Benny Thomasson was an American fiddler in the Texas style of fiddling.
11 Facts About Benny Thomasson
1.
2.
Benny Thomasson's parents were Lewis Alexander and Sarah Elizabeth Wright Thomasson.
3.
The elder Thomasson played fiddle, as did his brother Ed, Benny's uncle.
4.
Benny Thomasson's father wrote the well-known fiddle tune titled "Midnight on the Water".
5.
Benny Thomasson entered his first fiddle contest in the late 1920s, at age 19, thinking he was pretty good.
6.
Benny Thomasson was disappointed that he placed near 60th place.
7.
Benny Thomasson won several contests multiple times, including the Texas State Championship 15 times, the World Championship three times in a row, and the National Old-time Fiddlers Championship.
8.
Benny Thomasson improved and improvised on many simple traditional tunes.
9.
Benny Thomasson practiced and developed controlled improvisation, keeping the tune true to its melody while embellishing and expanding that melody.
10.
Benny Thomasson had a brief brush with Hollywood when he was cast in the 1976 film "Stay Hungry".
11.
In 1928, Benny Thomasson married Beatrice "Bea" Hollander, in Taos, New Mexico.