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WHAT AN OUTSTANDING FOUR 

YEARS IT HAS BEEN!!

March 2014   August 2014 April 2014 April 2015 October 2018                             Bill' First Guitar Bill Picking Cotton Early Years Bill at the National Press Club 1964 Bill at the  National Press Club 2014 The Coveted  National Press Club Coffee Cup Inducted into the Virginia Music Hall of Fame 2014 Bill and his Guitar Virginia Musical Hall of Fame Bill Doing What he Enjoys Most: Entertaining  the Vets.

Bill Jenkins and the Band were invited     to play a 50th Anniversary Show at the  National Press Club in 2014. There was  only one other person who has had a 50th Show.....his name was Jack Benny  Bill Jenkins was inducted into the Virginia Music Hall of Fame  The Governor of Virginia issued a  proclamation naming Bill : "AN OUTSTANDING AMBASSADOR OF VIRGINIA MUSIC"  and the House and the Senate of Virginia passed a  Joint Resolution in his honor for his efforts to preserve  traditional Virginia music. WAVY TV 10 honored Bill by making him the  "I AM HAMPTON ROADS PERSON OF THE WEEK".   His TV interview was aired on  April 2, 2015.  Click the TV link to watch. The Band was honored to be chosen as  Musical Touring Performers by the Virginia Commission of the Arts.    We were awarded a grant to   perform throughout the state for   non-profit organizations and schools,  enabling these venues to  hear our unique style of music.   I have just uploaded our latest album The Guinea Man Click BANDCAMP for albums and songs to listen to free and  purchase.  BANDCAMP allows you to listen to entire songs before  purchasing at a much lower price than other servers. The albums are also available on iTunes, Amazon Music,  Google  Play, Spotify, etc. but at a higher price. ABOUT THE BAND After a musical career spanning over 60 years, Bill Jenkins, a member of the Virginia Music Hall of Fame,  is still going strong.  His old Martin D45 guitar is in a case next to Ralph Stanley's banjo.  Other distinguished  members of the Hall of Fame include:  Wayne Newton, Roy Clark, Kate Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, the Statler Brothers, Pearl Bailey, the Carter Family, and a few others.  In recognition of his induction into the Hall of Fame and for his long time commitment to preserving this historic music, the Governor of Virginia issued an official Proclamation and the House of Delegates and the Senate passed a joint Resolution in his honor.   On March 28, 2021 Bill performed for a second time at the National Press Club. In 1964, three young teenager, Bill  Jenkins and the two Cottingham brothers, Robert and  Russell, were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity  to play there. During the weekends,the young men were  playing "Hootenannies" in the D.C. area when their talent  was noticed by the Washington correspondent for the  Richmond Times Dispatch.  He was greatly impressed by their musical ability and that they were playing "traditional"  mountain music at such an early age. He arranged for the  three young men to put on a one-hour evening show. Half a  century later, Bill Jenkins and the Virginia Mountain Boys,  and Robert Cottingham, were invited to perform a special  50th Anniversary Show. It was a historic event in that  only one other person in the long history of the Club had  ever had a 50th Show, his name was Jack Benny. As a youngster, Bill appeared on the Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond. Later he performed with the Virginia Gentlemen and with Red Allen and the Kentuckians.  Bill has performed  on the White House lawn and was featured on a  nationally syndicated Smithsonian Institute program  promoting traditional music.  Jenkins founded The  Virginia Mountain Boys in 1971 and they have  been performing together ever since.      Jenkins was born and raised in the Tidewater area     of Virginia into a family with a long musical history.   Bill has three cousins who were musicians  and a great uncle who was a noted old-time  auto harpist. Bill's earliest musical influence  was with the extended family singing at his  aunt's home. As he later recalled, "We were  very poor and did not have a car, or a  phone, or money for entertainment.  Many  nights we would just sit around and sing a lot  of old songs that had been handed down  through the years.  Many of these songs  such as 'In the Pines', 'Little Bessie', 'Wayfaring Stranger', 'Man of Constant Sorrow' and others  I use in my shows today."  He also noted  that he  was strongly influenced by the old time  blues singers and the black workers he labored  alongside on the family farm. "While working  they would sing the old slave songs and hymns.   Some of the songs like  'Climbing Jacob's  Ladder','Old Daniel Prayed', 'Sister Mary', and  others,I also use in today's shows. That 'lonesome'  sound has always been a large part of my  musical influence."   Jenkins has collected countless numbers of these old songs  over his 60+ years.  His band can sing over 500 songs from  memory. With such an extensive repertoire, every show can  be different depending on the location,audience, occasion,  and Jenkins' "frame of mind".  As one of the best cross picking  guitarist in the country, Bill is backed up by Ken Worrell, singer  and guitarist; Joe Gilley on the bass.  The world class five string  banjo player, Clyde Bailey, contributes 'breakdowns" and sings baritone. Jenkins and the Virginia Mountain Boys bring to life this  authentic music of the Southern Appalachians.  This old time music is a reflection of the lives of the early immigrants  and their descendants who eked out a meager living in the  hills and hollows of these majestic mountains. Entertainment  options were few and thus self made music became the norm.  This mountain music, heavily influenced by Scots-Irish  and African rhythms, later gave birth to early Bluegrass and  to many early country songs  which are also included in the shows. The group performs universally loved, but  seldom heard music that brings forth a gamut of  emotions.  Each song is performed as originally written or as handed down through the ages.  Thus, these ballads are undiluted and raw like the emotions they bring forth.   The sound of the group differs from most contemporary  Bluegrass bands in that it has an older, starker, and rawer  sound.  Jenkins and Worrell use their voices as instruments  as much as their guitars. The ability to swap back and forth  from lead to harmony several times during the same song is part of their genius, which has been honed in over 45 years  of practice and performance. Moreover, a short history lesson and an explanation about each song is an important part of each show.   Audience reactions during their shows are almost always the same regardless of the venue. Following two hours  of hand clapping, toe tapping, singing along,and wiping  away tears, the audience always gives a standing ovation and is rewarded with an encore, sometimes two. Afterwards, Bill and the band will always "hang around", shake hands,  sign autographs, and accept the well deserved kudos for a  truly special event. The rapport is genuine both ways and they  have developed a large group of loyal followers, including  some who travel great distances to hear them play.   As one longtime fan recently commented....  "Their  performance is not just another  show. It is an experience that I would never miss".    The Virginia Mountain Boys is a registered name  solely owned by Bill Jenkins since 1971

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