skip's blog

vid: my favorite fiddle player

This is Benny Martin, whose extroverted fiddle breaks on the Flatt & Scruggs classic "I'll Go Steppin' Too" is the epitome of in-your-face bluegrass fiddle, and set the bluegrass world on fire in the fifties. When he took off in his own shortly after tearing the roof off F&S, he had a string of singles that -- while mostly very good -- featured Benny Thomassen on fiddle (Benny played some nice guitar on 'em, though). "Ice Cold Love" is the best of these.

This is one of those Opry Stars film things they made for drive-in movies, and they're not lip-synching. This is the Benny Martin that set John Hartford's imagination on fire. Humble yourself.

posted by skip heller @ 8:14 PM