The son of a farmer-poster-preacher in the Baptist Church, where he learned to sing, Roy had to give up professional baseball after suffering severe sunstroke. His father introduced him to the violin and, in 1932, he joined the Doc Howers Medicine Show, a troupe of traveling musicians, before founding his own group, The Crazy Tennessians, which hosted local radio shows. Roy Acuff recorded his first songs in Chicago in 1936, including "The Great Speckled Bird" and "Wabash Cannonball", two immortal hits. In 1938, he made his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, and his musicians took the name Smoky Mountain Boys. In 1942, in association with the famous producer Fred Rose, he founded the Rose-Acuff music publishing house and scored another hit, "Wreck On The Highway", followed by "Night Train to Memphis", later covered by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ricky Nelson. He racked up the hits, from "Freight Train Blues" to "Lomesone Old River Blues". In 1974, he was the first artist to perform at the new Grand Ole Opry and scored two more hits, "Back In The Country" and "Old Time Sunshine Song", thirty years after his first chart entry. A true American institution, he was almost elected governor of Tennessee in 1974. A defender of traditional values, Roy Acuff - nicknamed "the king of country music" or "the smoky mountain boy" - drew his inspiration from Appalachian music, combined with gospel-tinged vocals and a high-pitched timbre. An outstanding instrumentalist, he adds a romantic, sometimes plaintive sound that remains a benchmark.
M. E.
