Johnny Gimble
Johnny Gimble
John Paul Gimble, better known as Johnny Gimble, was an American country musician associated with Western swing. Gimble was considered one of the most important fiddlers in the genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 in the early influences category as a member of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth30 May 1926
CountryUnited States of America
anyway fiddle follow hear hum tunes
When I'd hear something that sounded like I could follow it - most of those big band jazz tunes are blues anyway - I would hum it and play with the fiddle while I was humming.
cents enjoyed fifty good money music people picking playing result work
I was never very good at picking cotton, and then I only made fifty cents or $1 a day. People would work for $1 a day during the Depression. So we would get $2 for playing music and just having fun. I think that as a result of that it was not just the money, but we enjoyed doing it.
ask bit booked cow music people requests somebody whenever
Mostly, whenever I'm booked to do instruction, I just play a little bit and get people to ask questions. We'll play some music for 'em, 'til somebody hollers out, 'Play 'Milk Cow Blues' or 'Play 'San Antonio Rose.' We play requests and demonstrate our music.
afraid fiddle
I still play the fiddle every day. I'm afraid if I don't, it won't know who I am.
audiences bob calling porter produced served work
I tell my audiences today that I served 10 years in Nashville! That's a joke, of course; I was grateful for the work. Bob Ferguson, who produced Connie Smith, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, started calling me in.
grew
I grew up listening to the Light Crust Doughboys on WBAP.
until
I didn't really get crazy about Bob Wills until 1940.
belt cotton dad nights operator seven telegraph until worked
My dad was a telegraph operator for the Cotton Belt Railroad. He worked seven nights a week from 4 until midnight, no vacation.
affected december
I had a stroke in December of '99, and it affected my left side - my fingering side.
bob coming front signing somebody throwing wills yard york
To join Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys was like throwing a baseball around in your front yard and somebody coming over and signing you to play for the New York Yankees.
blossom doctors hole hoped kept left orange pointed side spot
When the doctors showed me an X-ray of my brain, they pointed to a black hole on the upper left side and told me that all memory from that spot was dead. I thought to myself that I hoped that's where I kept 'The Orange Blossom Special.'
showing somebody
It's just a real thrill when you're showing somebody a chord progression or something, and you see that light come on, you know. You see 'em 'get it.'
cliff fiddler hottest package playing
When I was 15, I was working for a radio band in Shreveport. Cliff Bruner, the hottest Texas fiddler of them all, was on the same package shows, playing for Jimmie Davis.
advice asked business chance music starting
When I get asked for advice for a young person starting in the music business, I tell them, 'Play every chance you get, and be real lucky.'