Roy Clark

Roy Clark, one of the most beloved members of the country music community, passed away earlier today at the age of 85. He died at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

If the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name "Roy Clark" is is stink as pickin' and grinnin' co-host of television's Hee Haw, that would be understandable. Not many performers can boost starring on a show that ran for more than 20 years. But there was a lot more than comic timing and charm to the man who first played at the Opry in 1950 when he won a national banjo competition at age 17. "I stood backstage at the Ryman and looked at Uncle Dave Macon, Hank Williams, Sr., Cowboy Copas, all of the giants of country music, and I just tired to stay out of their way," Roy recalled.

Roy Linwood Clark was born on April 15, 1933 into a family with a musical heritage. The first instrument he played was made for him by his father, Hester; a cigar box with a ukulele neck on it and four strings rigged to enable young Roy to play in a school band at Meherrin Elementary. When he was fourteen, Roy got a honest-to-gosh guitar at Christmas, a Silverton model from the Sears catalog. "When I came downstairs Christmas morning," Roy said, "and saw the guitar, I grabbed it, went back upstairs, and never turned it loose. My fingers got sore and bled. I got cold water, dipped 'em in it 'til the pain went away, and went right back at it. I didn't want to go to school or anything. I just wanted to sit there and hear the sound."

It was with his father's bluegrass band that he started playing professionally; he got $7.50 for his first gig. And right from the beginning, Roy began to exploit the availability of a new medium called television. In 1947-48 the teenager appeared on "The Hayloft Conservatory of Country Music," on Dumont's channel 5 in Washington, D.C., and then on the "Ozark Jubilee" and Connie B. Gay's pioneering "Town and Country Time."

His musical versatility (he played guitar, banjo, fiddle, and five other instruments, including trumpet, trombone and piano), got him network TV guest shots on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" and Ed Sullivan's famed "Talk of the Town." With his warm, comedic personality he was in constant demand, appearing on television with Dean Martin, Mitzi Gaynor, Dinah Shore, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Johnny Carson, the Osmond Family, the Muppets, and others, as well as hosting his own television specials.

Roy Clark was the first country music artist to guest host on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" and was the first country music artist to begin major TV appearances abroad, appearing on "The Tom Jones Show" from London. He was also the first country music artist to headline a major hotel on the Las Vegas strip and was the first country performer to host a major TV show, "Hee Haw," for more than twenty years. He was among the first to establish a theater in Branson and to travel to the Soviet Union. Not only was Roy a national star, he was also an international one.

His string of hits included "Yesterday When I Was Young," "I Never Picked Cotton," Come Live With Me," "Tips of My Fingers," "Alabama Jubilee," "Thank God and Greyhound," and "If I Had To Do It All Over Again."

His awards were numerous. In 1972 and 1973 he was the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year. He won the same award in 1973 from the Country Music Association. He was also the CMA's Instrumentalist of the Year and the winner of the Instrumental Group of the Year with Buck Trent. He was also awarded the Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music, and in 2009 Roy was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Roy became a member of the Grand Ole Opry on August 22, 1987. He had been asked earlier, but declined due to his heavy touring schedule and the fact that he did not live in Nashville and only came to the city twice a year for the filming of Hee Haw. When he explained that to Bud Wendell and Hal Durham, they said that was fine. Having Roy at the Opry only a few times each year was better than not having Roy at all.

All the tributes from country music artists, both young and old that have come out today, shows how much Roy was loved and appreciated by the country music community. Roy truly loved being a member of the Grand Ole Opry and I know he would have appeared more often if he lived closer to Nashville.

Roy's last Grand Ole Opry appearance was on Friday February 24, 2017. He closed out, singing at the request of Vince Gill, "Yesterday When I Was Young." It was a fitting way to end.