Tommy Magness (1916 to 1972) played fiddle on Bill Monroe’s first recording session in October 1940, on the first recording of Orange Blossom Special with Roy Hall’s Blue Ridge Entertainers, and on Roy Acuff’s first recording of Black Mountain Rag. He led his own band, the Tennessee Buddies, in Roanoke, Virginia, where Don Reno and Red Smiley first played together.
Why Magness matters
Magness stood at three of the doorways of bluegrass fiddle. He cut Orange Blossom Special before the tune became the fiddler’s national anthem. He played Katy Hill on Monroe’s first records, where the fiddle, not the mandolin, drove the band. And he gave Reno and Smiley their first recordings together. Monroe said he had the fine old-time touch, rich and pure, with a touch of the blues.
Life and career
Magness was born on October 21, 1916, in Mineral Bluff, Georgia. Before he joined Monroe he was billed as Tennessee’s champion hoedown fiddler. In the late 1930s he was the fiddler in Roy Hall and His Blue Ridge Entertainers, a Roanoke band that recorded from 1938 to 1941, and he played on the first recording of Orange Blossom Special.
In July 1940 he replaced Art Wooten in Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. On October 7, 1940, he played on Monroe’s first RCA Victor session with guitarist Clyde Moody and bassist Bill “Cousin Wilbur” Wesbrooks. The session produced Mule Skinner Blues, Dog House Blues, Tennessee Blues, Cryin’ Holy unto the Lord, and the fiddle tune Katy Hill. Wooten took the chair back in 1941.
Magness worked with Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys in 1946 and 1947 and made the first recording of Black Mountain Rag with Acuff. In 1947 he formed the Orange Blossom Boys, then settled in Roanoke and led Tommy Magness and His Tennessee Buddies. Red Smiley was in the band in 1949 when Don Reno left Monroe, and Smiley talked Magness into hiring him. In 1951 the Tennessee Buddies recorded four Reno sacred songs for Federal, a King Records subsidiary, including Jesus Will Save Your Soul and Little Country Preacher. After Magness retired from the band, Reno and Smiley went on together. Magness died on October 5, 1972, at age 55.
Playing style
Magness played old-time hoedown fiddle with a smooth, singing tone and blues bends inside the melody. On Katy Hill he carries the whole tune at Monroe’s tempo with a long, even bow rather than a chopped shuffle. On the Opry airchecks from the late 1940s he plays breakdowns like Green River and Mulberry Gap with the same clean melody line.
Influences and legacy
Magness played beside Roy Hall, Bill Monroe, Clyde Moody, and Roy Acuff. In the Tennessee Buddies he led Don Reno and Red Smiley, and the Reno and Smiley partnership began under him. Howdy Forrester followed him in Acuff’s band.
Signature tunes and songs
Katy Hill Orange Blossom Special Black Mountain Rag Lost Indian Green River Mulberry Gap.
Essential recordings
Roy Hall and His Blue Ridge Entertainers: Recorded 1938 to 41 (1979 compilation) Mule Skinner Blues and Katy Hill, Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys (RCA Victor, recorded October 1940) Jesus Will Save Your Soul / When I Safely Reach That Other Shore, Tommy Magness and His Tennessee Buddies (Federal, 1951)
Watch and listen
An Opry aircheck from 1948 of Magness playing Green River. Listen to how even his bow stays at speed.
Magness plays Mulberry Gap on a 1940s aircheck.
What to learn from Magness
Learn Katy Hill from the 1940 Monroe record. Magness plays it straight, so you can hear the whole melody. The technique to steal is his long bow. Most jammers saw at Katy Hill. Magness plays groups of notes on one bow stroke and lets the pulse come from the accents. Mark where he changes bow direction and copy that before you copy the notes.
Sources
I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky #21, Bluegrass Today I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky #7, Bluegrass Today I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky #5, Bluegrass Today Magness, Tommy, BluegrassBios.com Tommy Magness, Discogs Tommy Magness and His Tennessee Buddies, Jesus Will Save Your Soul, Discogs List of Blue Grass Boys members, Wikipedia Reno and Smiley, Wikipedia
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the fiddle guide for the rest of the first generation. Magness took the Blue Grass Boys chair from Art Wooten, and Chubby Wise made it famous a few years later. Howdy Forrester followed him with Roy Acuff.