Grandpa Jones

Grandpa Jones
Jones WSM publicity photo
Background information
Birth name	Louis Marshall Jones
Also known as	Grandpa Jones
Born	(1913-10-20)October 20, 1913 Niagara, Kentucky, United States
Origin	Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Died	February 19, 1998(1998-02-19) (aged 84) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	country, bluegrass, gospel, old-time
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	banjo, acoustic guitar
Years active	1932–1998
Labels	RCA Victor, King Records, Monument.
Associated acts	Hee Haw, Minnie Pearl, David "Stringbean" Akeman, Bradley Kincaid

Louis Marshall Jones (October 20, 1913 – February 19, 1998), known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Born in the small farming community of Niagara in Henderson County, Kentucky, Jones spent his teenage years in Akron, Ohio, where he began singing country music tunes on a radio show on WJW. His father was a fiddle player, and his mother was a ballad singer. In 1931, Jones joined the Pine Ridge String Band, which provided the musical accompaniment for the very popular Lum and Abner show. By 1935 his pursuit of a musical career took him to WBZ (AM) radio in Boston, Massachusetts, where he met musician/songwriter Bradley Kincaid, who gave him the nickname "Grandpa" because of his off-stage grumpiness at early-morning radio shows. Jones liked the name and decided to create a stage persona based around it. Later in life, he lived in Mountain View, Arkansas.

Performing as Grandpa Jones, he played the guitar or banjo, yodeled, and sang mostly old-time ballads. By 1937, Jones had made his way to West Virginia, where Cousin Emmy taught Jones the art of the clawhammer style of banjo playing, which gave a rough backwoods flavor to his performances. In 1942, Jones joined WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was there that he met fellow Kentuckian Merle Travis. In 1943, they made their recording debuts together for Syd Nathan's upstart King Records. Jones was making records under his own name for King by 1944 and had his first hit with "It's Raining Here This Morning".