* En anglais uniquement
Old-timey string musician
Benton Flippen was raised on a farm in North Carolina, where he first played the banjo during his childhood. During his youth he turned to the fiddle and started playing with the area's noted bands and musicians, among them the Camp Creek Boys, Green Valley Boys led by
Glenn McPeak,
Esker Hutchins, and
Leak Caudill. From the 1970s on,
Flippen belonged to the Smokey Valley Boys, an outfit that has preserved
Flippen's unique musical abilities on recordings. The band also earned awards at numerous fiddling competitions. In 1990, the North Carolina Folk Heritage Awards honored
Flippen, who is recognized for a unique style of string fingering.
Flippen also composes and presides over workshops. ~ Linda Seida