Kenny Baker (fiddler)

Kenneth Clayton Baker (June 26, 1926 – July 8, 2011) was an American fiddle player best known for his 25-year tenure with Bill Monroe and his group The Blue Grass Boys.

After working for Bethlehem Steel in the coal mines of Kentucky, he served in the United States Navy before pursuing a musical career full-time.

After the one summer with Black and the Murphy's, Baker teamed with Josh Graves, who had played resonator guitar for Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs as a Foggy Mountain Boy.

His "long-bow" style added a smoothness and clarity to the fiddle-based music of his boss, Grand Ole Opry member Bill Monroe.

[citation needed] Kenny Baker died July 8, 2011, at Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin, Tennessee, due to complications from a stroke.