Clements was born in
Kinard, Florida and grew up in
Kissimmee. He taught himself to play the fiddle at age 7, learning "There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor" as his first song. Soon, he joined with two first cousins, Red and Gerald, to form a local string band. In his early teens Clements met
Bill Monroe and the
Blue Grass Boys when they came to Florida to visit Clements' stepfather, a friend of fiddler
Chubby Wise. Clements was impressed with his playing. In late 1949, Wise left Monroe's group, and the 21 year-old Clements traveled by bus to ask for an audition. When told he would have to return the next day, Clements was crestfallen, lacking the money for either a hotel room or return bus trip. Monroe gave him some money to a night's lodging, and the next day Clements auditioned and was hired. He remained with Monroe for seven years, recording with the band in 1950 and 1951. Though he played numerous instruments, Clements indicated that he chose the fiddle over guitar recalling that, "I picked up a guitar and fiddle and tried them both out. The guitar was pretty easy, but I couldn't get nothing out of the fiddle. So every time I'd see those instruments sitting side by side, I'd grab that fiddle."
Big band and
swing music were considerable influences upon his style and musical development, and he said that, "Bands like
Glenn Miller,
Les Brown,
Tommy Dorsey,
Harry James and
Artie Shaw were very popular when I was a kid. I always loved rhythm, so I guess in the back of my mind the swing and jazz subconsciously comes out when I play, because when I was learning I was always trying to emulate the big-band sounds I heard on my fiddle." Vassar Clements played on over 200 albums, including nearly 40 on which he starred or was featured. His albums often featured newgrass style music and what Clements called "Hillbilly Jazz". His last album, ''Livin' With the Blues'', released in 2004, was his only blues recording; it featured guest appearances by
Elvin Bishop,
Norton Buffalo,
Maria Muldaur, and others. His 2005
Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance was for "Earl's Breakdown," by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and featured Clements, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, and
Jerry Douglas. Clements, whose last performance was February 4, 2005 in
Jamestown,
New York, died on August 16, 2005, aged 77, of lung cancer. == Discography ==