Lee Stripling: Gone at 87; music, documentary and scholarship live on
Lee Stripling
performing in 2006.
Lee Stripling passed away from complications from lung cancer on April 20, 2009 at the age of 87. He played two gigs the day before he entered the hospital and played four tunes with a visitor the day before he died - cheerful, optimistic and loving, same as he'd been all of his life.
This site will continue to provide updates on “Winging My Way Back Home: The Stripling Fiddle Legacy”, which recently was awarded additional funds from the Alabama State Council on the Arts through the Alabama Folklife Association. The film is nearing completion and will debut at the Belk Community Center in Belk, Alabama on Nov. 13, 2010.
Please visit news for more information.
DecoGals raise money for Lee's scholarship
The fabulous DecoGals devoted their yearly original art creation and subsequent silent auction to the Lee Stripling Young Fiddlers' Scholarship Fund at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, where the auction was held. Many thanks to the DecoGals, including Susie Johnson, Laurie Hampton and Martha Jackson. The stunning portrait of Lee was purchased by Lisa Boveng as a reminder of fond memories of our dear dad. Ed Littlefield, Jr., kindly contributed matching funds.
The Fund got another big financial boost from Django Amerson of Portland, a fiddle and banjo player who performed at Fiddle Tunes. Django has been coming to the festival for 24 years, sometimes on scholarship, and now is providing the same opportunity for others.
The 2010 recipient was Olympia-based fiddler Josie Toney, who plays for the Retrospectacles. Josie received tuition, room and board for the July 3-10 event. She's was described as a "great choice and fine musician."
Please consider contributing to the fund to provide opportunity for promising young fiddlers who'd like to attend Centrum's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. Make checks out to Centrum, and send to Centrum, PO Box 1158, Port Townsend, WA, 98368. Please include Lee Stripling Scholarship in the memo line, along with a note including that designation.
Lee's daughters thank his many friends in the music community and beyond for their years of support and kindness. Contact Carol Stripling or Sherry Stripling with questions.
Lee as we knew him:
Keeper of the toe-tapping tradition
From the red clay of Alabama to the soggy bottom of the Pacific Northwest, Lee Stripling sparked the grumpy to smile and the lazy to get up and dance after taking up the fiddle seriously again in his 70s. Vibrant until 87, Lee played old-time fiddle with the driving sound that was the hallmark of his father, Charlie Stripling, who sold more records than any other Alabama fiddler.
A new generation has fallen for Lee’s cheerful tunes that harken to what was supposed to be his prime – except that his prime kept going. Playing tunes from the Great Depression, the war years and the silky harmony of cowboy songs from Bob Wills and the Sons of the Pioneers, Lee and his bands leave behind two CDs and many memories.
Documentary nearing completion
The Library of Congress took note of Lee’s remarkable comeback and helped fund the documentary “Winging My Way Back Home: The Stripling Fiddle Legacy”. A preview version was shown to excellent review at the 2008 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend. Look for the completed film in November 2010. Seattle filmmaker Jeri Vaughn followed Lee across the country for three years, documenting one of the last great hurrahs of old-time Alabama fiddle and the buoyant response of younger musicians.