Jana Jae (born August 30, 1943) is an American country and bluegrass fiddler.

Early life and education

She started playing when she was two and a half years old. Both of her parents were violin students at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in New York, and her maternal grandfather was a country fiddler. In her youth, Jae won scholarships to Interlochen and the International String Congress. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in music and studied abroad at the Vienna Academy of Music.Cantrell, Charles (2009)
"The Queen of Country Fiddle Still 'Got That Swing'"
''Greater Tulsa Reporter''.

Career

She gained national fame by appearing on the nationally broadcast

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

/ syndicated television series ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 199 ...

'' as part of

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

's band in the 1970s. Prior to her work with Owens, she won the Ladies' Division National Fiddling Championship. Her trademark is playing a blue

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

. Since the late 1970s, Jae has continued performing internationally, both as the leader of her own band, and with orchestra. Additionally, she has appeared with such country music artists as

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer and musician. He is best known for having hosted ''Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influen ...

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

The Oakridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

, and the

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

. Jae also organizes an annual fiddle camp and fiddle festival in

Grove, Oklahoma Grove is a city in Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,623 at the 2010 census, an increase of 27.6 percent over the figure of 5,131 recorded in 2000.

Personal life

In 1977, Jae was married to Buck Owens while a performing fiddler with the Buckaroos. Jae and Owens were married for only a few days before Owens filed for annulment. However, Owens changed his mind and the couple had an off-and-on relationship for an additional year before a divorce was finalized.

References

External links

Official homepage

Voices of Oklahoma interview.
First person interview conducted on May 9, 2018, with Jana Jae. 1942 births Living people American bluegrass fiddlers American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American country fiddlers People from Grove, Oklahoma Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma Country musicians from Oklahoma 21st-century American women {{US-country-musician-stub