Interview with Ramona Jones, March 25, 2006

Interview Summary

Ramona Jones, fiddle player, mandolin player, and wife of Grandpa Jones, discusses her life and career as a musician. She talks about growing up in Indiana in a rural area where she had no electricity or plumbing, and her family foraged for much of their food. She talks about learning to play music as a child, and being offered a job to work with Sunshine Sue while she was still in high school. She talks about meeting and marrying Grandpa Jones, and describes touring together, including a tour for the troops in Korea during the Korean War, working on the television show "Hee Haw", and running a dinner theater in Arkansas. She describes her friendships with various musicians, and her children's interest in music.

Interview Keyword

Jones, Louis Marshall (Artist) Louis Marshall Jones (Artist) Appalachian Region--Economic conditions Appalachian Region--Social conditions Childhood Country life Rural children Rural conditions Daviess County (Ind.) Sunshine Sue (Artist) Korean War, 1950-1953 Friendships Fiddle players Fiddlers Fiddles Hee Haw (Television program) Mountainview (Ark.) Dinner theaters Grandpa Jones (Artist)

Interview LC Subject

Musical ability. Musical instruments. Musical performance Musicians Music--Performance. Bands (Music) Bluegrass musicians Musical groups. Musical families Music--Instruction and study. Women bluegrass musicians. Radio stations Radio programs Old-time music Bluegrass music Country music

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.