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March 2014   August 2014 April 2014 April 2015 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 wrote a letter of  congratulations to Bill naming him  "AN OUTSTANDING AMBASSADOR OF VIRGINIA MUSIC"  and the House and the Senate of Virginia passed a  Joint Resolution in his honor for promoting  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. Bill released a new album "COUSINS"  He found some old tapes that he cut with his cousin Bill Borden III, who  is also a master of the acoustic guitar.  Sit back and  listen to some great picking.  I a sending you to  BANDCAMP because you can listen to the entire  songs on this site and all our other albums for free  before you buy. They also charge much less for  the downloads.     The albums are also available on iTunes, Amazon Music,  Google  Play, Spotify, etc. but at a much higher price. 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.   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, 2014 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 "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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