Howard "Cedric Rainwater" Watts

Howard "Cedric Rainwater" Watts. . Bass player, comedian and harmony vocalist Howard Watts worked as “Cedric Rainwater” and played in three seminal country bands: Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, Flatt and Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys and Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys. He played on the first ever bluegrass sessions with Monroe, then on Flatt and Scruggs’ first four sessions, and subsequently on some of Williams’ classic recordings. , Howard Stanton Watts was born in Monticello, Florida, on Feb. 18, 1913. His first instrument was guitar, and he began performing locally in the 1930s. He broadened his act with comedy and tap dance. Around 1941, he went to Nashville to join country bandleader Paul Howard. Watts had performed music and comedy in Florida as “Arizona Slim”, but when he joined bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe he switched from guitar to upright (acoustic) bass and adopted the name Cedric Rainwater. This was when bass players were expected to perform baggy pants comedy. , During Watts’ tenure with Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, between 1944 and 1948, Monroe codified what became known as bluegrass music. Watts’ recording sessions with Monroe in September 1946 are generally regarded as the first bluegrass recordings. Monroe’s group included Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt. Watts often played bass in jazz-influenced 4/4 time instead of the more common 2/4. Additionally, he sang baritone on quartet songs. , When Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe in 1948, Watts left with them, staying with the duo’s Foggy Mountain Boys until 1950. Watts played on all of their recordings from those years, including the original version of their classic, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”. As he had on Monroe’s recordings and shows, he sang on quartet pieces and performed comedy. , In July 1950, Watts began playing bass with Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys, staying until Williams disbanded the group at the end of 1951. Williams referred to Watts as “our antique bass thumper” because he was ten years older than the rest of the group. During that time, Watts probably played on some of Williams’ classic recordings, including “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Hey Good Looking,” and “Honky Tonk Blues”. On stage and on the radio shows, Watts sang four-part harmony and performed comedy., Watts occasionally worked with Williams in 1952, but his principal job was with Hank Snow. After Williams' death on New Year's Day 1953, Watts joined other members of the Drifting Cowboys in Ray Price's band. He went on to work with many bluegrass and country musicians. Watts performed with Johnnie and Jack as late as 1964, but the acoustic bass was less in demand by then. From the late 1950s, he and his wife, Alice, ran a restaurant., In 1964, Hank Williams' widow, Audrey, formed a booking agency, Aud-Lee. Watts joined, working as a talent booker until 1969 when some of Williams' former Drifting Cowboys reunited to back Hank Williams Jr., Watts was still working with Williams Jr. at the time of his death in Nashville on Jan. 21 1970. He was buried in his wife's family plot Savannah, Tenn., In 2007, Howard Watts was elected to the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Hall of Fame.