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Elk Spring Valley, Kentucky, October 8, 1883–January 1977) was a talented musician who began playing the dulcimer, banjo, and FIDDLE from an early age. Both his father and grandfather were dedicated churchgoers, and Burnett remembers singing hymns from the age of four. Burnett lost both parents by the time he was 12, inspiring him to write “The Orphan Boy” which became one of his most popular numbers. Byrds, The Burnett began working as an oil field hand around 1901. Six years later, when returning from work one night, he was robbed and shot in the face; the bullet struck his optic nerve, blinding him.

In the early 1950s Belafonte was introduced to folk music and began performing this material with a guitarist. His acting career continued to develop, and was given a major boost when director Otto Preminger hired him to appear in the 1955 film Carmen Jones. This led to a recording contract with RCA, and Belafonte’s first album was released in 1956. In early 1957 Belafonte had a major hit with the Calypso-flavored song “Banana Boat (Day-O),” which launched a major craze for the music. Belafonte’s recording career flourished from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s, buoyed by the revival of interest in folk music and his dynamic performances.

In 1959 he premiered on Broadway as the original Baron von Trapp in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Although Bikel continued to record and perform as a folk singer through the early 1970s, he was increasingly known as an actor/performer/ personality. Byron Berline in the mid-1970s (Courtesy Flying Fish Records) Binkley Brothers Dixie Clodhoppers favorite. After he was discharged, Berline rejoined Doug Dillard on the West Coast as a member of the country-rock outfit Dillard and Clark.