Bobby Hicks Death, Obituary – Bobby Hicks, a fiddler who was undoubtedly one of the most renowned and enduring performers to ever play bluegrass music, has away due to complications resulting from heart disease. After having a heart attack on Saturday (8/10), he underwent surgery yesterday to have a pacemaker implanted, and he passed away while sleeping at approximately 3:30 a.m. this morning. At the time, he was 91 years old.

Few people have done as much as Bobby Hicks has done to define bluegrass fiddle as thoroughly and with as much joy and enthusiasm. From his early days with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys to his time playing mainstream country in Las Vegas to his remarkable tenure with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Bobby Hicks contributed to the definition of bluegrass fiddle.

Little Bobby Hicks, who was born Robert Caldwell Hicks on July 21, 1933 in Newton, North Carolina, was introduced to the fiddle for the first time by Smoky Graves. This was several years after Bobby had learned to play the mandolin and guitar when he was a little lad. Over the course of his childhood, his family played traditional mountain music, and he found himself drawn into it rather easily.

Bobby’s brother eventually became dissatisfied with his mandolin playing and kicked him out of the band. After that, Bobby devoted himself entirely to playing the fiddle. Bobby participated in his first fiddle competition not long after his family relocated to Greensboro when he was 12 years old. He ended up winning the North Carolina State Championship in this competition.

He continued to compete in conventions and contests over the course of the subsequent several years, eventually becoming a fine player and gaining his fair share of victories. The year 1953 marked the beginning of his first professional gig, which was playing the fiddle for Jim Eanes. It was in Nashville that he also experienced his first sample of recording. Not too much time had passed when he began working for Benny Jarrell and the Flint Hill Playboys, as well as for the country artist Bob Williams.

Nevertheless, Bobby’s destiny was predetermined when, in 1953, he was requested to play bass for a series of dates that Bill Monroe was doing in North Carolina. Bill approached him around the time when those shows were being finished and asked him if he wanted the position full time, which would require him to relocate to Nashville.

After Bill became aware of the fact that his young bass player was a talented fiddler, he promoted him to the position of bass player. During this time period, Hicks recorded a number of Monroe treasures, including Wheel Hoss, Roanoke, and Cheyenne, all of which continue to be accepted standards to this day.

The Korean War forced Hicks to take a hiatus from music for a period of two years, from 1956 to 1958, while serving in the Army. On the other hand, upon his return, he reconnected with Monroe and recorded a number of other iconic songs with the band.

The majority of the tracks on Bill’s Bluegrass Instrumentals LP, which was issued in 1965, feature his violin, despite the fact that the majority of the tracks had been recorded in the late 1950s. Stoney Lonesome, Tall Timber, Brown County Breakdown, Panhandle Country, Big Mon, Scotland, Monroe’s Hornpipe, and the cut of Wheel Hoss that Bobby had done in 1953 are some of the songs that we listened to on that particular occasion. Charlie Cline, Gordon Terry, Kenny Baker, and Vassar Clements were among the musicians who played double or triple fiddles alongside many of those individuals.