Art Stamper (1933 to 2005) was a Kentucky fiddler who played in the first generation of bluegrass and then went home to the old mountain tunes. He recorded with the Stanley Brothers and the Osborne Brothers in the 1950s, cut hair in Louisville for most of his working life, and came back to make old-time fiddle records for County in his last two decades. The IBMA gave him its Distinguished Achievement Award in 2004.
Why Stamper matters
Stamper is the bridge between bluegrass fiddle and the Kentucky mountain fiddling that came before it. He learned from his father, Hiram Stamper, in a log house in Knott County, then took that sound onto the early MGM records of the Osborne Brothers and the Stanley Brothers. When he came back to music in the 1980s, he recorded the old Knott County tunes with a bluegrass rhythm section behind him. That is why old-time and bluegrass fiddlers both claim him.
Life and career
Stamper was born on November 1, 1933, in a cabin in Knott County, Kentucky. He started on banjo as a small child. Around age nine he fell for the fiddle sound he heard from his family. He sometimes built his own fiddles and made strings from horsehair, with pine oil for rosin. The house he grew up in near Hindman now sits on the National Register of Historic Places as the Hiram and Art Stamper House.
He moved to Cincinnati in 1950 to play in the bars there. His first records came for Rich-R-Tone in 1952. At about 19 he enlisted for the Korean War, and he did not move back to Knott County after his discharge. He worked with the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, and in 1956 he recorded with the Osborne Brothers on their early MGM sides. He also worked with Red Allen.
After the service, Stamper went to barber school and spent most of his working life as a barber and hairdresser in Louisville, Kentucky. Music stayed a sideline. He played with the Goins Brothers, Larry Sparks, Ralph Stanley, and Jimmy Martin over the years. He later owned a farm outside Shepherdsville in Bullitt County.
When he retired from hairdressing, the records started again. County released The Lost Fiddler in 1982, with J.D. Crowe and Harry Bickel on banjo. Old Homestead put out Pineywoods in 1985, with a young Stuart Duncan on mandolin. County followed with Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston in 2000 and Wake Up Darlin’ Corey in 2004, the last with Tim O’Brien on guitar and vocals. Over his life he played in 45 states and 11 countries. On May 30, 2003, Kentucky named a stretch of Route 550 the Arthur “Art” Stamper Highway. He died in 2005 at age 71.
Playing style
Stamper’s fiddle sits between two worlds. On the 1950s bluegrass records he played the driving, bluesy Kentucky style that fit Ralph Stanley’s banjo and the Osbornes’ harmonies. On his later County albums he went back to what he called old-time fiddle: playing the tunes the way they were first meant to be played.
The sound is raw and rhythmic. He used the older bowing patterns of Knott County, with strong accents that make a tune dance without a band. The tunes themselves are the point. Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston holds 16 of them, and Pineywoods is all his own compositions and arrangements. His albums keep a bluegrass rhythm section behind an old-time fiddle, which is a big part of why they sound like nobody else.
Influences and legacy
His father Hiram Stamper was his teacher and his source for the Knott County repertoire. He played beside the Stanley Brothers, the Osborne Brothers, Red Allen, the Goins Brothers, and Larry Sparks. On his own records he worked with J.D. Crowe, Harry Bickel, Tim O’Brien, and Stuart Duncan.
His influence runs through the old-time revival as much as bluegrass. Clifftop champion Erynn Marshall learned from him. Morehead State University holds an annual Art Stamper Fiddle Contest in his name. He shares the Stanley Brothers fiddle chair in history with Art Wooten and Curly Ray Cline.
Signature tunes and songs
Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston Wake Up Darlin’ Corey Old Joe Clark East Virginia Josie-O The Rusty Gun.
Essential recordings
The Lost Fiddler (County, 1982) Pineywoods (Old Homestead, 1985) Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston (County, 2000) Wake Up Darlin’ Corey (County, 2004)
Awards and honors
Fiddler of the Year (1986, 1987, 1988), as listed in the National Register nomination for the Stamper house SPBGMA Best Old-Time Fiddler Award Kentucky Route 550 named the Arthur “Art” Stamper Highway (2003) IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award (2004) Hiram and Art Stamper House added to the National Register of Historic Places (2014)
What to learn from Stamper
Learn Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston from the 2000 County record. It is a Kentucky tune with a crooked, dance-driven feel, and Stamper’s 2000 recording is the standard source for it. The technique to steal is the way he keeps the old bowing while a bluegrass band plays behind him. Play a Knott County tune over a guitar and bass and refuse to smooth out the accents. That rough edge is what gives an old-time tune its pull inside a bluegrass jam.
Sources
Stamper, Hiram and Art, House, National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service Art Stamper, IBMA award recipients Art Stamper, Discogs Art Stamper, The Lost Fiddler, Discogs Art Stamper, Pineywoods, Discogs Art Stamper, Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston, Discogs Art Stamper, Wake Up Darlin’ Corey, Discogs Colonel Terry Thacker passes, Bluegrass Today Hiram and Art Stamper House, DBpedia
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for more first generation bluegrass fiddlers. Stamper, Art Wooten, and Curly Ray Cline all held the Stanley Brothers fiddle chair. Erynn Marshall learned from him, and Stuart Duncan played on his 1985 record.