29. Jimmy Martin

Known by the nickname “King Of Bluegrass”, the way Jimmy Martin got into the music business was like out of a movie. He was inspired by the music he heard in church, and a local hillbilly (living in the hills of his hometown Sneedville) taught him how to play guitar. Hearing there was an opening in Bill Monroe’s band (the originator of bluegrass), Jimmy hopped a bus to Nashville and snuck backstage of the Grand Ole Opry. One of the band members heard Jimmy playing, and brought him forward to audition. Bill hired him, and later that year made him lead singer of the band. In 1955, he split off to form his own band. This new band was focused on being commercially successful and audience friendly, using tight trio harmonies and a snare drum to keep the back-beat. This certainly helped, as Jimmy’s band was able to get some hit songs in the 1960’s. Plus they released some instrumental tracks featuring guitar runs that would come to be extremely influential in the bluegrass and country fields in the future. He would also become one of the classic artists appearing on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s legendary “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” album. Issues with drinking would keep him out of some Nashville institutions, but will that prevent the ‘King Of Bluegrass’ from entering the Hall Of Fame someday?