Art Stamper - Biography
By J Poet
Art Stamper was a fiddler who was there for the entire evolution of bluegrass from old time traditional mountain music, to bluegrass, to newgrass. He played with the The Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys, Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, The Goins Brothers, The Osborne Brothers, J.D. Crowe and other greats. He died in 2005, after a long battle with throat cancer.
Stamper was born in 1934 in Knott County, Kentucky. His father Hiram was a famous square dance caller and a drummer in the Civil War. Inspired by a Roy Acuff song he heard on the radio, Stamper taught himself how to play fiddle before he was 10 years old. He attended an old fashion one-room schoolhouse, and dropped out of high school to join the Army.
In 1952, he toured with both Buster Pack and The Lonesome Pine Boys and The Sauceman Brothers before getting hired by the Stanley Brothers. He made his recording debut backing them up on two Rich-R-Tone singles: “Little Birdie,” “Are You Waiting Just For Me,” “The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake,” and “Little Glass of Wine.” He was with the Stanleys when they recorded for Mercury and took part in the sessions for “This Weary Heart You Stole Away” and “(Say) Won't You Be Mine,” hits before the term bluegrass had been coined. He also played with the Osborne Brothers and Red Allen in 1956. The Osborne Brothers & Red Allen (1980 Rounder) collects singles from the band’s early days with Stamper on fiddle.
Stamper quit the Osbornes and opened The Way Of Art in Louisville in the late 50s and worked cutting hair for the next 20 years. He returned to music in 1978, playing with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, the The Goins Brothers, and doing solo dates with his own band. The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music named him Best Old Time Fiddler in 1986, 87 and 88. In addition to touring, he became famous as a teacher and trained a new generation of bluegrass fiddlers.
His first album as a leader wasn’t released until 1996 when he cut The Lost Fiddler (1996 County.) The album that showed off his melodic improvisations, a triumph of emotion over speed. Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston (2000 County) combined old time and bluegrass styles, and featured a few of Stamper’s understated vocals. The album got rave reviews on its release. Stamper was already fighting cancer when he cut Wake Up Darlin’ Corey (2004 County.) He’s joined by old time music legends Harry Bickel on banjo and Doc Hamilton on guitar. Tim O’Brien of Hot Rize and Red Knuckles fame joins in on vocals. The program combines old time, bluegrass and newgrass styles. Stamper died shortly after the album’s release.
