The Steel Guitar Forum

One name comes to mind. Dangerous Don Rich. Paraphrasing Tom Brumley,Don was a better fiddle player than a guitar player and he was great at both. His recorded renditions of Orange Blossom Special and Faded Love are the gold standards for those classic fiddle tunes. No one even comes close, in my opinion.

RIP Don.

Amen, Gary! I, too, was going to mention Don Rich, but you just beat me to it! Plus, Don always had that incredible smile whenever he performed!

I heard that two of the best today are Reggie Rueffer, who plays with Charlie Pride, and Steve Story, who plays with Ray Price. I have heard Reggie and he is fabulous.

Has anyone else heard these guys play?

Both of the Hayes brothers, Joe "Big Red" and Kenneth "Little Red". Two of the greatest ever. Jody.

Jason Roberts. If not now soon. Very soon.

Theresa , is Larry kin to you.. I used to see him up here with a band called Spur before he hooked up with The Wheel.. he just knocked everyone out. Some of his solos with the Wheel are still some of the best ever..

Mac Magaha with Reno and Smiley and Porter Wagoner the Wagon Masters.

Apparently all the fiddle players come from the US.
Has anyone noticed a large mass of land North of your Northern border?

Well, I grew up listening to some of the best old time fiddlers ever. Don Messer, Ned Landry, Al Cherney, King Ganam, Graham Townsend, John Arcand, Brian Sklar... all here in Canada.

Ask Redd Volkaert or Buddy Spiker about Alberta's Calvin Volrath.

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

Jody Holley on the Bob Wills band. "Wake up over there, Jody!"

Steve Thomas did some great work on Dino Pastino's album. Both of them worked with Barbra Mandrell. They even did some shows with Taylor Made out of the WVA. Don D.

Just opened a show wednesday night for a great fiddler by the name of Jana Jae! Been playing since she was 2 years old and puts on one heck of a show! Ray

"Best fiddler?" Are y'all kidding? Georgia Slim Rutledge, Bennie Thomasson, Texas Shorty, 500 other guys fron Texas, Mark O'Connor, Stuart Duncan, Aubrey Haynie, Paul Warren, Kenny Baker, Eddie Stubbs, Jason Carter, David Blackmon, Buddy Spicher, Ricky Skaggs, Byron Berline, Chubby Wise, Chubby Anthony, Curley Ray Cline---Stay tuned.

Johnny Gimble, Stuart Duncan, Kenny Baker, Mark O'Conner,
Byron Berline, and Vassar Clements, Hoot Hester


Stephane Grapelli, Joe Venuti, Jean Luc Ponty, Didier Lockwood, Mad Nicky Vaughan.

Jascha Heifetz, Yitzak Perlman.

Haven't seen Kenny Sears mentioned.GREAT player, (besides his wife's reeeeal purty!!!)

Now this is one list I will NEVER have to worry about making!

Talk about 'unique technique' !

This guy fell off the 'fiddlers richter scale' . . .

~Russ

I can't believe I fogot to mention Johnny Gimble. THE western swing fiddle player.

And swing/jazz legends Joe Venuti, Stuff Smith, etc.

As Leslie previously mentioned, we have and have had some great fiddlers up here in Canada. My favorites are Don Messer, Al Cherney and Brian Sklar. South of the border have to be Buddy Spicher and Johnny Gimble. Terry

Ray, Jana is excellent! Is she the gal that played for "Buck"? If so...she can sure play.Does she still do the "Bird" imitations on the fiddle?
Has anyone mentioned the fiddle player in "Branson" by the name of"Shoji Tabuchi"? he is a very good player and does one heck of a "family show".

Karen

vassar....no doubt.

if i could be a fiddler it would be vassar.

gotta love johnny gimble, of course.

scott joss with merle and dwight is my connection to the big time. used to be friends before he got too busy being successful.

did i mention vassar...beautiful free form soul!