historical Society.
- Father of bluegrass tenor singer Paul Brewster (Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder).
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Carl Story and His Rambling MountaineersPlayed on recordings with Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers