Lee Stripling: Gone at 87; music, documentary and scholarship live on
Lee Stripling
performing in 2006.
Lee Stripling's contribution to music and optimistic approach to life continue to be honored, though he passed away from complications from lung cancer on April 20, 2009 at age 87.
The latest version of filmmaker Jeri Vaughn's documentary, “Winging My Way Back Home: The Stripling Fiddle Legacy”, debuted to rousing success at the Belk Community Center in Belk, Alabama on Nov. 13, 2010 as part of the Charlie Stripling Tribute Fiddle Fest and Fish Fry.
The film tells of Lee's role in carrying on his family music and about his father, Charlie Stripling, a sharecropper in the Great Depression who was Alabama's most recorded fiddler. Though best known as part of The Stripling Brothers with his brother, Ira, Charlie later asked his sons, Lee and Robert, to accompany him at dances and contests starting at ages 8 and 10. Lee gave up the fiddle after World War II but found himself the center of national attention in his late 70s when he began playing again, keeping the family legacy alive.
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Sad passing of Robert Stripling Oct. 26, 2010
Robert Clifton Stripling, 90, passed away in his sleep in Montgomery, Alabama just weeks before the debut of the film, though he did see previews. Robert, an ordained minister and a fine guitarist, was generous in all things. His sharp memory was key to the accuracy of the documentary.
Music historian Joyce Cauthen, retiring executive director of the Alabama Folklife Association, interviewed Robert on Oct. 8 for a radio show that can be heard by right clicking here.
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 took place. Many thanks to the DecoGals, including Susie Johnson, Laurie Hampton and Martha Jackson. The portrait of Lee was purchased by Lisa Boveng, spurred on by fond memories. 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 was Alabama's most recorded fiddler.
A new generation fell 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” that was completed 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.