James Edward "Ed" Haley was a blind professional American musician and composer best known for his fiddle playing.
17 Facts About Ed Haley
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Ed Haley was born on August 16,1885, on the Trace Fork of Harts Creek in Logan County, West Virginia.
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Ed's father, Thomas Milton Ed Haley, was a well-known fiddler in the Guyandotte and Big Sandy valleys.
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Ed Haley's grandfather, Benjamin R Haley, was an active Unionist in the Big Sandy River Valley during the American Civil War, as well as a fiddler.
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In September 1889, as part of the Lincoln County Feud, Milt Ed Haley was accused along with Green McCoy of shooting Al Brumfield and his wife in Harts, Lincoln County, West Virginia.
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Ed Haley was basically gone from Harts Creek by 1910 but returned to visit family and friends for the remainder of his life.
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Ed Haley had a huge repertoire of old-time music that included breakdowns, jigs, waltzes and show tunes, which he performed at square dances, fairs, street corners, fiddle contests and courthouse squares.
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Ed Haley's parents had been involved in the Martin-Tolliver Feud in Rowan County, Kentucky.
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Ed Haley played mandolin and accordion with her husband for many years.
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Ed Haley died of a heart attack on February 3,1951, at home in Ashland, Kentucky.
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Ed Haley's wife died in November 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Ed Haley was one of the best known fiddlers in his region of Appalachia.
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Ed Haley traveled frequently and performed in a variety of venues.
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Ed Haley played over WLW in Cincinnati and made occasional studio recordings for friends, such as for Doc Holbrook in Greenup, Kentucky.
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Ed Haley seldom recorded commercially because he was worried that record companies would take advantage of a blind man.
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Ed Haley learned a number of Haley's tunes and recorded them on the Grammy-nominated albums, Wild Hog in the Red Brush and Speed of the Old Long Bow: A Tribute to Ed Haley.
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In October 2015, Ed Haley was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.