by Kenneth Brown

Created on: June 03, 2008

When I think of fearless fiddle players, one name comes immediately to mind: Earl Hughes.

Earl Hughes is Alaska's official "ambassador to country music", as proclaimed by several Alaskan governors. Despite a heart attack in 2007 and an upcoming hernia operation, Earl keeps working seven days a week during the summer tourist season.

When I first played music with him a couple of years ago, Earl's day went something like this: playing fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and dobro at 6:00 a.m. at the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks for the tourists who were eating breakfast or getting ready to board their tour buses. Then Earl would drive out to the El Dorado Gold Mine, where he would continue to fiddle all day long as the conductor and narrator on the train that thousands of tourists board every summer. In the evening, he would sing and play the fiddle and pedal steel guitar at the Princess Hotel from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Following that, Earl could be found fiddling for an RV group at a local campground until close to midnight. Then it was back home for a few hours sleep before starting all over again. I'm quite a few years younger than Earl, but I had a hard time keeping up with him, even though I wasn't working all day at the gold mine.

Since his heart attack, Earl doesn't play quite as much as he did a few years ago, but his schedule still makes for a long day. And Earl makes use of every available moment. Last night, while waiting for a tour bus to arrive at the Alpine Lodge, Earl took the time to play the most beautiful fiddle backup to a song I recently wrote, "Waitin' for the Evening News". Earl had never heard the song before, but after quickly memorizing the chord changes, he played a spooky, ethereal solo that was perfect for the song. Next came time to practice the banjo, with Earl eager to try out some new licks on old favorites like "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", "Dueling Banjos", and "Dear Old Dixie". Then it was back to the fiddle as the tour bus pulled in, welcoming the new bus load of tourists with "The Wabash Cannonball" and "Jambalaya". Finally, it was time to pack up the instruments and go home for some well-deserved rest.

Earl has plans to start an Alaskan Opry, Branson-type variety show in Fairbanks, and he hopes to play on the Grand Ole Opry someday. Earl still fiddles all day on the El Dorado Gold Mine Train, and he fiddles away his evenings at the Alpine Lodge. I hope Earl lives for many more years, but it won't surprise me if he dies on stage with a fiddle in his hand, doing his Johnny Cash impression while ripping through the "Orange Blossom Special" at the speed of lightning, making people smile at both his skill as a fiddler and his love of entertaining.

When they give out the Fearless Fiddlers awards, make sure that Earl Hughes is on the top of the list. He's a great fiddle player, and he's certainly fearless!

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