Curly Ray Cline (1923 to 1997) was the fiddler in Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys for 26 years, from 1967 to 1993. Before that he helped found the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in 1938, one of the first bands to carry the bluegrass sound out of the West Virginia coalfields. He billed himself as the Old Kentucky Fox Hunter and released 14 solo albums between 1969 and 1990.
Why Cline matters
Cline is the sound of the Stanley fiddle after Carter Stanley died. When Ralph rebuilt the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1967, Cline gave the band a raw mountain fiddle that matched Ralph’s banjo and voice. He stayed for a quarter century while singers came and went. If you learn Stanley-style fiddle, you learn from records with Cline on them.
Life and career
Cline was born Ray Cline on January 10, 1923. Sources differ on the birthplace. Wikipedia places it in Baisden, Mingo County, West Virginia, and Discogs lists Pike County, Kentucky. He grew up in a large musical family. His father played banjo and taught him the basics. His brother Charlie Cline and cousin Ezra Cline became his bandmates.
In 1938 Ezra Cline formed the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers with cousins Ireland “Lazy Ned” Cline and Curly Ray, who played fiddle in the first lineup. Ned died on D-Day in 1944, and Charlie took his place. The band broadcast on WHIS in Bluefield, West Virginia, and made its first record for Cozy in 1950. Bobby Osborne and Larry Richardson joined in 1949 and turned the group into a bluegrass band. The Fiddlers went on to record for RCA Victor and Starday. Cline also worked with Jimmy Martin in these years.
Cline played part-time with the Stanley Brothers from 1963 to 1966. After Carter Stanley’s death in 1966, Ralph Stanley hired him full-time for the new Clinch Mountain Boys in 1967. He held the fiddle chair until 1993. Around 1972 he began singing comedy numbers in the show to give the audience a change of pace, and the Old Kentucky Fox Hunter persona grew from there.
His solo records started with The Old Kentucky Fox Hunter and His Lonesome Pine Fiddle on Melody in 1969. Rebel released seven of his albums in the 1970s, starting with Chicken Reel in 1971. Later records came out on Old Homestead, Tin Ear, and Nashville Country, with the Clinch Mountain Boys backing him on several. Cline died on August 19, 1997, at age 74. The IBMA put the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers in its hall of fame in 2009.
Playing style
Cline played fiddle the old way. His breaks stayed close to the melody, with a heavy bow and a rough tone that fit Ralph Stanley’s mountain sound. Ralph said Cline played the fiddle the way Ralph played the banjo: he played it the way he felt it. Cline did not chase the jazz phrasing of Nashville session players. He drove the band with a strong shuffle and short, plain fills.
He also treated the fiddle as a stage prop. He imitated barking hounds and braying mules with his voice and his bow, and he sang comedy songs like Why Me Ralph? and Who’s Gonna Mow My Grass. In three seconds you can name him by the sawing, old-time attack and the fox hunt bit that follows.
Influences and legacy
Cline named Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith of the Grand Ole Opry as his main influence. His family was his first school. He played beside Bobby Osborne in the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and beside Larry Sparks, Keith Whitley, Ricky Skaggs, and George Shuffler in the Clinch Mountain Boys.
In the Stanley band Cline followed Art Stamper, who had fiddled with the brothers in the 1950s. His long run made him the fiddle sound most fans link with Ralph Stanley’s records.
Signature tunes and songs
Chicken Reel Soldier’s Joy Leather Britches Carroll County Blues I’ll Fly Away Why Me Ralph? Boar Hog.
Essential recordings
The Old Kentucky Fox Hunter and His Lonesome Pine Fiddle (Melody, 1969) Chicken Reel (Rebel, 1971) My Little Home in West Virginia (Rebel, 1972) Boar Hog, with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys (Old Homestead, 1980) The Old Kentucky Fox Hunter Plays Gospel (Old Homestead, 1982)
Awards and honors
International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, as a member of the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers (2009)
Watch and listen
A full play of the 1981 reissue of Cline’s first solo album. Listen to how close his breaks stay to the melody.
Ralph Stanley and Cline talk in a 1981 interview. You get a sense of the comedy act and the bond between the two.
What to learn from Cline
Learn Chicken Reel from the 1971 Rebel record. It is short, it sits in the key of D, and every note is on the beat. The technique to steal is his bow pressure. Cline dug into the string and let the tone get rough. Modern players polish that out. Try one pass of Soldier’s Joy with a heavier bow and no vibrato and hear how much closer it sounds to a Stanley record.
Sources
Curly Ray Cline, Wikipedia Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, Wikipedia Ralph Stanley, Wikipedia The Stanley Brothers, Wikipedia Curly Ray Cline, Discogs Curly Ray Cline, Chicken Reel, Discogs
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the bluegrass fiddle guide for more first-generation players. Art Stamper fiddled for the Stanley Brothers before Cline. Paul Warren filled the same role for Flatt and Scruggs, and Kenny Baker did for Bill Monroe. Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith was Cline’s model.