ASHLEY, TOM
(1895–1967)
ASHLEY, TOM (b. Clarence Earl McCurry, Bristol, Tenn., September 29, 1895–June 2, 1967) Ashley was a spirited performer on BANJO and GUITAR, and one of the finest of the classic country artists who were rediscovered during the FOLK REVIVAL of the 1960s. Clarence was raised by his maternal grandfather, Enoch Ashley , in the Mountain City area of northeastern Tennessee (he later legally took his grandfather's surname). He was already playing banjo and guitar in local medicine shows around 1910…