ArtistInfo

Don Parmley

bj, 1933-2016 US, Kentucky
Singer of Country
A.k.a. Freeman Don Parmley

American banjo player and singer / songwriter, father of David Parmley. Died July 30, 2016 at the age of 83. A native of Kentucky, Parmley’s family moved west to California when he was a very young boy. There he developed a fascination with bluegrass and the Earl Scruggs style on banjo. In the early 1960s, Don was a founding member of The Hillmen, also known as The Golden State Boys, which included Vern Gosdin and Chris Hillman. The Hillmen became quite popular in southern California, appearing frequently on television, a connection that proved very valuable with Don being tapped to play all the incidental banjo music for the huge CBS hit program, "The Beverly Hillbillies" in the 1960s. Earl Scruggs, of course, played on the show’s prominent theme song. When Hillman left the band to accept a job with The Byrds, The Hillmen disbanded and Don started The Bluegrass Cardinals. His son, David, was only 15 years old at the time the group debuted, and already turning heads as a unique and soulful vocalist. Don kept the Cardinals going for 20 years, with many top artists joining him along the way. Randy Graham was the founding mandolinist, a position also shared by Larry Stephenson, Norman Wright, Herschel Sizemore and several others. Fiddle players included Mike Hartgrove, Warren Blair, and Don Rigsby. The band recorded a number of albums considered essential in the bluegrass canon.

Instruments

• Banjo
• Backing Vocals
• Vocals

Genres

• Country
• Folk

Plays With