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Thread: Jimmy Martin Funeral

  1. #1

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    if anyone went, i wanted to hear about the services, who went, who spoke, etc......... we'll miss you Jimmy Martin.

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    I second THAT!! Please - Any "first-person" reports..., news quotes... even "second-hand" reports. I suggest a listing of those in attendence would read like a WHO'S WHO in BLUEGRASS(and, perhaps other genres!?). May God Bless the KING on his final "tour". Go Rest High on the Mountain, Jimmy.

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    I went to the viewing Tuesday night as well as the funeral Wednesday morning. Both were very moving for me.

    Marty Rabon sang "When The Savior Reached Down For Me" and "Beulah Land". Tom T. Hall read a poem that a fan had written and sent to Jimmy about a year ago. Buddy Lee Martin spoke very eloquently about his dad. Members of past and present Sunny Mountain Boys sang "Prayer Bells", "Who'll sing For Me", "Goodbye", and "Shake Hands with Mother Again". Timmy Martin sang "Lord, I'm Coming Home" and the Cherryholmes family sang an acapella gospel tune. As one might expect, there were several Bluegrass and Country music luminaries as well as a slew of ex-Sunny Mountain Boys.

    It was a moving tribute and celebration to Jimmy. He was definately one of a kind.....

    I miss him already....

    Best to all

    Jim Rollins

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    Second hand info,I talked to Kenny Ingram thursday,and he played there.
    Rod in Kansas

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    Registered User JimRichter's Avatar
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    Friend of mine, Brian Lappin (played banjo in the Sunny Mtn. Boys for awhile in the 70's), here in Bloomington attended Wednesday's funeral. He said it was a very nice recognition for Jimmy and mentioned Kenny Ingram playing.

    Jim

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    THANK YOU - ALL!! - The King is gone - he left us some wonderful music...., and memories! Perhaps - somewhere - Bill and Jimmy are again re-creating "the High Lonesome Sound" -

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    I spent some time with Brian and Kenny as well. As would be expected, there were lots of Sunny Mountain Boys in attendence.

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    flatthead or others: not to "bug" ya' - but, did Paul Williams, and/or JD attend? - Funerals don't usually "affect" me..., but this one would... and did. - I tried to find more info from the G'nashville papers.. - nothing!!# - Thanks again. Moose.




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    Formerly F5JOURNL Darryl Wolfe's Avatar
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    Here is a complete essay on the subject. I just received this second hand from Dad, and hope the author does not mind me posting it here.


    Jimmy Martin was laid to rest on Wednesday May 18, 2005. He was 77.

    I am going to try to give a description of my experience of his viewing and funeral services. This is not an easy thing to do, and not just from an emotional standpoint, but overall. It will be impossible to include all of the information. A lot of different moments were experienced by my wife Barbara and I during the two days we were there. So I guess I'll just relate the moments that meant the most to us and some I feel the reader will enjoy.

    We arrived in Nashville for the viewing Tuesday night from 5-8pm at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church. The viewing and the funeral were held at two of the largest churches in the Nashville area. Their size was definitely needed for both events.

    Tuesday night and Wednesday at the funeral, the many friends and family members, fans, musicians, music industry professionals, and his neighbors, all showed up to pay their last respects to Jimmy Martin.

    Tuesday night at the viewing, the casket was front and center, as he always liked to be. The flower arrangements were lined up on both ends of the casket. To the left next to him was the famous 1946 Martin D-28 Herringbone on a stand and to the right was the Gibson Advanced Jumbo Guitar on another stand. Both with his name in the fingerboard. Jimmy's gospel songs were played through the church ceiling speakers throughout the night and also a slide show of Jimmy's pictures were shown on a double screen in the sanctuary. We arrived there early and immediately I shook hands with and hugged my friend, Paul Williams. He was his usual smiling-happy self. He was there with Jimmy's brother and sisters in the hallway. Paul always has a story to tell to make you laugh and I always kid him about doing the speaking parts on "Moonshine Hollow". "Say son.....". That was Paul. He still loves to do those voices. Nice gentleman. Shortly after we were inside, Louise and Earl Scruggs came down the center aisle of the church. They made their way down to the front and that's where they stayed the whole 4 hours. To say the least, I felt very fortunate to stand up front there and talk to Earl and J.D. Crowe for a very long time. After about an hour up front, Earl looked at J.D. and me and said, "Boys, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I've got to sit down a little while". I told him I understood completely and J.D. said, "Man, go ahead and have a seat".

    All during this time, the folks were filing through and it became very crowded up front. It really wasn't a very somber mood at all. All of the musicians were up front talking about old times and it was somewhat like a reunion. Everyone had a Jimmy Martin memory to share and it was great to see and hear those stories. Del McCoury, Bill Yates, Doyle Lawson, J.D. Crowe, Paul Williams, Marty Stuart, Connie Smith, Charlie Collins, along with Louise and Earl, stayed the whole time. When Earl finally sat down between Louise and Marty, Marty leaned over to Earl's ear and asked, "Can I have your autograph?" I do believe Jimmy would have liked all of this. If it was possible, he would have been right in the middle of it all. I guess he was.

    Rhonda Vincent also came to the viewing and talked to us about her just moving across the woods behind Jimmy in Hermitage. She told us she had been looking forward to being Jimmy's neighbor.

    Jimmie Fadden came down front and immediately apologized to several of us on behalf of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for all of them not being able to be there. They had to be in LasVegas for the Awards Show and he was designated to stay in Nashville and represent them for Jimmy. After I talked to Jimmie Fadden someone pointed out the flowers the Dirt Band sent. I don't usually look at the cards on the flowers, but something told me to read the card on their arrangement. It had this message: "Go rest high on the 'Sunny Side of The Mountain'".

    At the end of the night after everyone had left, and as usual, I helped Jimmy's son Ray case up both guitars and I carried them to his van. My last time to do that. The show was over and the other show had already started.

    As we were leaving the church the "other show" was Eddie Stubbs on 650 WSM. From 9pm-12midnight, Eddie paid tribute to Jimmy. A three hour tribute with several call-in guests. Paul Williams, J.D. Crowe, Sonny Osborne, Vic Gabany and more, shared their special tributes to Jimmy. Fine WSM tribute by Eddie Stubbs.

    In my mind I have been debating if I should include the names of the many music professionals I saw in attendance on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I have decided to do so. If any of them really don't like their name being mentioned, they really weren't there for Jimmy anyway. I know he would have really appreciated the number of music people who showed up. There's no way my listing could be complete, because I wasn't there for the Monday night viewing, and there were so many people in attendance. I'm sure I missed many. Here's the ones I saw in no particular order:
    Earl Scruggs, Louise Scruggs, Jim Lauderdale, Shawn Camp, Jimmie Fadden, Terry Eldredge, Jamie Johnson, Terry Smith, Hazel Smith, Marty Stuart, Connie Smith, Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Robbie McCoury, Mike Bub, Jason Carter, J.D. Crowe, Paul Williams, Bill Yates, Doyle Lawson, Carl Jackson, Alicia Nugent, James King, Larry Sparks, Wayne Lewis, Billy Walker, Tom T. Hall, Hank Williams III, Vernon Derrick, Ronnie Prevette, Kenny Ingram, Paul Craft, Buck White, Sharon White, Cheryl White, Leroy Troy, Audie Blaylock, David Nance, Derek Dillman, Lance LeRoy, Rhonda Vincent, Mickey Harris, Hunter Berry, Linwood Lunsford, Jim Rollins, Superman Kent Blanton, Mark Kuykendall, Marty Raybon, Sam Jackson, Mike Scott, Jesse McReynolds, Dan Hays, Eddie Stubbs, Tim O'Brien, George Gruhn, Pat Enright, David Talbot, Larry Cordle, Dwight Dillman, Sonya Issacs, Ben Issacs, Luke McKnight, Robin Roller, Andrea Roberts, Karl Shiflett, Charlie Collins, Larry Stephenson and James Monroe.

    The funeral was Wednesday at 11am. For 10 years I played banjo with Jimmy Martin and The Sunny Mountain Boys. Wednesday I played for him. A select group of musicians were asked to be at the church at 9am for a soundcheck and rehearsal. We had 1 more show to do. The pastors made their opening remarks and had prayer. And next on the printed program, like most funeral programs, was printed "special music". I'd say it was that! Not because I was involved, but the special music that took place was performed by some of the best in the business. The first grouping of musicians was the normal 5-piece Bluegrass configuration with the following musicians playing and singing, "When The Savior Reached Down For Me":

    Marty Raybon, guitar and lead vocal
    Ronnie Prevette, mandolin and tenor
    Vernon Derrick, fiddle and baritone
    Bill Yates, bass and bass vocal
    Larry Wallace, banjo

    This was one of the best sounding bands I've ever played in, for 1 song! With the exception of Marty, we all left the mics and sat back down in our chairs with the rest of the musicians. Marty with his guitar, then performed a very touching, "Beulah Land". Fine job.

    Next a poem was read. Back in November a fan wrote a very lengthy poem about Jimmy's life and sent it to him. Jimmy loved it so much he requested that it be read at his funeral. And he wanted it to be read by "The Storyteller" himself, Tom T. Hall. Tom T. didn't miss a word. I don't think we've heard the last of this poem.

    Next Jimmy's youngest son Buddy Lee, came up and talked about his dad. This was a very touching time of the service. He ended by saying that Jimmy was the "Evel Knievel" of Hermitage, Tennessee. He told about Jimmy riding their motorcycle and went about 10 feet up a tree and when he came down he landed FLAT on his FEET. And Jimmy was also the World's Champion bareback mule rider. He said Jimmy still had the grass stains on his coveralls from that ride! Buddy also said he was going to write a book titled, "100,000 ways to fix anything with a coathanger". He said his dad taught him how to fix ANYTHING with a coat hanger. Judge Alan Highers posted on the guestbook yesterday...."I feel many people may have seen a different image of Jimmy - through the eyes of his children. It was a loving celebration". Buddy closed by thanking ALL of the Sunny Mountain Boys for their jobs well done.

    Next was some more of that special music. "Prayer Bells of Heaven", "Who'll Sing For Me", "Goodbye", and "Shake Hands With Mother Again". Musicians for these songs were:

    Paul Williams - mandolin, tenor on all songs
    Doyle Lawson - mandolin, baritone and lead on the last two
    Bill Yates - bass and bass vocal on all
    Audie Blaylock - played Jimmy's Martin and sang lead on the first two and baritone on the last two.
    Vernon Derrick - fiddle
    Ronnie Prevette - mandolin
    David Nance - dobro
    Kenny Ingram, Derek Dillman, Larry Wallace - banjo

    Joining the quartet was the beautiful high-baritone voice of Cia Cherryholmes. She made the singing complete with the addition of the high-baritone part. I haven't heard the vocals sound this good since Jimmy Martin's recordings. The vocals were absolutely great with these talented vocalists present. The Cherryholmes Family have recently spent a good bit of time over at Jimmy's house and I'm glad they were able to learn a lot from him while they could. I guess the most touching part, other than the music itself, was the silence before "Goodbye". Doyle spoke up and said, "I don't know if we're supposed to talk or not, but I loved Jimmy Martin." He nodded to Paul to kick it off and we made it through it. Again, the best vocals I've heard since the records.

    Next was The Cherryholmes Family. They done a beautiful acapella tribute song to Jimmy. I didn't catch the name of the song, but it was great with all six of them singing. Family harmony at its best.

    Jimmy's first son Timmy (Jimmy Martin, Jr.), then talked about his dad and then sang his acapella version of "Lord I'm Coming Home". Timmy called all of us back to the microphones and asked his brother Ray Martin and his sister Lisa Martin to come up, along with Jimmy's brother and sisters. He then asked the crowd to come as close to the front as they could and gather around Jimmy's open casket. As this was taking place, we started "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" with Ray, Timmy, and Lisa singing the verses and the whole crowd singing the chorus. Then the song ended and everyone moved back to their places. The funeral directors then closed the casket and as they started to roll the casket back down the aisle, the speakers in the ceiling of the church started playing "The Last Song". When the casket made it to the door at the hearse, the speakers then played "Sunny Side of The Mountain".

    The service at the cemetery was very touching. I stood by my wife Barbara and Bill Yates under the tent. Jimmy's gospel recordings were being played while everyone was being positioned. There were at least 300 people at the gravesite. Some were already there waiting for us to arrive. When the door of the hearse was opened, we heard "Amazing Grace", played by bagpipes from a distance. The casket was placed over the grave. After the pastors said their words and a prayer, the pall bearers filed by and placed their boutineers on the casket. Then Jimmy's children each placed a single red rose there. After the roses were placed there was silence, and then the funeral director stepped forward and said, "You know, when we reach this point, there's not much left to say or do, and this is not usually appropriate for a funeral, but I'd like to say, 'Let's give The King of Bluegrass ONE MORE STANDING OVATION!'"

    Jimmy Martin was laid to rest on Wednesday May 18, 2005. He was 77.


    Larry Wallace
    Banjo Player
    Sunny Mountain Boys
    Darryl G. Wolfe, The F5 Journal
    www.f5journal.com

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    Darryl, thanks for sharing that. Don
    I been through the mountians on a mule with no name.

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    Larry and Darryl: Thank you very much. Today, I cried - I hardly ever do that.... RIP Jimmy. ... We'll sing for you...

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    "I'm just waitin for the time to come when all sorrows will be done......." Thanks for the detailed recollections-
    There's a big rock in the road...

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    Default Re: Jimmy Martin Funeral

    Nothing like bumping an 8-year old thread back to life. On this the anniversary of Jimmy Martin's passing I think we need a Jimmy video. Check out the marvelous mandolin break on this one starting around 1:45.


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    oh man.

    And that little leg kick he does when he backs away is pure Derrick.

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    Couldn't decipher who the mandolin player is?

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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    It's Vernon Derrick, yes?

    Looks like a 1950s F12.

    Ah, yes, here we go:
    http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...vernon-derrick
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    Registered Mandolin User mandopete's Avatar
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    Default Re: Jimmy Martin Funeral

    That hat is worth the price of admission!
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