Winky Hicks
American bluegrass musician and instrument maker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James "Winky" Hicks (born c. 1953)[1] is a bluegrass musician and instrument maker from Grove Hill, Alabama.[1]
James "Winky" Hicks | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1953 Grove Hill, Alabama, U.S. |
| Occupations | Bluegrass musician; instrument maker |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Known for | Frontier Bluegrass band; maker of mandolins, banjos, fiddles, guitars; turkey yelpers |
Hicks started playing guitar at the age of 7.[2] He learned to play bluegrass by watching his father play and picked up techniques by listening to Earl Scruggs and others on the Grand Ole Opry.[2] An uncle gave him the "Winky" nickname.[1]
Hicks is a regular at fiddlers festivals, where he plays the banjo[3] with his band, the Frontier Bluegrass.[4]
He started making bluegrass string instruments in 2000.[5] By 2019 he had constructed more than 200 mandolins, banjos, fiddles, and guitars.[6] In 2011, he was named a "Black Belt Treasured Artist" by the Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center, a non-profit from Camden, Alabama.[7] In 2019, he built a guitar, painted by a local artist, to commemorate Alabama's 2018 national championship; the guitar, signed by Nick Saban, fetched $3,500 in an auction with proceeds going to Saban's charity, Nick's Kids.[8]
He also makes turkey yelpers.[9][10]