Biography
Johnny Gimble stands among the most remarkable fiddlers in country music annals, routinely outmaneuvering competitors through his signature five-string fiddle. His initial breakthrough came alongside Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, though he later issued more than ten solo albums while collecting CMA Instrumentalist of the Year honors and multiple ACM Best Fiddle Player trophies.
Born John Paul Gimble on May 30, 1926, in Tyler, Texas, he joined a family band with his four brothers at age twelve. In the early 1930s he helped form the Rose City Swingsters alongside siblings Gene and Jerry; the ensemble broadcast locally before Gimble relocated to Louisiana for work with Jimmie Davis. By the late 1940s he had enlisted with Wills, handling both fiddle and electric mandolin duties for the Texas Playboys. Between 1951 and 1953 he fronted his own ensemble as house band at Wills’ club, then rejoined the Playboys until Western swing’s downturn in the late 1950s and early 1960s pushed him from music entirely.
Throughout the 1960s Gimble worked as a barber and hospital employee, yet he rejoined Wills for recording sessions in 1969. That reunion paved the way for extensive session activity in the early 1970s, notably Merle Haggard’s 1970 tribute to Wills and the bandleader’s own final album, For the Last Time (1974). The same year saw Gimble release his debut solo project, Fiddlin’ Around.
In the late 1970s he captured the first of five Best Instrumentalist and eight Best Fiddle Player awards, later touring with Willie Nelson’s band from 1979 to 1981. His chart debut arrived in 1983 via a Texas swing outfit featuring Ray Price on vocals; the single “One Fiddle, Two Fiddle,” drawn from Clint Eastwood’s Honkytonk Man, peaked at number 70, while its B-side, the Wills standard “San Antonio Rose,” also entered the charts. Session contributions persisted, culminating in a 1993 Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance on Mark O’Connor’s tribute album Heroes. Later appearances frequently placed him on Austin City Limits and Garrison Keillor’s television broadcasts. Johnny Gimble passed away in Dripping Springs, Texas, on May 9, 2015, at the age of 88.
Born John Paul Gimble on May 30, 1926, in Tyler, Texas, he joined a family band with his four brothers at age twelve. In the early 1930s he helped form the Rose City Swingsters alongside siblings Gene and Jerry; the ensemble broadcast locally before Gimble relocated to Louisiana for work with Jimmie Davis. By the late 1940s he had enlisted with Wills, handling both fiddle and electric mandolin duties for the Texas Playboys. Between 1951 and 1953 he fronted his own ensemble as house band at Wills’ club, then rejoined the Playboys until Western swing’s downturn in the late 1950s and early 1960s pushed him from music entirely.
Throughout the 1960s Gimble worked as a barber and hospital employee, yet he rejoined Wills for recording sessions in 1969. That reunion paved the way for extensive session activity in the early 1970s, notably Merle Haggard’s 1970 tribute to Wills and the bandleader’s own final album, For the Last Time (1974). The same year saw Gimble release his debut solo project, Fiddlin’ Around.
In the late 1970s he captured the first of five Best Instrumentalist and eight Best Fiddle Player awards, later touring with Willie Nelson’s band from 1979 to 1981. His chart debut arrived in 1983 via a Texas swing outfit featuring Ray Price on vocals; the single “One Fiddle, Two Fiddle,” drawn from Clint Eastwood’s Honkytonk Man, peaked at number 70, while its B-side, the Wills standard “San Antonio Rose,” also entered the charts. Session contributions persisted, culminating in a 1993 Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance on Mark O’Connor’s tribute album Heroes. Later appearances frequently placed him on Austin City Limits and Garrison Keillor’s television broadcasts. Johnny Gimble passed away in Dripping Springs, Texas, on May 9, 2015, at the age of 88.
Albums
