Gordon Terry (October 7, 1931 – April 9, 2006) was an American bluegrass and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

fiddler and guitarist. He was a member of

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

's backing band The Strangers. He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Fiddlers Hall of Fame.

Biography

Terry was born in

Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...

and learned to play the fiddle at an early age. He made his first performance on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

at age nine. He attended fiddlers' conventions, and won first prize at the Alabama Fiddling Championship in 1946. In 1950, he joined the Grand Ole Opry and within a year, he performed and recorded with

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

. Terry served in the US Army in Korea. After his discharge, he moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and made his movie debut in ''

Hidden Guns ''Hidden Guns'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Albert C. Gannaway and written by Samuel Roeca and Albert C. Gannaway. The film stars Bruce Bennett, Richard Arlen, John Carradine, Faron Young, Lloyd Corrigan and Angie Dickinson. Th ...

'' in 1956. He appeared in three other movies and one episode of ''

Sky King ''Sky King'' was an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. King usually captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers, ...

''. In 1957, Terry returned for a recording session with Bill Monroe. In the following decades, he recorded with artists such as

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Wynn Stewart Winford Lindsey Stewart (June 7, 1934 – July 17, 1985), better known as Wynn Stewart, was an American country music performer. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound. Although not a huge chart success, he was an inspiration t ...

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, D ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

and many more. In November 1961, he recorded a square dance album with

Flatt & Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Sc ...

. Terry founded Terrytown, an amusement park in

Loretto, Tennessee Loretto is a city in Lawrence County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,714 at the 2010 census, and 1,739 at the 2020 census. History Loretto began as a stagecoach station known as "Glen Rock" in the early 19th century. In 1870, a ...

in 1964, but later sold it. He also founded Reunion Of Professional Entertainers (ROPE), an association with an aim to build a retirement home for entertainers. In 1981, Terry was inducted as a charter member into the Fiddlers Hall of Fame. In the 1980s, the Gordon Terry Parkway in Decatur was named after him. He died in 2006 in

Spring Hill, Tennessee Spring Hill is a city in Maury and Williamson counties, Tennessee, located approximately south of Nashville. Spring Hill's population as of 2020 was 50,005. Spring Hill is recognized as the 4th fastest growing city in Tennessee by the U.S. Cen ...

. He was posthumously inducted into

The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame The Southern Legends Association along with its subsidiaries is a diversified non-profit entertainment company with operations in four business segments, Hall of Fame inductions, artist promotions, musical recordings and various entertainment ...

in 2006.

References

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Gordon Terry on Answers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Gordon 1931 births 2006 deaths People from Decatur, Alabama American bluegrass fiddlers American country singer-songwriters American country fiddlers RCA Victor artists Apex Records artists Liberty Records artists Cadence Records artists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Alabama The Strangers (American band) members Singer-songwriters from Alabama The Tennessee Three members