Roy Clarke passed away at age 85 today.
Roy was one of those guitar players that many never heard of. Always an entertainer in the days when music was mostly enjoyed live.
He first started playing banjo until a neighbour gave him him a guitar. In the guitar he saw an endless possibility of sounds and was instantly hooked.
He subsequently learn to play violin very well too.

In 1947 (he was 14) and 1948 he won two National Banjo Championships! This lead to some gigs and touring and a 1950 appearance on Gran Ole Opry TV show.
He then toured with various country artists earning $150 per week (approx $1500 these days).
His first break came when he joined the Texas wildcats in 1954 which was featured on TV a few times. He was fired for always being late in 1957.
In 1956 he came second in the TV talent quest show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.
From that it was a long list of bands and TV appearances.
One of his traits is that his performance was always mixed with comedy. As a self described class clown, from early age he knew that making people laugh made him feel good and people enjoyed his performances.
In 1960 he toured and recorded with Wanda Jackson.
In 1962 he started headlining Vegas shows, signed to Capitol Records and released his first album The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark.
His biggest break was the country music show Hee Haw in 1969 which was one of the most popular variety shows at the time.

There’s much more to his musical career and it’s well worth the time to look up his work.
Here’s a starter.

pic source:wikipedia