Wade Eckhart Mainer, born April 21, 1907, near Weaverville, North Carolina, was an American country singer and banjoist. He was raised in a log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains and credited his father as an early musical influence. His career began in 1934 with his brother J.E.'s band, J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers. In 1936, he formed the Sons of the Mountaineers. From 1935 through 1941, he recorded over 165 songs for RCA Victor, including the 1939 hit "Sparkling Blue Eyes". The band was invited to the White House by Eleanor Roosevelt and Alan Lomax in 1941. Mainer innovated a two-finger banjo fingerpicking style, which was a precursor to modern three-finger bluegrass styles. After leaving the music industry in 1953 due to a renewed commitment to Christianity, he eventually returned to release religiously themed banjo albums starting in 1961 and continued releasing albums until 1993, with his final studio albums like Old Time Gospel Favorites and Carolina Mule released that year. He passed away on September 12, 2011.
