Legendary bluegrass musician Don Parmley, a native of Wayne County, died on Saturday, July 30 at the age of 82. Parmley's group, The Bluegrass Cardinals, were an early influence in the world of bluegrass music.
"The Bluegrass Cardinals rose very quickly to become a very important product of their time, the late 1970's and all through the 80's," stated WSM radio and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs, who officiated Parmley's funeral service on Tuesday, August 2 at the Hicks-Vaughn Funeral Home. "Their standard of excellence on record and in person was second to none. There was a lot of complexity within the Bluegrass Cardinals' music, made in three-chord songs they were doing, but it was that complexity within the simplicity that made that music so great."
Stubbs said the standard of excellence set by that group was second to none.
"It's only a matter of time, I feel like, before the International Bluegrass Music Association recognizes the Bluegrass Cardinals with an induction into its hall of fame," Stubbs said. "What Don and David Parmley did, and their vision and the music that they made, was extraordinary."
He said it is timeless music and likened it to something the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe, once said to him, "A record is forever. Those things will outlive us all."
In April 2007 "A Day with Don Parmley was held in Wayne County." The event featured some great musical performances, and a chance for local residents to visit with Parmley. Signs were erected on KY 90 at the Clinton and Pulaski county lines that state "Welcome to Wayne County, Home of Don Parmley, Founding Member of The Bluegrass Cardinals."
During an interview with The Outlook in 2007, Parmley noted that coming back to Wayne County brought back memories of his musical beginning. As a 12-year-old, Parmley visited his grandpa, who lived about a quarter of a mile away. They listened to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and then the young Parmley would play his grandfather's banjo.
Parmley and his wife, Betty Jean Abbott-Parmley, moved to California in 1956, where his musical career took off. He met Flatt and Scruggs and had an opportunity to play the banjo for "The Beverly Hillbillies." For nine consecutive seasons, when one scene segued into the next, the banjo interlude that viewers heard came from Parmley.
As the show was winding down its television run, Parmley's son, David, was beginning his musical career. At the age of 12, he was performing with his father. They met another musician, Randy Graham, and the three would play together whenever they got the chance. That was the beginning of The Bluegrass Cardinals.
Parmley and his wife moved to Virginia in 1976. He retired from full-time touring in 1995.
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