Kennedy Jones or Jonesey (1 August 1900 – 6 September 1990) was an American guitarist and music writer.The FINGERSTYLE GUITARIST Vol 2 No 2 July 1998
/ref> He was born on a farm in

Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Muhlenberg County () is a county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,928. Its county seat is Greenville. History Muhlenberg County was formed in 1798 from the areas known as Logan and Christian ...

. He received his inspiration from his mother Alice who played several instruments. He married Irene Hicks, a pianist, and they performed together early in his career. He claimed to be the first guitarist to play using a

thumbpick A fingerpick is a type of plectrum used most commonly for playing bluegrass style banjo music. Most fingerpicks are composed of metal or plastic (usually Celluloid or Delrin). Unlike flat guitar picks, which are held between the thumb and fi ...

- at a

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

in 1918. Previously thumbpicks had been used only for the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

Hawaiian guitar Hawaiian guitar may refer to: *Lap steel guitar, a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap *Ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ...

. He also played the

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 ...

and declined to join

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

's band ''The Drifting Pioneers.'' Jones composed the thumbpickers anthem "Cannonball Rag," but when Travis recorded the tune in the 1940s, the latter received the credit. In 1939 Jones moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He played in several bands, one which included his sons, Donald and Kennedy Jr. His daughter Farre Lee too was an accomplished guitarist/singer, who regularly performed on radio station WLW. In the 1950s Jones moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

close to his daughter. Travis, Mose Rager and

Ike Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

all claim to have been influenced by Jonesey. All four men were honored by the construction of The Four Legends Fountain in

Drakesboro, Kentucky Drakesboro is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 515 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Incorporated in 1888, the city was na ...

. He is buried at

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio. His youngest son Donald E. Jones and his eldest son Kennedy, played alongside each other on the TV program ''The Midwestern Hayride''. His daughter, known as Lee Jones, sang on the program. She was known as the Yodeling Cowgirl.

References

1900 births 1990 deaths American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists American country guitarists American country songwriters American male songwriters Bluegrass musicians from Kentucky People from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Fingerstyle guitarists Country musicians from Kentucky Songwriters from Kentucky 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Kentucky 20th-century American male musicians {{US-guitarist-stub