Gary Johnston, Missouri Master Fiddler, Dies at 83

By Howard Marshall

Gary Johnston fiddles while Lloyd LaPlant play backup on guitar at a fiddler's convention.

Gary Johnston fiddles a few tunes with Lloyd LaPlant of Great Falls, Minnesota, March 2016. (Photo by Howard Marshall)

Gary Johnston, the champion old-time fiddler from Nevada, Missouri, died December 19, 2020. He was born in 1937 near Lamar (Barton County) and part of a large clan of musicians. Two of his older brothers were also fiddlers, Don and Dean. All “the Johnston boys” were versatile players with deep repertoires who enjoyed various styles of music. (Dean Johnston is featured in the University of Missouri documentary Now That’s A Good Tune and other projects and publications.) Continue reading →

Warren Helton, an Elder of the Missouri Fiddle Community, Dies at 83

by Howard Marshall, also appearing in Fiddler Magazine

Warren Helton standing in front of his house.

Helton, October 2010. (Photo by Howard Marshall)

Warren Helton, a strong advocate who kept an unusually-rich storehouse of family fiddle traditions alive, and who embraced western swing as a young man, died in Vienna, Missouri, August 28, 2020. He had been in fragile health following a stroke in recent years, and suffered from advancing Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading →

Carol Beaty Hascall, Fiddler and Luthier, Died November 23, 2019

Portrait of Carol HascallOne of the Midwest’s finest fiddlers, Carol Hascall, has passed away. She was born Elizabeth Carolyn Hascall in February 1936 on the family farm in the Humansville community of Polk County in the upper Missouri Ozarks.

Most devotees of fiddle music and history know of Carol’s rich family history of fiddle and dance music. In childhood, Carol played guitar in the popular dance band organized by her father, fiddler Andy Beaty. Her father strongly discouraged her from playing the fiddle, but fiddling was Carol’s passion and she prevailed in her desire and became a successful contest competitor and recording artist, performing in a variety of country and bluegrass bands.

Hascall was included in the University of Missouri’s Grammy Finalist documentary recording project, Now That’s a Good Tune: Masters of Missouri Fiddling. The 1989 project was been reissued on CD by Voyager Records in 2008, available at www.voyagerrecordsandbooks.com.

Roger Williams, Missouri Bluegrass Fiddler, Dies at 84

Roger Williams plays fiddle in his living room with guitar backup played by Ed McKinney

Roger Williams plays some tunes on the violin his uncle Clyde Briggs, a soldier in World War Two, brought home from Germany after the war in 1945; Roger acquired the bow while in the Army in 1960. With guitarist Ed McKinney, West Plains, 2013. (Photo by Howard Marshall)

Roger A. Williams, one of the Midwest’s foremost bluegrass fiddlers, died in West Plains, Missouri, December 15, 2019. He was 84. Williams was born in 1935 on the family farm between Cureall and Pottersville in the gently rolling landscape of Howell County in southern Missouri. Roger descended from Scottish, English, Irish, and Cherokee Indian people, and there are many musicians in the clan. Continue reading →

Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp, 2019

Master fiddler Vesta Johnson with students.

Vesta Johnson shows some young fiddlers how to play a dance tune.

The annual youth fiddle camp hosted in Bethel, Missouri, will be held June 9-14 this summer. It’s a great opportunity for young fiddlers to spend the week working with master musicians every day and meeting other young musicians who love to play as much as they do. Read more about the event or register to attend.

Bethel Adult Fiddle Camp, 2019

This event has been postponed and more information will be shared when it has been rescheduled or canceled.

Adults play fiddle tunes together at Bethel adult fiddle camp.This year’s adult Missouri fiddle camp will be taking place in the spring. Come join fellow learners at the Bethel German Colony in Bethel, Missouri for a long weekend of instruction and jamming May 15-18. Read more about the event or register to attend.

Master Missouri fiddlers Charlie Walden, Angie Lennie, and Mickey Soltys will be teaching workshops all weekend. They represent a broad variety of Missouri styles and a deep trove of traditional tunes and lore.

Come play till your fingers bleed and learn tunes till your brain leaks out your ears! Your friends and family might not understand, but you’ll meet new friends who do at Bethel!

Memorial Scheduled for Missouri Fiddler John White

John White, holding his fiddle, sits in front of an upright piano smiling.We are very sorry to report that Missouri fiddler John White, of Hallsville, passed away this past weekend. He was 81, and had just returned from teaching as a master fiddler at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington in July. John, never one to sit still for long, had also just finished recording a new CD, now available from Missouri Valley Music, and teaching at Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp, a week-long camp for young people to learn traditional Missouri fiddle.

John will be sorely missed by his family, his musical compatriots, the many young and young-at-heart musicians who learned from him, and of course, his community dance in Hallsville. The Hallsville dance was a labor of love for John for over 15 years (during which he missed only two dances!), and we will continue dancing on the second Saturday of each month at the Hallsville Community Center.

There will be an Open House in John’s honor at Bach-Yager Funeral Home in Columbia, MO on Friday, August 18 from 5-7 pm.

There will be a Celebration of Life and Jam Session, also at Bach-Yager Funeral Home in Columbia, MO, on Saturday, August 19 from 2-5 pm.

“Fiddler’s Dream” Book-Signing in St. Louis

Cover art for "Fiddler's Dream"On Friday evening, July 7, at 7 pm, author (and musician!) Howard Marshall will sign copies of his new book (with companion CD), “Fiddler’s Dream” (University of Missouri Press) at The Book House in St. Louis.
“Fiddler’s Dream” is the sequel to Marshall’s “Play Me Something Quick and Devilish” (2012). It continues the saga of traditional fiddle and dance music, focusing on the period from the 1920s to the 1960s, and such topics as radio fiddlers, early fiddlers contests, oprys, swing, early Missouri bluegrass, and old-time fiddling.
The 540-page book incorporates oral history and archival research, numerous photograph, and 24 transcriptions of fiddle tunes.  The book comes with a CD with 30 recordings from 1939 to 2015.  Marshall is Professor Emeritus of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Missouri (Columbia) and former director of the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center (and yes, he plays a bit of fiddle, himself).
The event will include live music by some of St. Louis’s finest musicians — Geoff Seitz (violin), Dave Landreth (banjo), and Jim Nelson (guitar).
​The Book House is located at 7352 Manchester Road (in Maplewood), tel. (314) 968-4491, www.bookhousestl.com.  ​

New Book: Fiddler’s Dream

Cover art for "Fiddler's Dream"Another fine book on Missouri fiddling, “Fiddler’s Dream: Old-Time, Swing, and Bluegrass Fiddling in Twentieth-Century Missouri,” has been written by Dr. Howard Marshall and will be published by the University of Missouri Press (Columbia, MO) on June 30, 2017. This is the project that picks up where the 2012 book & CD, “Play Me Something Quick and Devilish,” left off. So, the time span for “Fiddler’s Dream” is from the 1920s to the early 1960s, and it includes chapters on early fiddlers contests, swing, early bluegrass, and more.

The book includes a CD produced by Voyager Records (Seattle, WA) including 30 tunes, ranging from a 1939 radio broadcast featuring Lonnie Robertson to a 2015 home recording of Cecil Goforth. Other fiddlers represented on the CD (many more are discussed in the book) are Howe Teague, Roy Wooliver, Bert Lewis, Billy Moore, Don Russell, Leroy Canaday, Larry Ellis, Luther Caldwell, Emmett Heath, Zed Tennis, Bobby Joe Caldwell, Dale Pauley, Jamie Haage, Lyman Enloe, Delbert Spray, Warren Helton, Roger Williams, John Williams, and Pete McMahan. There are also tunes from Missouri fiddlers who migrated to the West — Ishmael (Ozark Red) Loveall, Earl Willis, Ellis Cowan, Ron Hughey, and Bob Fast.

Book Release Events

  • Friday, June 2, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, Jefferson City, Downtown Book & Toy​ on High Street (​book signing​ only​​).
  • Thursday, July 13, 2107, 7 pm, Jefferson City, Missouri Valley Regional Library, Art Gallery, program with live fiddle music, with book signing after.
  • Saturday, September 23, mid-day, Gainesville, program with live music at The Historium museum, during Hootin an’ Hollerin Festival. (Featuring fiddler H. K. Silvey)
  • Saturday, November 18, 9:30 am, Columbia, book talk with live music at Boone County Historical Society museum, Nifong Park.
  • Saturday, December 2, 9:30 am, Columbia, Osher Institute, Book Talk with live music. (Featuring fiddler Dale Pauley)
  • Monday, December 11, 7 pm, Columbia, Daniel Boone Regional Library.

You can pick up your copy locally at Downtown Book & Toy in Jefferson City, or order it online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or directly from the University of Missouri Press.

Congratulations are due to Howard on a job well done!

Upcoming Events

Hallsville Jam Session – February 2025

Saturday, February 8, 2025 • 4-9 p.m.

Hallsville Jam Session – March 2025

Saturday, March 8, 2025 • 4-9 p.m.

Hallsville Jam Session – April 2025

Saturday, April 12, 2025 • 4-9 p.m.

Hallsville Jam Session – May 2025

Saturday, May 10, 2025 • 4-9 p.m.

Hallsville Jam Session – June 2025

Saturday, June 14, 2025 • 4-9 p.m.

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