Roy Huskey Jr. (1956 to 1997) was the upright bass player Nashville called when a record needed an acoustic bass. He won the first four IBMA Bass Player of the Year awards, from 1990 to 1993. He was a member of Emmylou Harris’s Nash Ramblers and played on records by Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Alan Jackson, Nanci Griffith, John Hartford, and many others. He died of lung cancer at 40.
Why Huskey matters
Huskey was the bass player that Nashville’s acoustic records were built on. His bass is on bluegrass, country, folk, and Cajun records alike. When the IBMA started its awards in 1990, he won the bass category four years running. After he died, John Hartford said that if the bass is the heartbeat of country music, then country music had just had a major heart attack.
Life and career
Roy Milton Huskey was born on December 17, 1956, in Nashville. His father, Roy “Junior” Huskey, was a top Nashville bass player who worked in the Grand Ole Opry band and played on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken.
Roy Jr. began his career at 16, in 1971, backing Del Wood on the Grand Ole Opry. His first touring job was with Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys. From there he became a session player in demand across bluegrass, country, folk, and folk-rock. He was an original member of Emmylou Harris’s Nash Ramblers and shared a Grammy for their 1992 live album At the Ryman.
He played with Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, George Jones, Steve Earle, Doc Watson, and many others. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in June 1996 and died in Nashville on September 6, 1997.
Playing style
Huskey played an upright bass made in Czechoslovakia in the 1880s that he and his father both used on many records. He also owned a 1920 Gibson Style J mando bass that had been his father’s. Marty Stuart called him a textbook example of a bass-playing genius.
Influences and legacy
Huskey learned from his father and grew up in the Opry world. He worked beside Roy Acuff and Doc Watson, and he played on records by Marty Stuart, Vassar Clements, Ricky Skaggs, and Peter Rowan. Sam Bush recorded Song for Roy in his memory, and Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band recorded Pilgrim as a tribute.
Essential recordings
At the Ryman, Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers (1992) Annual Waltz, John Hartford (1986) First Whippoorwill, Peter Rowan (1985) Grass Routes, Vassar Clements (1991) My Father’s Son, Ricky Skaggs (1991)
Awards and honors
IBMA Bass Player of the Year (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993) Grammy Award, with Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers, for At the Ryman
What to learn from Huskey
Play along with At the Ryman, one song at a time. Match the length of each bass note on the record, not just the pitch. Then record yourself and compare. Session players like Huskey kept work for decades because their note lengths and tone fit any song, and that is the skill to build.
Sources
Roy Huskey Jr., Wikipedia Roy Huskey Jr.: 1956 to 1997, No Depression Huskey Jr., Roy, BluegrassBios.com Awards by Category, IBMA
Related players
See the bass players hub and the bass guide. Mark Schatz won the IBMA bass award the two years after Huskey. Dennis Crouch carries his role as a top acoustic session bassist in Nashville today.