Fiddle Music

Of My Youth

As a young boy growing up, music was alway a part of our life. My Dad's family were all musicians, but especially my Uncle Nath and his son Joe Nathan Stephenson as fiddle players and my Aunt Robena Watts, an excellent fiddle player, but mostly I saw her on the guitar. All of my dad's brothers and sisters could play music, using multiple string instruments--fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and etc. At most family gatherings music was always played. My dad's family learned from their parents--Walter and Annie Stephenson. Many of the fiddle tunes I grew up listening to were handed down from my grandfather and his father before him. Unfortunately, I never inherited the abilty to play by ear like many of my cousins did. At least in my immediate family no one ever hears these "old time" fiddle tunes any more. It's kind of sad, in my opinion, as I enjoyed them so much growning up. My father, Walter James (Jim) Stephenson, could play the fiddle, guitar, banjo, and madolin, but he did it for fun and enjoyment. As I look back over my years, (I'll be 74 next month) I discovered I don't have any recordings of those old fiddle tunes that I once enjoyed listening to so much.

Of my five brothers and sisters, only one developed the musical talent--my sister, Carolyn Stephenson. She can play the fiddle and the guitar--lucky her!!

I remember many evenings sitting with my Uncle Nath, his son Joe Nathan, neighboring farmer, Raymond Brown, and a young man by the name of Texas Shorty. They would play the fiddle until well after midnight on many a night. Texas Shorty would go on to become a very well known fiddle player. Lucky for me I found some of the old tunes that my family would play on the internet and Texas Shorty is playing most of them--some are video but some are just audio. Either way enjoy the music that originated many years ago. --
Jenk Stephenson

Jim Chancellor AKA "Texas Shorty" bio
Benny Thomasson bio