THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bluegrass legend Homer Ledford, an Appalachian band leader who crafted hundreds of banjos and guitars, has died from an apparent stroke. He was 79.
Ledford died Monday evening at his home in Winchester after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, his wife, Colista Ledford, said on Tuesday. The disease causes progressive paralysis.
He wanted to string a fiddle up to his last day, his wife said.
"He was best known for the musical instruments he made," she said. "I'll miss his music."
The Tennessee native started making instruments as a youngster and earned a scholarship at 18 to attend John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.
He later attended Berea College, where he met his wife. The two would have celebrated their 54th anniversary on Dec. 20.
Ledford graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 1954 and taught industrial arts in Jefferson and Clark counties for 10 years, Colista Ledford said.
Eventually he devoted his career to instrument-making and the Cabin Creek Band, which performed for 20 years and recorded a half-dozen albums.
The Smithsonian Institution houses a sample of his instrument collection, including a fretless banjo, an Appalachian dulcimer and a dulcitar - an instrument he patented.
The Homer Ledford Bluegrass Festival in Winchester was named after him in 1986 and he was one of the original inductees in the Kentucky Stars. A sidewalk plaque honoring him is in front of the Downtown Arts Center on Main Street in Lexington.
Bluegrass legend Homer Ledford, an Appalachian band leader who crafted hundreds of banjos and guitars, has died from an apparent stroke. He was 79.
Ledford died Monday evening at his home in Winchester after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, his wife, Colista Ledford, said on Tuesday. The disease causes progressive paralysis.
He wanted to string a fiddle up to his last day, his wife said.
"He was best known for the musical instruments he made," she said. "I'll miss his music."
The Tennessee native started making instruments as a youngster and earned a scholarship at 18 to attend John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.
He later attended Berea College, where he met his wife. The two would have celebrated their 54th anniversary on Dec. 20.
Ledford graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 1954 and taught industrial arts in Jefferson and Clark counties for 10 years, Colista Ledford said.
Eventually he devoted his career to instrument-making and the Cabin Creek Band, which performed for 20 years and recorded a half-dozen albums.
The Smithsonian Institution houses a sample of his instrument collection, including a fretless banjo, an Appalachian dulcimer and a dulcitar - an instrument he patented.
The Homer Ledford Bluegrass Festival in Winchester was named after him in 1986 and he was one of the original inductees in the Kentucky Stars. A sidewalk plaque honoring him is in front of the Downtown Arts Center on Main Street in Lexington.
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