Randy Howard

Randy Howard took up music after his father urged him toward the drums, followed by electric guitar and eventually the fiddle. The instrument clicked with him, leading Howard to perform alongside his father and cousin in a bluegrass group. At eighteen in 1979 he captured the World Championship Fiddling Contest in Union Grove, North Carolina, becoming its youngest winner while also claiming numerous additional titles on fiddle and mandolin.

Early recording work found him alongside Southern rock acts Charlie Daniels, the Marshall Tucker Band, and the Allman Brothers. Urged by friend Mark O’Connor, Howard relocated to Nashville in 1990 and contributed to sessions for BlackHawk, Vince Gill, Kennedy Rose, Shelby Lynne, and fellow singer-songwriter Randy Howard. He frequently appeared on the road as a member of Kathy Chiavola’s ensemble. Reflecting on his approach, Howard once remarked, “I'd like to be remembered as a musician who was creative, who has never played mechanically and who always gave each song his best shot.” He succumbed to cancer in June 1999; Chiavola’s album From Where I Stand stands as a memorial to his life and work.