[Deathwatch] Jimmy Stoneman, musician, 65

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Bassist Jimmy Stoneman Dies in Tennessee
Tue Sep 24, 6:29 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) - Jimmy Stoneman, the bass player for the
legendary Stoneman Family that made recording history in the 1920s and
then regained popularity four decades later, has died, his family said
on Tuesday. 

Stoneman, 65, died on Sunday in a nursing home in Smyrna, Tennessee,
from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease
( news - web sites), his sister, Patsy Stoneman, said. 

The two performed with the group formed by their late father, Ernest V.
"Pop" Stoneman and mother, Hattie, in Galax, Virginia. 

Between 1928 and 1929, the group recorded more than 200 tunes until the
Depression put the brakes on recorded music and the family fell on hard
times. 

Their reemergence in the 1960s saw them perform on college campuses, in
coffee houses and at folk festivals. 

In 1967 they won the Country Music Association's vocal group of the
year award. After Pop Stoneman's death in 1968, the family continued to
perform until they retired from touring in 1994. 

Jimmy Stoneman, whose full name was Oscar James Stoneman, was noted for
his lively upright bass playing which never failed to earn encores.
Four Stoneman sisters and a brother survive.