Roni Stoneman, a famous bluegrass musician known as the “First Lady of the Banjo” and a beloved guest on the hit variety show “Hee Haw,” has died at the age of 85.
She was born Veronica Loretta Stoneman. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum said she died on Wednesday. Stoneman was a member of the famous country music group The Stoneman Family. Her father, Ernest “Pop” Stoneman, was the head of the famous country music family. She was his youngest daughter. “For Roni Stoneman, country music was her birthright and her life’s work,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “She was an integral part of a bedrock country music family, and for eighteen years on ‘Hew Haw,’ she stole scenes as a skillful banjo player and as a comical, gap-toothed country character.” The cause of death was not given right away. It was Pop Stoneman’s dad who was one of the first country musicians. He left his home in Galax, Virginia, which is 11 miles north of North Carolina, to try to make it as a musician in New York City. Stoneman’s dad was the first person to record The Sinking of the Titanic, which was a big hit in the early 1920s.