Homer Sherrill

Homer Lee "Pappy" Sherrill (born March 23, 1915 in Sherrill's Ford , North Carolina , † November 30, 2001 in Columbia , South Carolina ) was an American old-time musician . Sherrill played with the Blue Sky Boys and Snuffy Jenkins, among others .

Life

Childhood and youth

Sherrill was the son of a farmer. At the age of seven he got his first fiddle , an instrument from the catalogs of the department store chain Sears & Roebuck . Sherill recalls: “ I used to fiddle for my daddy to help him sell watermelons. By noon all ours would be sold and we'd leave the other farmers standing out in the hot sun. “He made his first radio appearance at the age of 13 at WSOC in Gastonia , North Carolina.

Career

His professional career began in 1934 when he was a regular part of WBT's Crazy Barn Dance with his band, the Crazy Blue Ridge Hillbillies . Shortly thereafter, he joined the Blue Sky Boys (Bill and Earl Bolick) in Asheville , North Carolina, where he performed with the two brothers on WWNC.

Sherrill's next engagement was in Atlanta , Georgia , where he appeared on WGST's program. In Atlanta, Sherrill also met his wife, Doris Lyle. Over the next several years, Sherrill traveled from radio station to radio station. He was one of the first artists who could finance their living just through radio appearances. With his new band, the Smilin 'Rangers , he moved first to WPTF ( Raleigh ) and then to WBTM ( Danville ).

In 1939 Sherrill moved with his family to Columbus , South Carolina , where he first played in Parker's band, the Hillbillies , with announcer Byron Parker and banjo player Snuffy Jenkins . After Parker's sudden death, Sherrill and Jenkins joined forces with other musicians to form the WIS Hired Hands . With Jenkins, Sherrill entered into one of the longest musical connections in country music , which was to last over half a century. Sherrill and the Hired Hands quickly built a strong base in South Carolina through their appearances at WIS and became South Carolina's premier bluegrass band.

Between 1954 and 1958, the Hired Hands had their TV show Carolina in the Morning and played some recordings for RCA Victor and various albums for Folkways Records . In the 1970s, Sherrill was the subject of several articles in the trade press and played with the Hired Hands at the 1982 World's Fair . Over the course of his career, Sherrill has received numerous awards in recognition of his achievements in traditional country music, including the South Carolina Folk Heritage Award and induction into the South Carolina Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame . Homer Sherrill died in 2001.

Web links

• biography