Bobby Hicks

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Robert Caldwell Hicks (July 21, 1933 – August 16, 2024) was a Grammy Award-winning American bluegrass fiddler and musician with more than fifty years of experience. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2017.

Hicks was born in Newton, North Carolina, and learned to play the fiddle before he was 9 years old. He attended several fiddlers conventions and at the age of eleven, he won the "North Carolina State Championship" playing the tune "Black Mountain Rag". He joined Jim Eanes's band in the early 1950s.

In 1953, he was, through the bluegrass festival organizer Carlton Haney, hired as a bass player in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. He did not record with the Bluegrass Boys until December 31, 1954, by then he had switched to fiddle. During this period, he learned to play "Nashville swing" by the session fiddler Dale Potter, a style Hicks often used when playing with Bill Monroe on the road. Monroe dubbed Hicks "the truest fiddler he had ever heard". He recorded seven tunes with Monroe but left in 1956 to join the army. In 1958, after his discharge, he rejoined the Bluegrass Boys, recording ten more songs. He left in 1959 to join Porter Wagoner. Later in 1963, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and became a fixture on the Judy Lynn Show for the next seven years. In 1981, he joined Ricky Skaggs, a stint that would last for 23 years.

In the mid and late 1980s, he frequently performed with Bill Monroe on stage and on records. He was inducted into the "Fiddlers Hall of Fame" in 2002. He appeared as a member of "Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys" in 2003. The next year, he performed with "Hazel Creek".

In 2004, he celebrated 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry. Bobby Hicks is a 10 time Grammy winner. His discography includes over 10 albums.^[1]

Hicks died from complications of heart disease on August 16, 2024, at the age of 91.^[2]

• Neil V.Rosenberg, Charles K. Wolfe, Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, Bear Family Publication, 1989.

• Bobby Hicks Teaches Fiddling, Vol. 1
• Bobby Hicks discography at Discogs
• Bobby Hicks at IMDb

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