Wendy Holcombe

Wendy Lou Holcombe (April 19, 1963 – February 14, 1987) was an American banjo player[1][2] and singer.[3]

Holcombe was born in Alabaster, Alabama and began playing the banjo at age eleven.[4]

As a child, Holcombe appeared on NBC's The Big Show[5] the Country Boy Eddy Show,[6] and later, in 1977, The New Mickey Mouse Club,[7] and was featured on Kids are People Too.[8]

At the age of twelve, she was a regular performer on the television program Nashville on the Road.[9][10][11][12]

Holcombe performed at the Grand Ole Opry[13] and on the Eddie Rabbitt Show.[14] As well as the banjo she also played the fiddle, dobro, steel guitar, and bass.[15]

Holcombe toured throughout the United States, singing and playing the banjo, including The Strip in Las Vegas.[14][16] She performed at Wembley Festival in London, England. She also appeared regularly on the show Nashville Swing, and recorded a television special, Wendy Hooper, US Army that aired on NBC in 1981.[4] She frequently performed duets and comedy sketches with Buck Trent, and the pair were nominated for a Music City Award.[14]

Holcombe died of a congenital heart defect at the age of 23.[17]

References

[18] [19] [20]

  1. ^ The New Yorker. F-R Publishing Corporation. 1981.
  2. ^ Mary A. Bufwack (2003). Finding Her Voice: Women in Country Music, 1800-2000. Country Music Foundation Press. ISBN 978-0-8265-1432-5.
  3. ^ Television and Children. National Council for Children and Television. 1980.
  4. ^ a b Colin Larkin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Grenfell, Joyce - Koller, Hans. MUZE. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  5. ^ "Banjo Baby". The Bryan Times, 30 April 1980.
  6. ^ Tim Hollis (28 June 2006). Birmingham Broadcasting. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 105–. ISBN 978-1-4396-1733-5.
  7. ^ "February 25". This Day in Disney
  8. ^ Francis Earle Barcus (1983). Images of life on children's television: sex roles, minorities, and families. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-03-063883-1.
  9. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Wendy Holcombe - Foggy Mountain Breakdown. YouTube.
  10. ^ "Alabama girl becomes country star". Bowling Green Daily News.
  11. ^ "Tammy the Twirler Picking up a new challenge". Sarasota Herald Tribune. 29 November 1980.
  12. ^ The Journal of Country Music. Country Music Foundation. 1987.
  13. ^ "Little Wendy Holcombe gets her wish". August 5, 1977 The Journal News from Hamilton, Ohio · Page 12
  14. ^ a b c "From Eddie Rabbit Show to Booneville County Fair". Booneville Herald, 23 June 1980.
  15. ^ "Backwoods produce banjo player". Star-News, 28 June 1983.
  16. ^ Davis, Doug."Today's Country". Hurst Mid Cities Daily News May 22, 1977 - Page 65
  17. ^ Armonaitis, Dan (February 27, 2012). "Spartanburg native rose from the South to pick with country stars". GoUpstate.com. Gannett Co. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  18. ^ Bluegrass Unlimited. Bluegrass Unlimited. 1983.
  19. ^ Jeannie Sakol (1983). The wonderful world of country music. Putnam. ISBN 978-0-399-50819-6.
  20. ^ Murphy Henry (2 May 2013). Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass. University of Illinois Press. pp. 182–. ISBN 978-0-252-09588-7.