Forrester was born near Vernon, in
Hickman County,
Tennessee, into a family of many fiddlers; his father, grandfather, and uncle all played the fiddle. In 1933, during a convalescence from
rheumatic fever where he was bedridden for months, Forrester learned to play the fiddle. After his family moved to
Nashville in the mid-1930s, Forrester began performing with his brothers. In 1938, he joined The Vagabonds and landed a job on the
Grand Ole Opry. He and Herald Goodman received an offer in 1939 to join the
Saddle Mountain Roundup radio show in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. as his sole accordion player until 1945. After Forrester's discharge from the US Navy in 1946, he returned temporarily to Monroe. Soon he moved to
Dallas to join Georgia Slim Rutland and the Texas Roundup performing at
KRLD-AM. In 1950, he joined
Cowboy Copas before becoming a full-time member of
Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys in 1951. He also made recordings with
Flatt & Scruggs in the early 1950s. In 1960, he recorded a solo album called ''Fancy Fiddlin' Country Style'' for the MGM subsidiary Cub label. In 1964, Forrester joined the
Acuff-Rose Artists Corporation and remained a member of the Smokey Mountain Boys until his death in 1987. He continued to record solo albums during the 1970s and 1980s. Forrester died at his home in Nashville. ==Notes==