Johnny Gimble

Born in Tyler, Texas in 1926, Johnny Gimble is a titan of Western swing who would go on to be one of the most well-known fiddlers in all of country music. 

Gimble began playing music at a young age, playing dance halls and radio shows with his brothers George and Jerry through his teen years. During this time, an early mentor taught him the value of improvisation, a skill which proved invaluable for Gimble’s later talents as a highly versatile stylist and soloist. 

After volunteering for service during WWII (where he honed his fiddling talents during off hours), Gimble returned to Texas, playing out and appearing on his first recordings. This set the stage for him to join Bob Willis’ Texas Playboys in 1949, one of the most popular Western swing bands of the day. Gimble not only set himself apart with his impressive technique, but also with his unconventional use of the five-string fiddle and the electric mandolin.

By 1951, Gimble had formed his own group. For the next several decades he worked tirelessly, touring and working as a session musician for such legendary names as Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Connie Smith, Loretta Lynn, Chet Atkins and many more. His career spanned work on classic Western swing, country and rock records as well as regular appearances in film and TV.

While his recordings as a bandleader were relatively numbered, he managed to record a select few excellent albums for CMH in his time. For 1980’s Still Swingin’, Gimble assembled a legendary ensemble to revisit a few classics of the Western swing canon. The 1981 album The Texas Fiddle Collection is a major double-LP featuring career-defining performances of 28 of Gimble’s favorite bluegrass and country numbers. 

In 2010, at age 83, Johnny Gimble and CMH recorded the very special album Celebrating with Friends. The album features a number of Gimble’s original songs and a few favorite selections from across his time in country music. Celebrating with Friends boasts an all-star cast of musicians, including appearances by such major names as Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and A Prairie Home Companion’s Garrison Keillor. This unique release was Gimble’s final album.

Johnny Gimble passed away in 2015. In his lifetime he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Country Music Hall of Fame followed suit posthumously in 2019. His iconic playing as a fiddler graced several hundred recordings in his lifetime and influenced innumerable musicians on the instrument who followed in his footsteps.