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Violet Hensley (born October 21, 1916) is an American luthier and musician who makes and plays the fiddle.
Violet Hensley was born in Mount Ida, Montgomery County, Arkansas, to George Washington and Nora Brumley. George was also a musician. She had two sisters. In 1935, she married Adren Hensley and had nine or ten children with him in total, after which she ceased to make fiddles for several decades. The couple moved to Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas in 1968, where she has lived ever since.[1] Adren died in 1997 at the age of 80.[2]
Hensley's expertise on fiddles gave her national attention in the form of being featured on the magazine National Geographic in 1970. She was also invited to television shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies, The Art Linkletter Show, Captain Kangaroo, The Bob Braun Show, Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, and CBS Evening News.[3]
In 1974, Hensley (along with her family) released the first of three albums called Old Time Fiddle Tunes. Nine and forty years later respectively, she released two more albums.[4]
In 2014, Hensley published her autobiography Whittlin' and Fiddlin' My Own Way: The Violet Hensley Story. It was co-authored by the American actor and musician Randall Franks.[5] She turned 100 years old on 21 October 2016, making her a centenarian.[6] At the age of 105, she contracted COVID-19, although her symptoms were mild. As of February 2024, she was 107 years old.[7]
In 2004, Arkansas Art Council honoured Hensley as the state's living treasure. In 2018, at the age of 101, she became an inductee in the National Fiddler Hall of Fame. She has also received other local awards.[8]
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