Legendary Fiddle Player Johnny Gimble Dies

Johnny Gimble, legendary Western Swing fiddle player, has died.

Gimble passed away on Saturday (May 9), according to Nashville's Tennessean. No cause of death has been reported. He was 88.

Born John Paul Gimble on May 30, 1926, in Tyler, Texas, and raised in Bascom, Texas, Gimble began his music career playing with his brothers at 12 years old. The musician then moved to Louisiana to play with Jimmie Davis, but he is perhaps best known for his work with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, who he began playing with in the late 1940s. Gimble briefly left the Playboys and formed his own band, then re-joined in 1953; he continued to play with Wills until the 1960s, when he left the music business.

Gimble began to record again in 1969, both with Wills and as a session musician for artists like Chet Atkins and Merle Haggard. During his first tenure with Wills, he had played on Marty Robbins' No. 1 "I'll Go on Alone." Gimble also toured with Willie Nelson, released solo albums and, in 1983, earned a hit song with "One Fiddle, Two Fiddle," which also featured Ray Price.

The fiddle player was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in 1994 and earned a Grammy nomination for his work on Mark O'Connor's 1993 album Heroes. Gimble suffered a stroke in 1999, but he continued to play and record music. In 2010, he released Celebrating With Friends, a record featuring collaborations with Ray Benson, Vince Gill, Haggard, Dale Watson and more.

Arrangements have not yet been announced. The Boot extends our deepest condolences to his loved ones.

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