When Grandpa Jones died in 1998, the last living connection between Old Time Music and County an Western music was gone too. He started out his career in the early thirties as a soundalike to Jimmie Rodgers. He teamed up with old time songster Bradley Kincaid who gave him the nickname "Grandpa", a fake mustache and boots, though he was only 22 years old. In 1937 he was on his own making some popular shows on the radio when the flamboyant "Cousin Emmy" introduced him to his future trademark instrument the Clawhammer Banjo. In the coming years Louis Marshall Jones joined the Delmorebrothers and Merle Travis to form the "Browns Ferry Four", performing mainly religious material. After marrying Ramona Riggins, a talented fiddler and singer, he joined the Grand Old Opry. When the popularity of his music faded in the 60ies he, alongsidehis friend "Stringbean", put up the highly popular TV programme "Hee Haw". In 1997 he celebrated his 50ies anniversary on the Opry and died a year later, only weeks after his last appearance on the show.