| 2. |  Charlie Boyd Acuff was born 5 Dec 1919, Union County, Tennessee (son of Evart Acuff and Reva Evans); died 22 Nov 2013, Asbury Place; was buried 24 Nov 2013, Sherwood Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Blount County, Tennessee. Notes:
Charlie Acuff to Receive 2005 Governor’s Awards in the Arts
The Tennessee Arts Commission announced on February 2 that Blount County resident Charlie Acuff has been selected to receive one of the 2005 Governor’s Awards in the Arts. This is the state’s highest honor in the arts. It was established in 1971 to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the cultural life of Tennessee. Two awards will be presented in the Folklife Heritage area. The other recipient is fiddler Fletcher Bright, who lives on Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga.
Mr. Charlie and his wife Dorothy have long been friends of the Nashville Old-Time String Band Association, having come for years to participate in the annual Breakin’ Up Winter retreat. A cousin of Roy Acuff, the left-handed fiddler lives in Alcoa, in East Tennessee. For years he played with the old-time string band The Lantana Drifters, and he continues to be a part of the Museum of Appalachia Band, entertaining countless visitors with his front-porch picking and delightful storytelling skills. Interestingly, he owns five of the 30-some fiddles his father Evart Acuff made, and they are the only ones he plays. He was shown how to fiddle by his grandfather, also named Charles, who taught his grandson tunes that dated to the Civil War and earlier. Mr. Charlie guesses he knows how to play some 300 tunes.
Although, he has played on Garrison Keillor’s well-known National Public Radio show Prairie Home Companion and for a variety of politicians and famous folks from Lamar Alexander to the late author, Alex Haley, who penned the book Roots, he is a gentle and unassuming man who is friendly to everyone. Still, at 85 years young he loves nothing better than to play music for hours with his many friends of all ages. During a recent telephone call, he chuckled about his thoughts regarding his recent honor.
“At first, I just sat on the couch, shocked,” he said. “Then I got to thinking about all the friends that I have that said all those nice things about me to make this possible. I really think they should have this award, not me. They did the work, and all I did was just fiddle.”
The recipients of these awards will be honored at an invitation-only dinner in Nashville on March 15. There, they will be recognized by Governor Phil Bredesen. In continuing his week of celebration, Mr. Charlie also will be recognized and will perform at the Laurel Theater on March 19 in Knoxville during the three-day Jubilee Festival, March 18-20. Fletcher Bright and the Dismembered Tennesseans also will be on Saturday’s bill.
Patsy Weiler
Charlie married Dorothy W. Wallace Abt 1950. Dorothy (daughter of Frank Wallace and Elizabeth) was born 9 Aug 1920; died 4 Jul 2007, Colonial Hills Healthcare Center; was buried 7 Jul 2007, Sherwood Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Blount County, Tennessee. [Group Sheet]
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Dorothy W. Wallace was born 9 Aug 1920 (daughter of Frank Wallace and Elizabeth); died 4 Jul 2007, Colonial Hills Healthcare Center; was buried 7 Jul 2007, Sherwood Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Blount County, Tennessee.