You can be part of the celebration
On 25th December 2009 bluegrass legend Curly Seckler will celebrate his 90th birthday. Curly was born in 1919 in China Grove, North Carolina. He began his musical career on WSTP radio in Salisbury, NC in 1935, in a family band called the Yodeling Rangers. He performed in pioneering bluegrass bands with Charlie Monroe, Dan Bailey, Mac Wiseman, The Stanley Brothers, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, and The Sauceman Brothers, but is best known for his dozen years as a member of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys. After Flatt and Scruggs parted ways, Curly joined Lester Flatt’s Nashville Grass. Following Flatt’s death in 1979, Curly took over leadership of the group for another fifteen years, headlining at bluegrass festivals across the country.
In 1994, at age 74, Curly disbanded the Nashville Grass and ceased full-time touring. However he continued to write songs, to record, and to perform at selected events. In 2004 he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame. Rather than resting on his laurels, Seckler was inspired by that honor to embark upon a career resurgence of sorts. At age 84 he made a series of new recordings and began performing again at bluegrass festivals, concert halls, and on radio and television. His recent performances have included MerleFest, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, IBMA’s Fan Fest and Awards Show, the River of Music Party in Owensboro, KY, Song of the Mountains TV show, and Ernest Tubb Records’ Midnite Jamboree over WSM.
We’d like to ask for your help in making Curly’s 90th birthday his best ever. You may send birthday greetings to Curly in one of two ways:
- Via email at: curly@curlyseckler.net
- Via US mail to: Curly Seckler, c/o Penny Parsons Co., PO Box, 51605, Durham, NC 27717.
Please send to arrive by December 24 so that we may present them to Curly at his birthday party on Christmas weekend. And visit our web site in January to view photos from the party.
Thank you for your friendship and support, and the very best wishes for the holiday season! Watch for more exciting information soon regarding another career milestone for Curly Seckler.
Penny Parsons Co. 919-489-4635, penny@curlyseckler.net
www.curlyseckler.net
Curly you were always my favorite tenor singer.
I met Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper years ago, and you
had just left Lester@Earl, And I was telling Wilma Lee, that Lester@Earl would never have that same sound without you. And I was right. You and Lester, well you were the best.
So Happy 90th Birthday Curly.
Joby singer