Uncle Pen Vandiver

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Pendleton "Uncle Pen" Vandiver (* 1869 in Butler County , Kentucky ; † June 1932 ) was an American old-time musician . Vandiver is primarily credited with having heavily influenced Bill Monroe , the "father of bluegrass".

Life

Not much is known about Vandiver's early life. He was born in Kentucky in 1869, one of ten children. His youngest sister was Melissa, who would later marry Buck Monroe and, in addition to Bill Monroe, also give birth to Charlie Monroe and Birch Monroe . Vandiver married Anna Belle Johnson, with whom he had a son Cecil and a daughter. During those years, Vandiver made his living as a farmer. After Vandiver's family died, he moved to the neighborhood with his sister and her husband Buck, who owned a farm in Raisin , Kentucky. Vandiver's little hut was on a hill that rose outside the village.

It was especially in the small Ohio Counties that Vandiver became well known as an old-time fiddler. He performed on Barn Dances and Square Dances , where he was often accompanied by the young Bill Monroe on mandolin and guitar . Vandiver was the first fiddler Monroe ever heard in his life and had a correspondingly great influence on him. Monroe himself wrote in 1972 about his album Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen , which honored his uncle, about Vandiver: “He was one of Kentucky's finest old-time fiddlers. And he had the best shuffle with the bow I'd ever seen. "

After the death of his sister and brother-in-law, Vandiver took his nephews and nieces in for some time, although he was physically disabled in his final years. A donkey had thrown it from its back after the donkey was frightened of an approaching train.

Pendleton Vandiver died in 1932 at the age of 63. Bill Monroe was in Chicago at the time , working for an oil refinery there. In honor of Vandiver, Monroe wrote the song Uncle Pen , the chorus of which is as follows:

"Late in the evenin 'about sundown
High on the hill and above the town
Uncle Pen played the fiddle
Lord, how it'd ring
You could hear it talk
You could hear it sing"

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bill C. Malone: Country Music, USA (2002); University of Texas Press, ISBN 0292752628 .
  2. ^ Charles K. Wolfe: The Music of Bill Monroe , p. 85; University of Illinois Press, ISBN 0252031210 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Vandiver, Uncle Pen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vandiver, Pendleton (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fiddler
DATE OF BIRTH 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Butler County , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH June 1932