Greg Hooven

1969 ~ 2005

Old Time Fiddle Master

".....with us just a moment ago, never to be forgotten".

The late Joe Wilson, Director (retired), NCTA

Greg Hooven Archives
Galax, VA 24333
ph: 540-793-1695
greghoovenarchives@yahoo.com

Video Archives

Live recordings from the instructional DVD titled Old-Time Banjo Styles (1994) taught by Mike Seeger from Homespun Tapes (1 800-33-TAPES). Used with permission of Happy Traum, CEO, Homespun Tapes. Filmed at the Levon Helm Studio in Woodstock, New York.

Back Step Cindy Old Joe Clark Breaking Up Train on the Island

Christmas

Static pictures with music added from the October 2000 performance at Sweetbriar College in Amherst, Virginia by Greg Hooven and The Galax Way.

Fisher's Hornpipe Dixie's Hornpipe Texas Quick Step Sally Goodin

Static pictures with music added from the 1994 CD Old Roots and New Branches by Kirk Sutphin with backup from Greg Hooven and Wayne Henderson. Released on County Records, Floyd, VA. Used with the permission of Dave Freeman, CEO, County Records. Entire CD available for sale at www.countysales.com or call 1 540 745 2001.

Sweet Little Julie Wild Bill Jones

Audio/Video not recorded by this site, but found on the web using a You Tube search for "Greg Hooven". These Videos were uploaded onto You Tube by 'warehambr'. Thanks to 'warehambr' for these uploads. In reference to Red Rocking Chair, 'warehambr' says: "I would say this is my favorite version of the old Charlie Monroe tune. Greg Hooven's fiddling and vocals are great........this one can still be obtained from County Records. It's on "The Galax Way" and well worth the money." In the Sugar Hill description, 'warehambr' describes Greg Hooven as "one of the finest fiddlers to ever pull a bow". I think many of us agree with that! On Cherokee Rose, another 'warehambr' upload, we once again can hear Greg's fiddle and vocals along with the fine instrumentation of the rest of the Bogtrotters. Entire CD available for sale at www.countysales.com or call 1 540 745 2001.

Sugar Hill Red Rocking Chair Cherokee Rose

There are numerous field recordngs of Greg Hooven that have recently surfaced. Here is one provided to Karin Magno by Martha Brooks, Greg's Mom. It is called My God Delivers Again. Greg sings and plays fiddle. As a field recording, the audio is not the best. We are working on cleaning it up a bit, but the field at Felts or Veteran's Memorial Park is not the studio. The other musicians and the location are unknown. The year is 1991 or 1992. If anyone can help identify location or the other nmusicians, please let Karin know at the contact adress below. The second field recording is caleed The Fiddlehead Blues. Written by Greg at Fiddlehead Dance and Music Camp according to Trina Royer (Asheville, NC). It was performed at the camp by an impromtu band called The Body Rockers which was Greg Hooven, Dirk Powell, John Herrmann, and one other person.

My God Delivers Again The Fiddlehead Blues

This first video shown below was the only recorded field recording in the public domain that I found of Greg Hooven playing live so far. It was recorded by Steve Wishnevsky and uploaded to You Tube almost 5 years ago. I think it dates to the late 90's and was recorded at the Sparta Fiddler's Convention. If you are missing the other additions on this page that were posted previously (i.e., the audio files uploaded to You Tube with some static pictures), we are trying to work through the copyright issues with the recording labels in order to repost them with all proper acknowlegement and fees paid. However, our limited budget does hamper our ability to pay those deserved royalties. Due to the kindness and genorosity of Happy Traum, the Founder & CEO of Homespun Tapes, we are now able to provide some short video clips from an excellent instructional DVD with Mike Seeger. That DVD is available for purchase from Homespun Tapes (1-800-33-TAPES) titled "Old-Time Banjo Styles". That DVD has Doc Watson, the members of Back Step (Greg Hooven, Chester McMillian, Kirk Sutphin, Nick McMillian, Marvin Cockram), and others featured in it. If you have any other field recordings or video to add to this page, please notify Karin at greghoovenarchives@yahoo.com so she can figure out how to transfer them to this website and return them to you. Enjoy.

Other Videos of Greg Hooven (not yet available to us):

Joe Wilson put a video clip of Greg in one the videos at the new exhibit, Roots of American Music, at the Blue Ridge Music Center. That short clip shows Greg Hooven on fiddle with Chester McMillian (guitar) in the background It was originally filmed in 1981 by Dale Morris at the Mount Airy Fiddler's Convention. Joe describes Greg as "playing his a** off. He was young, with peach fuzz on his face, but it is the great kid you knew". The Blue Ridge Music Center is located at Milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Galax and Hillsville. From the parkway entrance near Galax off of Rte. 89, take the Blue Ridge Parkwway North. From the parkway entrance near Hillsville off of Rte. 52, take the Blue Ridge Parkway south. The Blue Ridge Music center is open this year (2012) from May 4 through May 26 on Thursday through Monday from 9 AM to 5 PM. From May 27 though October 28, it is open 7 days a week, same times. There is live music daily from 12 Noon to 4 PM. Park Ranger Janet Bachmann and her colleagues are wonderful resources. Call 1 276 236 5309 with questions or better yet, please find the time to stop by and learn about our important musical heritage. The roots of American Music Video link is listed below: http://www.blueridgemusiccenter.org/blueridgeexhibit.aspx. Although Greg is not in this snippet, the video describes a great history of American Traditional Music, eloquently interpreted by Joe Wilson.

Please check out You Tube for additional videos. Just click on the link or type 'Greg Hooven' in the search box. Here is one from Galax, 1994: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Eta1m4n-3g

GALAX DANCE COMPETITION, 1994

Thanks to Ken Landreth for sharing this video of Greg playing for the dance competition at Galax! You'll also see Nancy Sluys, Bill Sluys, Robbie Shaw, Rick Davidson, and Jacki Spector tag-teaming the playing!
Greg Hooven and Dennis Hall playing Old Sport at Sparta Fiddler's Convention, late 90's.
Sparta Fiddlers Convention with Greg Hooven & Dennis Hall
Rose Sinclair, Greg Hooven, James Leva, Dirk Powell, and others. Recorded at the Mt. Airy Fiddler's 1990 by Dave Wells. The tune is Sugar Hill. Shared with Dave Wells permission.
Some Old-time royalty throughout this video, with Greg Hooven, James Leva, Dirk Powell, Rose Sinclair, Carol Elizabeth Jones, and many other familiar faces. Pay extra attention to Greg's fiddling in this one as you'll be able to see many of the nuances that gave him such a recognizable sound to his playing. This is 7 minutes and 45 seconds of Sugar Hill played by some of the best anywhere. The cloggers seem to be having a lot of fun, too.

Found on the web at www.greghooven.org

Found on Facebook at Greg Hooven Archives

This Website seems to view best in Internet Explorer.

Greg Hooven Archives
Galax, VA 24333
ph: 540-793-1695
greghoovenarchives@yahoo.com