On this day, January 6, 1996, bluegrass fiddler Chubby Wise died.
Chubby Wise
Robert Russell "Chubby" Wise (October 2, 1915 – January 6, 1996) was an American bluegrass fiddler.
Wise began playing fiddle at age 15, working locally in the Jacksonville area. He joined the Jubilee Hillbillies in 1938, then began playing with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in 1942, including dates at the Grand Ole Opry. He worked with Monroe through 1948, then played with Clyde Moody in 1948-49. He also played with the York Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, and Connie B. Gay.
In 1954, Wise became a member of Hank Snow's Rainbow Ranch Boys, again appearing at the Grand Ole Opry; he remained with the group until 1970. Alongside this he worked as a session musician with Mac Wiseman and Red Allen, among others. Wise returned to Florida in 1984 and went into semi-retirement, though he continued to tour and record occasionally, such as with the Bass Mountain Boys in 1992.
He joined producers Randall Franks and Alan Autry for the
In the Heat of the Night cast's CD Christmas Time's a Comin' performing "Christmas Time's a Comin'" with the cast on the CD released on Sonlite and MGM/UA for one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers. Franks occasionally joined Wise performing twin fiddle with him on his shows.
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ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL.wmv
Skip Johns
800 subscribers
15,650 views Nov 28, 2010
The incomparable Chubby Wise in concert at the Florida Gateway College on February 10, 1990. Rare footage of Chubby discussing the much disputed origin of one of the bluegrass national anthems. Backed by Skip Johns and the Travelers from Lake City, Florida. Chubby was a fine gentleman and an extraordinary musician. He is greatly missed.
Let's try that again, but just a bit faster. This is kind of goofy at the outset, but it gets going:
14 Year Old Fiddler - The Orange Blossom Special - The Kempters
The Kempters
32.2K subscribers
11,227,233 views Oct 5, 2016
Here is an old throw-back video that never got posted. Chris (with all his twins) battles it out for a place in the band. Song of choice is The Orange Blossom Special. Hope you enjoy! If you would like to purchase this song or look into our other music, please click on the link below!
https://thekempters.com/new-products-1/
Chris Kempter - Fiddle, Chaz Kempter - Guitar
Nathan Kempter - Bass, Danielle Kempter - Keys
JoAnna Kempter - Mandolin
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https://thekempters.net
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About that tune:
Orange Blossom Special (train)
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The train and the song
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Arrival of the
Orange Blossom Special, December 1938 in Plant City, Florida.
It happened during the maiden run of the new streamlined train at the Jacksonville Seaboard Railroad Station that
Ervin T. Rouse and
Robert Russell "Chubby" Wise saw this train. Rouse and Wise wrote the "Orange Blossom Special" song as a fiddle tune. The tune was first recorded by Ervin and his brother Gordon one year later in New York. Bill Monroe recorded Rouse's and Wise's tune in 1942 (with Art Wooten on fiddle) and popularized the tune. Johnny Cash named his 1965 album after the song. The song was also recorded by Bill Ramsey and Don Paulin.
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Fri Jan 6, 2023:
On this day, January 6, 1996, bluegrass fiddler Chubby Wise died.
Mon Jan 7, 2019:
Died, 23 years ago yesterday (January 6): Chubby Wise