A formative country and bluegrass star as a family band member, banjo player and comedian, Roni Stoneman died on Thursday (Feb. 22) at the age of 85.
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Veronica Loretta "Roni" Stoneman (born May 5, 1938 in Washington, D.C.) was the second youngest of Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman's 23 children with his wife Hattie. Her dad was among country music's earliest influencers, in large part because of his involvement in Ralph Peer's Bristol, Tenn. recording sessions in 1927. Roni went on to play in a family band, first billed as the Bluegrass Champs and later known simply as the Stoneman Family.
Roni became a world-renown banjo player, making her an ideal match for sister Donna's mandolin-picking skills and brother Scotty's championship-caliber fiddling. In the '60s, the family band and former singing competition series winners became TV stars via the show "Those Stonemans." At the first-ever CMA Awards in 1967, the Stoneman Family, known for tunes such as "Tupelo County Jail," won Vocal Group of the Year.
Shortly after leaving her family's band in 1971, Roni joined the cast of "Hee Haw." Her banjo playing fit a show starring musicians the caliber of guitarist Roy Clark and multi-instrumentalist Don Rich. The comedic chops Roni brought to her family's on-stage and on-screen presence shone through on the variety show's popular sketches.
"Roni was an integral part of a bedrock country music family, who were longtime fixtures in the country music scene of Washington, DC," shared Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young (as quoted by Billboard). "For 18 years on 'Hee Haw,' she stole scenes as both a skillful banjo player and as a comical, gap-toothed country character."
Roni's 90-year-old sister Donna is the final living member of the Stoneman Family band.
