Benny Thomasson

Fiddler, Musical Artist

1909 – 1984

70

Who was Benny Thomasson?

Benny Thomasson was an American fiddler in the Texas style of old-time fiddling.

Thomasson was born in Runnels County, Texas and raised in Gatesville, one of 10 children in a family where music was not only encouraged, it was a key ingredient of life. His parents were Lewis Alexander and Sarah Elizabeth Wright Thomasson. The elder Thomasson played fiddle, as did his brother Ed, Benny's uncle. Thomasson began fiddling at age three, from as soon as he could hold the instrument up without dropping it. His father wrote the well-known fiddle tune titled "Midnight on the Water". The boys were influenced by renowned fiddlers such as Eck Robertson and Lefty Franklin, friends of the Thomasson family.

Thomasson entered his first fiddle contest in the late 1920s, at age 19, and was disappointed when he did not place among the top contestants. He decided he needed to be different from the others, and began to work on different interpretations of tunes, so he would stand out at contests.

Thomasson worked hard and took home many trophies. He won several contests multiple times, including the Texas State Championship 15 times, the World Championship three times in a row, and the National Old-time Fiddlers Championship. He improved and improvised on many simple traditional tunes. He practiced and developed controlled improvisation, keeping the tune true to its melody while embellishing and expanding that melody.

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Born
Apr 22, 1909
Runnels County
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Lived in
  • Texas
Died
Jan 1, 1984
Ellis County

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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