Charlie Cushman

Charlie Cushman. . Banjoist Charlie Cushman is chiefly renowned for his mastery of the Earl Scruggs style three-finger banjo technique. During his career, he has performed with Andy Griffith, Merle Haggard, Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill, among many others. He is a founding member of the Grammy award-winning bluegrass band The Earls of Leicester. Additionally, Cushman appraises and restores vintage stringed instruments in his shop in Cottontown, Tennessee, and is globally recognized as a leading authority on the Gibson Mastertone banjo., Cushman was born at Clarksville Memorial Hospital on Aug. 23, 1959, and grew up in the nearby Kingswood neighborhood. Watching banjoist Earl Scruggs on Flatt and Scruggs' television show on Nashville's WSM-TV, Cushman became intrigued with the banjo at age 4. At age 7, he began instruction from Clarksville musician Billy Bryant at Collins Music Store, located at Third and Commerce. Later, he taught himself to play guitar and bass., Cushman's first paying job was at Shakey's Pizza Parlor on Riverside Drive in Clarksville, where he performed on weekends. In 1970, he became part of the weekly stage show at the Tennessee Valley Jamboree in Waverly, Tennessee. Recorded performances from the snow were broadcast over WPHC-AM., At age 13, Cushman joined the Nashville local of the American Federation of Musicians, gaining status us a professional musician. In 1974, he began performing six days a week on Carl Tipton's early morning country and bluegrass television show on Nashville's WLAC-TV. He was still with Tipton when he graduated from Clarksville High School in 1977 and subsequently moved to Nashville. He worked on recording sessions and played banjo on some of the early episodes of "The Dukes of Hazzard.", As a sideman, Cushman traveled with several first generation bluegrass pioneers, and with the Mel Tillis show. He performed for 12 years at the Opryland USA theme park as a member of the Opryland Bluegrass Show and Opry star Mike Snider's Opryland show. In 1990, Cushman joined Snider's band. For the next 14 years, he performed weekly with Snider and many other Opry stars on WSM's Grand Ole Opry., In 2006, Cushman played banjo and guitar on Vince Gill's Grammy-winning project, These Days. He also performed on multiple instruments during the ensuing 18-month These Days tour., As an adjunct to performing, Cushman worked at both the Gibson guitar company and Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. In 2007, he started his own banjo repair and restoration business. His specialty is banjo setup, which focuses on creating correct intonation, optimum output of volume and tone, and greater ease of playing., In 2013, Cushman, together with Dobro player Jerry Douglas and fiddler Johnny Warren, formed The Earls of Leicester to bring the music of Flatt and Scruggs to a new generation of bluegrass fans. (The group's name is derived from the names Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt). The group has won numerous International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards, including multiple Entertainer of the Year trophies. Cushman is especially proud of the group's 2014 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album., Caption: Charlie Cushman performs with the Earls of Leicester at the CMA Theater in February 2018. Photo by Amiee Stubbs, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.