For those of you who are, or who know, Mizzou graduates, the cover article of the current issue of the Mizzou Alumni Association magazine is about Missouri fiddlers. The cover picture is of a luthier in Wright City, MO name Billy Lee. I've never heard of him, but Curtis Buckhannon says he thinks he builds mandolins as well as fiddles. There is a picture inside of a mandolin player, Ron Taylor, of Boonville and there is great picture of St. Louis' own Vesta Johnson with a 14-year-old fiddle student of hers.
That sounds interesting. Were the people discussed alums of Mizzou? I would like to check out the article. I wonder if it's published online too?? Don
I'm not sure any of the people in the article were alums. If they were, the article did not say so. The tie in with Mizzou is that twenty years ago, the university published a book/cassette set by Howard Marshall called "Now That's a Good Tune: Masters of Traditional Missouri Fiddling," which got nominated in 1989 for Grammy awards in two categories, although it didn't win. Now, the work has been re-released as a book/CD. I think I'm gonna have to order one of those!
