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Ralph
Blizard,
the great Blountville,
Tennessee old-time
fiddler, died
on December
4, 2004, one
day short of
his 86th birthday.
Like many musicians
of his generation,
he had two
musical careers,
one before
he married,
and another
after he retired.
He began playing
at the age
of seven, learning
from his fiddling
dad, who started
the boy out
on a sturdy
old mandolin.
That changed
quickly, since
it became obvious
that Ralph
was very talented
and mature
enough to handle
a fiddle. Among
Ralph’s
early influences
were some legendary
fiddlers from
the Tennessee-Virginia-North
Carolina border
region such
as Charlie
Bowman, John
Dykes, and
Dudley Vance.
By age 14 he
was playing
on Bristol’s
WOPI; starting
in 1938 he
played on WJHL
in Johnson
City, Tennessee
with his band,
the Southern
Ramblers. The
band performed
on the air
from 1938 through
1942, switching
to WKTP in
Kingsport in
1940. In 1942
Ralph joined
the military.
After the war
he returned
to WKTP’s “Saturday
Night Hayride,” and
in the early ’50s
marriage and
family led
him to a career
with Eastman
Kodak. |
After retiring in 1980, Ralph returned to his fiddle, but always
said he had to basically relearn the instrument after so many
years away from it. Relearn it he did, and when he met up with
some of the Green Grass Cloggers in 1982, he was playing in
his inimitable, highly improvised “long bow” style.
The younger musicians, with whom he formed the New Southern
Ramblers, loved to say that Ralph “never played the same
thing once.” In various incarnations, the New Southern
Ramblers—which included Phil Jamison, Gordy Hinners, John
Lilly, and John Herrmann—became a fixture in the old-time
scene, producing great music at festivals and fiddlers conventions.
In his later years, Ralph remained very active and received
a number of special awards. Winters in Florida brought him and
his wife Mildred into the musical community there, and in 1984
Ralph was Guest of Honor at the Florida Old-Time Music Championship.
Always fond of encouraging music with others, he started an
ongoing jam session at the Anderson Townhouse in Blountville,
Tennessee. In 2001 he was inducted into the North American Fiddler’s
Hall Of Fame; in 2002, he received the National Endowment for
the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award; and in 2003 he
garnered the Tennessee Governor’s Award in the Arts. Through
it all, Ralph Blizard remained a modest man, always open to
jamming with any and all comers. His favorite motto was, “It’s
all acoustic music.”
-Bill Hicks, with thanks to Phil Jamison, Jim Strickland, Doug
Orr, and John Herrmann.
Below is a link to National Public Radio five minute radio
spot, “Remembering Fiddler Ralph Blizard,” concerning
Ralph’s death in early December 2004. The sound clip is
quite good and deals with his unique long-bow fiddle style,
and includes one of his songs. I am so happy to see this fine
gentleman get the national recognition he so richly deserves.
Click on the link below and on the “listen” button
to play the program. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4225339
-Bob Cox
Columbia, SC
A fine new heavenly old time string band
Ralph Blizard really amazed me the first time I saw him,
with his speed and the unique way that he played the fiddle. He is described
as a “long bow” fiddler, which is true enough, but that hardly
gives any indication at all of what Ralph was up to. His early teachers included
the great Charlie Bowman (and Ralph was, indeed, a bow-man), but then Ralph,
like many in his generation, gave up music for work life and family, only taking
the fiddle back up when he retired and finding, at that point, the true style
he was meant to play. Like he said, “It’s all acoustic music.” With
that philosophy it’s not surprising that he embraced the Green Grass
Cloggers, and vice versa, and played in a band with younger musicians. Enoch
Rutherford might or might not have played with Ralph Blizard. He did
attend a few festivals where Ralph was also in attendance. Like Ralph, Enoch
possessed a circle of devoted younger musicians. It isn’t hard to believe
that Ralph and Enoch are getting tuned up tonight. Enoch played fast enough
to keep up with Ralph. Ralph was influenced a lot by Fiddlin’ Arthur
Smith, and believed that you didn't play it the same way twice. But he and
Enoch would know a lot of the same tunes, and if Enoch got tired of the endless
variations, why he’d just stop in the middle. One thing for sure, these
two wonderful old boys are going to wake up the Baptists Over Yonder.
-Bill Hicks,
Silk Hope, NC December 2004
