Cousin Roy
The many moods of
Roy Clark
by Dave Harrison

It’s a tribute to the Meherrin, Va.-born Roy Clark that he means so many things to so many people. To most, he’s probably known as co-host of Hee Haw, the long-running country variety show that combined high-quality music performances with cornball schtick.

To couch potatoes and drag queens, Clark is known as Cousin Roy and Big Mama Halsey, a fashion-challenged mother-and-son team that made their way onto The Beverly Hillbillies in the mid-’60s.

But to longtime lovers of country music, he’s considered one of the great guitar pickers of all-time, and perhaps that rare American instrumental virtuoso who is also highly respected as a vocalist. Roy Linwood Clark was born on April 15, 1933, and he played banjo and mandolin while still living in southside Virginia. But it wasn’t until his family moved to Washington, D.C. — when Roy was 14 — that his talents really blossomed.

He won the National Banjo Championship at the age of 16, appeared at the Grand Ole Opry at 18, and by the late 1950s — thanks to a regular stint on the D.C.-based Country Style TV show that starred Jimmy Dean — was on a dual track to success on radio and television. At that time, the stocky picker was an in-demand session player (playing lead guitar on legendary sessions by rockabilly maven Wanda Jackson). Later came his own recordings, which included pop hits like "The Tips of My Fingers" and "Yesterday, When I Was Young," and an invitation to play Jethro’s cousin as well as Uncle Jed’s sister in 1963 on The Beverly Hillbillies, the most popular television show in America.

In 1969, Hee Haw beckoned. Most people have forgotten that Hee Haw (which also featured the Virginia-born Ronnie Stoneman in its cast) was inspired by the pop-art Laugh-In show. The latter may have had funnier jokes and more bikinis, but the cornfield version boasted weekly music performances from Nashville’s cream of the crop, and quick-edit quips from hosts Clark and Buck Owens. Roy stayed with the show through its 22-year network and syndication run.

Even with the successes, the stocky picker’s career highlight may have occurred in 1976, when he became the first U.S. star to play the Soviet Union — Paul McCartney and Elton John may have generated more publicity with their subsequent trips, but Roy Clark blazed the trail. And when he got there, his passport made that most unlikely of connections: Meherrin and Moscow.

Recommended on CD:
Roy Clark’s Greatest Hits (Varese Sarabande)
The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark (Razor & Tie)

--- Originally published in 64 Magazine, Jan.-Feb. 2001. For more information, log on at www.64magazine.org