Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Sad News Roy Clark passed away

I just read today that Roy Clark passed away at the age of 85 at his home in Tulsa. He was just an awesome banjo player and an extremely funny guy on “Hee Haw”. My condolences to his family, he will be truly missed.

An extremely talented guy and he seemed to be a genuinely good person as well. He influenced me as a kid.

Sad indeed

@Mike_R I had read also that Brad Paisley said that after (Brads’) house flooded? or burned down? he lost a major majority or all of his guitars, that Roy came by and gave him one of his. From the article, Roy was a very caring and giving person.

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Not only an amazing banjo picker, but also guitarist and fiddler of the highest order. Very sad indeed :cry:

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What a talented man. Amazing picker and story teller and funny guy. Watch a young Roy Clark tear his guitar apart on the Jimmy Dean show.

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You brought joy to soooo many people! R.I.P. (I hope that doesn’t trigger some PC alert these days… but it is meant genuinely.

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What an entertainer!

What does he play right after under the double eagle? Cuz thunderstruck beware if that becomes popular :joy:

Buffalo Gal’s won’t you come out tonight

Perhaps in the top 10 entertainers in the last 100 years, which is a big statement, but I believe it.

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@BanjoBen You have met and played with soooo many great musicians over the years(great includes you), from playing with Taylor Swift and soo many others. Did you ever have the pleasure of meeting Roy Clark?. He seems like such a humble guy, it would have been cool just to hang out with him. And I agree with the top 10 entertainer statement.

I never got to meet him, unfortunately. I did have the honor of hanging out with Buck Owens a couple of times out in Bakersfield, but never Roy. Also, the word is that these two guys didn’t get along well at all. Roy was a pretty strict professional, whereas Buck liked to…um, party, you might say. It caused quite a bit of tension behind the set of HeeHaw and they were at each others’ throats over the years, but you could never tell it!

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I did have the honor of hanging out with Buck Owens a couple of times out in Bakersfield…
[/quote]That would have been awesome, just to talk to him and hang out.
My sister lives in Bfield. I havent been there in eons.
According to Wikipedia…" In the late 1940s he became a truck driver and drove through the San Joaquin Valley of California. He was impressed by Bakersfield, where he and his wife settled in 1951." I would think that in the 1940’s you could see from one end of Bakersfield to the other…
"

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Well then, that’s the fastest I’ve ever heard buffalo gals played

Roy was a slick player

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I wonder who will play at his funeral? I bet there will be some amazing music there. Roy Clark has always been a favorite of mine.

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Brandon I think there will be a huge lineup.

RIP Roy. He was a great musician, a great entertainer, and from all accounts, an overall great human being.

This is worthy of more discussion. One doesn’t hang out with Buck Owens in Bakersfield and not come back with some stories. At least I hope not. However, this thread is about Roy and probably not the place to probe and prod Ben for Buck Owens’ stories. I’m starting a new thread…

All Buck had to do was strum open chords though. Roy was tons better from an instrumental perspective, though Buck had a better voice.

I can sure understand why things were like that between them. Roy had to work a lot harder.