Carlton Haney
| Carlton Haney | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Lawrence Carlton Haney September 19, 1928 Rockingham County, North Carolina |
| Died |
(aged 82) Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Booking agent, songwriter, promoter |
| Known for | Instituting first multi-day bluegrass festival |
Lawrence Carlton Haney (September 19, 1928 – March 16, 2011) was an American booking agent, festival promoter, and songwriter primarily active in bluegrass music. Once dubbed “The P.T. Barnum of Country Music” for his large personality, Haney is best known for the organizing first multi-day bluegrass music festival as well as influencing the careers of the Osborne Brothers, Porter Wagoner, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn. He was inducted to the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1998 by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
Haney was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina on September 19, 1928 just as the Bristol Sessions were in full swing. While he was growing up, he didn't like country music at all. In an interview with Fred Bartenstein on August 4, 1971, Haney said he had enjoyed hearing his brother Charles Haney and some friends singing "Rainbow at Midnight" and began to enjoy a few of Ernest Tubb's records, but still disliked country music. He grew up listening to Bill Monroe, but claims to have never understood why people liked to listen to the music. Then he met Clyde Moody, who knew Bill Monroe and introduced the two future partners. Haney was offered a job working for Monroe and took it solely based on monetary reasoning. "I was at Clyde's house, and he [Bill Monroe] come there, in Danville, Virginia. Then I met him and two or three months after that he called me and said he had some show dates canceled and [asked] would I book four or five show dates for him and I did and they turned out real good."
Monroe informed Haney that if he ever wanted to quit his job at a battery plant making automobile batteries, he could go to work for him. Haney worked with Monroe for about a year and a half booking shows and traveling with the band. Haney had another opportunity through Monroe to work at Bean Blossom. He stayed there from June until September 1955. Although Haney still had not developed an appreciation for the music he was promoting, he took pride in the fact that he was associated with Monroe and his contributions to this music, which had grown in popularity. When Haney went back to North Carolina he stumbled upon a band that needed someone to help them book shows. They were called the Farm Hands and included Alan Shelton, Curly Howard and Roy Russell.
...
Wikipedia