Jim Eanes (December 6, 1923 – November 21, 1995) 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, ...

singer and guitarist.

Biography

Homer Robert Eanes Jr. was born in Mountain Valley,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and grew up in Martinsville. Eanes learned to play the guitar at an early age despite an injury to his left hand. He had his first musical training as a rhythm guitarist in his father's string band. In 1940, he joined "Roy Hall's Blue Ridge Entertainers" performing at a radio station in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

until 1943 when Roy Hall died. In the mid-1940s, Eanes joined "Uncle Joe and the Blue Mountain Boys". He also performed 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 ...

, and in 1948, 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 ...

's Bluegrass Boys. In 1949, he made his solo recording debut on the Capitol label together with Homer Sherrill on fiddle and

Snuffy Jenkins DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins (October 27, 1908 – April 29, 1990) was an American old time banjo player and an early proponent of the three-finger banjo style. Biography Jenkins was born in Harris, North Carolina,Trischka, Tony, "Sonny Osborne" ...

on banjo. Two years later, in 1951, Eanes formed "The Shenandoah Valley Boys" recording for both the Blue Ridge and Rich-R-Tone label. The Shenandoah Valley Boys performed at radio station " WWVA Wheeling Jamboree". After receiving a recording contract on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, on the proposal of the

A & R Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

man, he changed his musical style from bluegrass to country music. He remained on Decca until 1955, when he began recording for

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

renaming his band: "Smilin' Jim and His Boys". His band by now consisted of Roy Russell on fiddle,

Allen Shelton Allen Shelton was an American five-string banjo player mostly known for being a member of the bluegrass band Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys since the 1960s. Shelton was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina on July 2, 1936. Shelton started ...

on banjo, and Arnold Terry on bass. One of his most popular songs, "Your Old Standby", became his signature song. Another heart touching gospel song he wrote "Not Afraid" was widely recorded by many well known artists. Eanes worked as a

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

in the 1960s for several radio stations. In the late 1960s, he worked with "

Red Smiley Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

and the Bluegrass Cut-Ups" and when Smiley retired, Eanes took over the band calling it "The Shenandoah Cutups". They released a few albums and disbanded shortly after 1970. Eanes began an extensive tour visiting bluegrass festivals in both the United States and Western Europe during the 1970s and early 1980s. He even recorded an album in Belgium with the local band: the "Smoketown Strut". He had a heart attack in 1978. He died on November 21, 1995, of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

Selected discography

*Bluegrass Ballads – Rebel 1643 (1986) *Reminiscing – Rebel 1653 (1987) *Let Him Lead You – Rebel 1673 (1989) *5oth Anniversary – Rebel 1683 (1990) *Heart of the South (with Bobby Atkins) – Rural Rhythm RHY-1012(1991)

References

Bibliography

*Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music'' – 2003 *Kurt Wolff, Orla Duane, ''Country Music: The Rough Guide'' – 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eanes, Jim 1923 births 1995 deaths Bluegrass musicians from Virginia American country singer-songwriters American people of Portuguese-Jewish descent American Sephardic Jews Singer-songwriters from Virginia Starday Records artists 20th-century American singers Jewish American musicians Foggy Mountain Boys members