Kenneth Clayton "Kenny" Baker June 26, 1926 – July 8, 2011
Not originally a fan of bluegrass music, he played with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys for more than two decades and was the longest continuous member of the band.
..."God, what a touch he had on the fiddle." - Grand Ole Opry Star Bill Anderson...
Baker was a sideman for most of his career. But he recorded some 20 albums of his own and popularized instrumentals like “Jerusalem Ridge.”
He was known in the fiddle world for his “long-bow” and melodic style of playing. He famously called bluegrass “nothing but a hillbilly version of jazz.” He was added to the International Bluegrass Music Association’s hall of fame in 1999.
Born near Jenkins, Kentucky, Baker was a third generation fiddler but when music wouldn’t pay the bills, he’d return to Kentucky to work in the coal mines.
Baker died Friday at Sumner Regional Medical Center from complications of a stroke.
“For me, Bill Monroe never sounded as good as when Kenny was playing with him,” said Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson, who shared the Grand Ole Opry stage with Monroe and Mr. Baker on many nights in the 1960s and ’70s. “God, what a touch he had on the fiddle. He was just so good.”
