1. Joe Val was posthumously inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2018.
18 Facts About Joe Val
1. 2.
The region in which Joe Val was raised had a very strong bluegrass affinity.
3.
Joe Val listened to local bands, and especially the work of fiddler Tex Logan.
4.
Joe Val worked a full-time day job as a typewriter repairman.
5.
Joe Val often had to ask for time off from work to tour with his band.
6.
Joe Val had started out on guitar, but played banjo and finally the mandolin, which brought him lasting renown.
7.
Joe Val was in the right place to become involved with the Boston-area bluegrass boom among the region's university and college students in the 1960s.
8.
Joe Val played and recorded with the Bill Keith-Jim Rooney Band, and The Charles River Valley Boys.
9.
In 1970, Joe Val formed his own band, The New England Bluegrass Boys, bringing in Herb Applin, Bob French, and Bob Tidwell.
10.
Just when Joe Val made the decision to finally make touring a full-time occupation, he learned that he was suffering from Lymphoma.
11.
Joe Val missed the evening set, perhaps for the first time in his long career.
12.
Two major fundraising benefits were held to help defray medical costs and household bills while Joe Val was ill and unable to work.
13.
Joe Val was honored throughout his funeral service with several renditions of Gospel songs sung and played in the upper loft of the church by New England Bluegrass Boys, Dave Dillon, Herb Applin, Paul Silvius, Dave Haney.
14.
Joe Val was laid to rest in the historic Mount Feake Cemetery at 203 Prospect Street, Waltham, MA.
15.
Joe Val's headstone is easily identifiable by an engraving of his 1923 Gibson 'Lloyd Loar' Mandolin, designed by Joe's devoted friend and bass player, Eric Levenson.
16.
Joe Val received a standing ovation from a knowledgeable IBMA audience, including many of Joe's peers.
17.
Joe Val received a standing ovation from a knowledgeable IBMA audience, including many of Joe's peers.
18.
The first memorial Joe Val Day was organized in 1986, and the event has since grown into the three-day Joe Val Bluegrass Festival featuring many different musicians entertaining thousands of fans.