Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 4, 1995 TAG: 9508040013
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Skaggs got a laugh out of that one and came back one better:
"Bill Monroe'd say, 'What's Mozart know about bluegrass?'''
By the time he was 3 years old, Skaggs was singing solos at the Free Will Baptist Church in rural Kentucky. When he was 5, his father bought Ricky a mandolin he spotted in a pawnshop.
"The Lord really poured some gifts into my spirit," Skaggs explains now. "My dad would show me things on the mandolin and I would just grab it and start trying to create things on my own. ... In a way, I think I might've come off as arrogant and egotistical. You don't expect kids to do those kind of things, but my dad was very gracious about it."
Skaggs made his stage debut in 1959 at the ripe old age of 5. Bill Monroe called him from the audience to perform at a concert he was doing near Skaggs' hometown.
A few years later, Skaggs appeared on national television with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. He earned $52.50 for performing "Ruby" and "Honky Tonk Swing."
Hobert and Dorothy Skaggs tried to get their "little bluegrass Mozart" a spot on the Grand Ole Opry in 1961 but were told he was too young. In June 1982, almost 21 years later to the day, Skaggs was inducted as the Opry's 61st member. At the time, he was the youngest ever selected for the honor.
Skaggs has produced four gold albums: "Waitin' for the Sun to Shine," "Don't Cheat in Our Hometown," "Country Boy" and "Live in London." Although he still plays mandolin (as well as banjo, fiddle and other strings), his instrument of choice these days is guitar. Musician magazine listed Skaggs as one of the top 100 guitarists of the 20th century.
Since 1982, the Country Music Association has named Skaggs "Entertainer of the Year," "Instrumentalist of the Year" and "Male Vocalist of the Year." He and his band, Kentucky Thunder, have earned umpteen awards.
Awards don't amount to a hill of beans where Skaggs is concerned, however.
"I realized that the purpose and reason of my music is to touch people's lives and hopefully encourage others to get closer to the Lord," he told an interviewer, "but I don't try to do that through religious talk. ... I look at what I'm doing now as a ministry, even though it's camouflaged in the secular world as a career in music."
Skaggs performs at 7 and 9 tonight at the New River Valley Fair. Gate admission, $5, includes grandstand seating on a first-come basis. Reserved chair seating is an additional $6. Call 674-1548 for information.
THE "S" WORD: Sleek, shiny, sexy, sporty, sharp, showy, smooth, sophisticated - pick a word, any word.
They all describe one thing: classic cars.
From the Rolls Royce to the Mustang to the Corvette, we have a love affair with wheels.
As luck would have it, we can catch two car shows this weekend in the area.
The annual David "Pud" Pannell Show is Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Radford's Bisset Park. The Radford Fire Department and New River Pontiac-GMC Truck-Nissan are the sponsors. Admission is free for spectators.
On Sunday, head for Floyd County High School and the fifth annual Jesse Conner Memorial Car Show. This one features 27 classes of vehicles, including vintage autos, pickup trucks, race cars and motorcycles.
A model car contest, door prizes, food and a live auction are part of the fun, too. You'll find sports and race car memorabilia up for grabs at the auction.
The show runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it's sponsored by the Floyd Recreational Authority and Floyd Parks Committee. The $4 admission will benefit the park in Floyd. Kids under 10 get in free with a paying adult.
If it rains, the event will be held Aug. 13.
DIG IT! Artifacts and photographs of archaeological finds from around the New River Valley and Southwest Virginia are on display now at the Wilderness Road Regional Museum in Newbern.
Graham Simmerman has a display of items from the cabin site in Radford where Mary Draper Ingles spent the rest of her days after returning from Indian captivity in Ohio territory. The excavation near the New River turned up several 18th-century artifacts.
The exhibit also includes artifacts and photographs from the Wyms tenant house on Rock Road outside Radford. These were uncovered last year by a team of archaeologists from the College of William and Mary.
Other areas showcased in the exhibit include the Radford Army Ammunition Plant site in Montgomery County and the Fort Chiswell dig in Wythe County.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
To get there from Interstate 81, take Exit 98 in Pulaski County and follow the museum signs. Newbern is a National Historic District.
BUSTER WHO? Remember Buster Crabbe?
The golden oldies among us remember him well. He was the television and movie star who won our hearts in those exciting films of the '40s and '50s.
Sports fans should remember him, too.
Clarence "Buster" Crabbe won the 400-meter freestyle competition in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was the first Olympic champion to swim the race in less than five minutes. In fact, Crabbe set five world records during his career as a swimmer.
You might say Crabbe was the Schwarzenegger of his generation.
You can step back to that generation Saturday at the Nickelodeon in Radford University's Russell Hall. The monthly classic film series starts at 7 p.m. in room 108.
Crabbe stars in "Wild Horse Phantom," one of three movies on the program. You'll also see "Legions of the Lawless" starring George O'Brien and "Savage Horde" starring Bill Elliott.
You can't beat the price at the Nickelodeon. Admission is free.
by CNB