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Winky Hicks

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American bluegrass musician and instrument maker

James "Winky" Hicks (born c. 1953) is a bluegrass musician and instrument maker from Grove Hill, Alabama.

Hicks started playing guitar at the age of 7. He learned to play bluegrass by watching his father play and picked up techniques by listening to Earl Scruggs and others on the Grand Ole Opry. An uncle gave him the "Winky" nickname.

Hicks is a regular at fiddlers festivals, where he plays the banjo with his band, the Frontier Bluegrass.

He started making bluegrass string instruments in 2000. By 2019 he had constructed more than 200 mandolins, banjos, fiddles, and guitars. In 2011, he was named a "Black Belt Treasured Artist" by the Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center, a non-profit from Camden, Alabama. In 2019, he built a guitar, painted by a local artist, to commemorate Alabama's 2018 national championship; the guitar, signed by Nick Saban, fetched $3,500 in an auction with proceeds going to Saban's charity, Nick's Kids.

He also makes turkey yelpers.

References

  1. ^ Tolkkinen, Karen (2004-02-01). "Grove Hill Music Maker: Winky Hicks builds other instruments, too, but those are his exquisite mandolins you hear on albums by some of Nashville's biggest stars". Press-Register. Archived from the original on 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  2. ^ Herod, Jim (25 April 2019). "In the beginning, there was Winky". The Clarke County Democrat. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  3. "Winky wins". Clarke County Democrat. July 24, 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  4. Rainer, David (1997-03-16). "Hicks uses banjo, turkey call to make music". Press-Register. Archived from the original on 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  5. Drinkard, Carolyn (2022-06-02). "A Treasure Forever. Young musician makes long drive for Hicks-made mandolin". The Clarke County Democrat. Archived from the original on 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  6. Herod, Jim (25 April 2019). "In the beginning, there was Winky". The Clarke County Democrat. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  7. "Winky Hicks named a Black Belt Treasured Artist". Thomasville Times. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  8. "A guitar for Coach Saban". Clarke County Democrat. June 13, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  9. "Celebrating art in the heart of Alabama's Black Belt". AL.com. January 29, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  10. "James "Winky" Hicks". Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
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