Benny Thomasson

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Benny Thomasson (born April 22, 1909 in Winters / Texas , † 1983 ) was an American fiddle player .

Thomasson grew up as one of ten children in a family of musicians. Both his father Luke Thomasson and his uncle Ed Thomasson were well known fiddlers. Benny Thomasson started playing fiddle at the age of three. He began taking part in fiddle competitions at the age of fourteen and won his first competition at the age of nineteen. He later won the Texas State Championship fifteen times . In 1955 and 1957 he was a winner at the World's Fiddlers 'Festival in Crockett, Texas, and in 1974 he won the Open and Senior Awards at the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest in Weiser, Idaho.

His first recordings with his brother Jim were lost at the production company, but from the 1960s onwards he played several albums with the County label , and later with Weiser and Voyager . He was formative for the "Texas Style" of the American fiddle game.

After Thomasson had spent most of his life in the Dallas / Fort Worth area as a coachbuilder, he retired with his wife Bea in Washington State in the early 1970s. There he became a teacher and sponsor of the young Mark O'Connor . In 2013 he was inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame .

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personal data
SURNAME Thomasson, Benny
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fiddle player
DATE OF BIRTH April 22, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Winters (Texas)
DATE OF DEATH 1983