Joe Thompson 1918 - 2012

Today we mourn the passing of old time fiddler Joe Thompson. Joe, who passed away yesterday at the age of 93, was an African-American traditional musician who, along with his banjo playing cousin Odell Thompson, did much to keep a unique American string band tradition that was largely ignored by the mainstream music media alive. Joe was born in Orange County, North Carolina, in 1918 where he learned his fiddle style and repertoire from his father. He received the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship in 2007, and was a mentor and inspiration to the contemporary African-American string band, The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Joe Thompson 1918 - 2012   R.I.P.