Recently the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announced the names of the two inductees to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame for 2008. In the non-performing category is the renowned author, the late Charles K. Wolfe.

A self-described “cultural historian,” Charles K. Wolfe was born August 14, 1943, in Sedalia, Missouri, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. His intense interest in old-time fiddle music, plus a desire to learn more about Southern popular country music, led Wolfe to accept employment at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro in 1970, where he taught English, science fiction and folklore until his retirement in 2005.

Gifted and well-respected in all genres of traditional country and bluegrass music as a writer, historian and storyteller, Dr. Wolfe documented musical histories and wrote liner notes for scores of albums. His work is an integral part of several collections released by Bear Family Records, including the last set of Bill Monroe recordings and the Mac Wiseman box-set, Tis Sweet To Be Remembered.

Wolfe was the author or editor of 21 books, focusing mainly on early bountry and bluegrass music, providing a priceless written and photographic documentation of the early days of Southern country music and its people. Titles include Classic Country: Legends of Country Music, A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry, The Bristol Sessions: Writings About the Big Bang of Country Music, Tennessee Strings: The Story of Country Music in Tennessee, Kentucky Country: Folk and Country Music of Kentucky, The Devil’s Box: Masters of Southern Fiddling (1997), DeFord Bailey: A Black Star in Country Music (1991), The Women of Country Music: A Reader, Grand Ole Opry: The Early Years, 1925-35 and a definitive study, The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil V Rosenberg and published in 2007.

A Good Natured Riot won both the prestigious Ralph Gleason Award and the BMI award for the best book on American music.

In addition he wrote numerous of articles for a variety of scholarly journals and music industry magazines, such as the Journal of Country Music, while also acting as the editor of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin.

An avid collector, he validated the study of old time and bluegrass music, writing in an entertaining style that demonstrated a genuine love for his subjects.

Middle Tennessee was like paradise for Wolfe – a 30-minute drive from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, 15 miles from the birthplace and home of the legendary Uncle Dave Macon in adjoining Cannon County, and with easy access to numerous musicians and entertainers who lived in the area. Here he did invaluable research and interviews with surviving members of the early bands that were preserved in his later writing. In the process he became the most recognised authority on string band music of the 1920s and 1930s.

Soon after moving to Tennessee, Wolfe joined the Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddlers Association, judging many of their contests, contributing to their quarterly magazine and getting to know many of the fiddlers personally. (more…)