Jimmy Thompson (music)
| Uncle Jimmy Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jesse Donald Thompson |
| Born | 1848 Smith County, Tennessee, USA. |
| Died | February 17, 1931 Laguardo, Tennessee, USA |
| Genres | Old-time music |
| Instruments | Fiddle |
| Years active | 1925–1931 |
| Labels | Columbia, Brunswick/Vocalion |
Jesse Donald "Uncle Jimmy" Thompson (1848 – February 17, 1931) was an American old-time fiddle player. He is best remembered as the first performer to play on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry (then called the WSM Barn Dance), appearing with founder and host George D. Hay on the evening of November 28, 1925. The positive response generated by Thompson's performance would be an important influence on the show's creative direction in its formative years. While Thompson made only a handful of recordings late in his life, his cantankerous and eccentric personality and his fiddle skills have made him one of the best-known icons of early country music.
Thompson was born in Smith County, Tennessee (near the town of Baxter) in 1848. Around 1860, his family moved to Texas, and Thompson began playing fiddle shortly thereafter. He likely learned a number of tunes (including "Flying Clouds", which he recorded in 1930) from veterans returning from the American Civil War (1861–1865), and his fiddle style always showed a strong Texas influence. In the 1880s, Thompson moved back to Smith County, where he married his first wife. They stayed in Tennessee for about 20 years before they moved again to Texas. In 1907, Thompson gained regional fame as a fiddler when he won an eight-day fiddle contest in Dallas.
Thompson returned to Tennessee a few years after the Dallas contest, this time settling near Hendersonville, a town located a few miles northeast of Nashville. His first wife died shortly afterward, however, and around 1912 he married his second wife, Ella Manners. In 1916, Thompson and Ella moved to Laguardo, in Wilson County, Tennessee. Being too old to farm, Thompson purchased a Ford truck which he outfitted with a makeshift camper, and he and Ella spent the next several years travelling around the state, performing at various fairs and other gatherings. Thompson played fiddle while "Aunt Ella" buck-danced on a red rug. In 1923, Thompson drove all the way to Dallas, where he again captured first prize in the city's eight-day fiddle contest.
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