Arnim LeRoy Fox (November 9, 1910 – November 10, 1995), better known as Curly (or Curley) Fox, was an American old-time and country fiddler, singer 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, ...

ian.

Biography

Fox was born in

Graysville, Tennessee Graysville is a town in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,471 at the 2020 census and 1,502 at the 2010 census. History Graysville is named for William Gray, an early settler who was appointed postmaster in 1875. The to ...

, United States, as the son of a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

. He learned to play 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 ...

with some help from his father and from James McCarroll, (a member of the Roane County Ramblers). Fox first played professionally on the traveling Indian Medicine Show with Chief White Owl; later, he played with Claude Davis and the Carolina Tar Heels in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Fox founded the Tennessee Firecrackers in the 1930s, performing on

WSB-AM WSB (750 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast on Doraville-licensed WSBB-FM. WSB is the flagship station for Cox Media Group; in addition to WSB and WSBB-FM, it owns three o ...

in Atlanta. For a time, he worked for promoter Larry Sunbrock on his "fiddling contest" show. Sunbrock would travel around the country with his fiddlers and arrange "world championship fiddling contests" in towns along the way. Fox played with the Shelton Brothers on recordings they made for

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 ...

between 1934 and 1936, in addition to recording a few of his own singles. In 1937, Fox met singer Texas Ruby (Ruby Agnes Owens), sister of

Tex Owens Tex Owens (June 15, 1892 – September 9, 1962) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best remembered today for writing the Eddy Arnold hit Cattle Call. The youngest of thirteen children, he was born Doie Hensley Owens in Killeen, ...

, while playing in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. They married shortly thereafter in 1939, and began playing together professionally 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 ...

, where they performed from 1937–1939 and 1944-1948. From 1940-1944, they became a regular feature on ''Boone County Jamboree'' over

WLW-AM WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One. WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provide ...

Cincinnati, Ohio 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 ...

. The couple was invited to be members of The Opry in the late 1930s. They occasionally recorded together, including a session for King Records in 1947. In 1948, Curly and Ruby moved to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where they remained for over a

decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

, working in radio and television. In 1960, the pair returned to work on the ''

'', but Ruby often fell ill and Fox frequently performed solo. An album was recorded together 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 ...

in 1963, but 72 hours after the recording sessions, Ruby died in a mobile home fire. After her death, Fox played solo for several years, but eventually 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 ...

to live with family. Though he ailed in his old age, he sporadically performed live; he returned to Graysville in the mid-1970s, performing with a local bluegrass outfit before retiring. Curly Fox died in November 1995, at the age of 85.

Notes

References

*Charles K. Wolfe, ''Classic Country: Legends of Country Music'' - 2001 *Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music'' - 2003

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Curly 1910 births 1995 deaths People from Rhea County, Tennessee American country fiddlers American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Tennessee King Records artists Starday Records artists Grand Ole Opry members 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Tennessee