This article is from the Fall/Winter 2014 issue of the National Old Time Fiddler newsletter.
Sound files courtesy of John P. Williams: www.brokenbowfiddleco.com
Sound files courtesy of John P. Williams: www.brokenbowfiddleco.com
In 1953, the small rural town of Weiser, Idaho held a regional fiddle contest that quickly developed into one of the most important fiddle contests in the world – the National Old Time Fiddle Contest. The contest continues to the present time. Every full third week of June, the population of Weiser doubles, as people come from all over the United States and beyond to compete, renew friendships, jam and listen to great music in many genres. The event attracts some of the finest fiddle players in the world as well as thousands of jammers who form communities of old time, bluegrass, swing and jazz musicians. Hundreds of fiddlers compete in multiple divisions each year. The National Old Time Fiddle Contest organization (NOFC) also certifies fiddle contests in twenty nine states to encourage interest and maintain the integrity of fiddling contests nationwide.
The list of famous fiddle players who have competed at Weiser is daunting. Winners with current national prominence in American acoustic music who return almost every year to Weiser include Megan Lynch, Tristan and Tashina Clarridge and Kimber Ludiker. Subsequent articles will cover these musicians, as well as other notable winners from the 1970s to the present. This article focuses on the decades of the 1950s and 1960s. The table below lists Weiser grand champion fiddlers for these decades.
The list of famous fiddle players who have competed at Weiser is daunting. Winners with current national prominence in American acoustic music who return almost every year to Weiser include Megan Lynch, Tristan and Tashina Clarridge and Kimber Ludiker. Subsequent articles will cover these musicians, as well as other notable winners from the 1970s to the present. This article focuses on the decades of the 1950s and 1960s. The table below lists Weiser grand champion fiddlers for these decades.
Kentucky-born old time player Millard “Dad” Roberts won the first contest in 1953. Unfortunately, he drowned early in 1954 in the Clearwater River near his Harpster, Idaho home.
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Logger and cabinet maker Clarence Kemble of Payette, Idaho won the grand prize in 1954.
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The 1955 and 1956 grand championships were won by Weiser-born Jimmy Widner, who had become a fiddling legend in Montana. His band Snake River Outlaws packed them in every weekend at Missoula’s Sunshine Bar. The Oulaw’s live performances were heard on radio in half a dozen western states. Jimmy (left) and popular Fairfield, Idaho fiddler Manny Shaw (right) are shown at left in this photo from the mid 1950s. |
Left handed fiddler Loyd Wanzer of nearby Caldwell, Idaho took the grand title in1957, 1959, 1961, 1963 and 1967.
Loyd Wanzer - Cherry Orchard Waltz (1963)
Missouri-born California musician Big Jim Denoon won in 1958 and 1960. Big Jim was a prominent west coast musician who played with many of the top names in country and western music, ranging from Spade Cooley and Pee Wee King to George Jones and Merle Haggard. Outstanding Oregon fiddler Bill Yohey won in 1962 and Missouri fiddle legends Cleo Persinger and Cyril Stinnett took grand prizes in 1964 and 1966.
Bill Yohey - Fisher's Hornpipe (1965)
Biographies of these wonderful fiddlers are available on the internet and in the book Now That’s a Good Time; Masters of Traditional Missouri Fiddling by Howard Marshal, Vivian Williams and Phil Williams (2008).
Oklahoma superfiddler Herman Johnson won in 1968 and 1969, as well as three times in the 1970s. A recent touching tribute by world class fiddler Mark O’Connor appeared in Deep Roots magazine after Herman’s death in 2014. More information on Herman Johnson will appear in the next NOTF newsletter. The backgrounds of the winners in the late 1950s and 1960s show the dominance of fiddlers with midwest roots in this period at Weiser.
In the 1950s and 1960s, great fiddlers also were competing in categories other than the masters division. Famous Texas fiddler Eck Robertson, who is credited with making the first commercial country music recording in 1922, won the senior division in 1962. Renowned West Virginia fiddler Clark Kessinger took the senior title in 1966. Young Sam Bush, later to become famous as the “Father of Newgrass Music”, won the junior division in 1967, 1968 and 1969.
Oklahoma superfiddler Herman Johnson won in 1968 and 1969, as well as three times in the 1970s. A recent touching tribute by world class fiddler Mark O’Connor appeared in Deep Roots magazine after Herman’s death in 2014. More information on Herman Johnson will appear in the next NOTF newsletter. The backgrounds of the winners in the late 1950s and 1960s show the dominance of fiddlers with midwest roots in this period at Weiser.
In the 1950s and 1960s, great fiddlers also were competing in categories other than the masters division. Famous Texas fiddler Eck Robertson, who is credited with making the first commercial country music recording in 1922, won the senior division in 1962. Renowned West Virginia fiddler Clark Kessinger took the senior title in 1966. Young Sam Bush, later to become famous as the “Father of Newgrass Music”, won the junior division in 1967, 1968 and 1969.
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The photo at right (ca. 1963) shows a typical jam session at Weiser. In those days, accompaniment by piano and banjo was very common. The piano player is Fannie Chandler of Weiser, who was much sought by contestants and joined the Weiser Accompanist Hall of Fame in 2013. The banjo player is Charles Martin of Baker, Oregon, who first started accompanying fiddlers on a pump organ. The name of the young fiddler is unknown.
Hot Foot - Group of Festival Participant featuring Bryon Berline on mandolin (1965)
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