Buddy Jones:

  I was born in Meridian, Mississippi November 2, 1945 with the name, Gerald Lynn Jones, to the parents of James and Omatine Jones. I have two brothers and one sister. My Uncle Cecil McDonald nick named me “Buddy” because he always called me his little buddy and I’ve been stuck with the name all of my life. I’m married to Julie and have one son Kevin, two daughters Carmen and Amber along with three grandchildren.

  My interest in music goes as far back as I can remember. My Grandma Ethel had an old RCA Victor victrola that she traded a jersey milk cow for. As a child I’d go see Grandma Ethel and I would put on the old 78 phonographs, get in the rocking chair and rock and sing along with Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Snow, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and Wally Fowler with the original Oakridge Quartet. I currently have that same old victrola along with some 78 phonographs. It still operates and sounds as well as it did from ages ago.

  Remembering back as a young lad my brother had worked and bought him a Silvertone arch top guitar that I wanted to get my hands on but he wouldn’t let me touch it. I loathed

and craved with a burning desire to play it. When I reached the age of thirteen I hauled hay for two days and made enough money to buy me a six dollar used blonde Sherwood Standard guitar. The guitar had a beginner’s guitar book and I went to work learning the chords. The neck on the guitar was warped and the strings were high off the finger board,

thus making it difficult to chord. I had calluses on my fingers that were tougher than rawhide.

  Several of my friends in our rural area started getting together and playing music but everyone played guitar. I decided when I was about fourteen that I wanted to play a different musical instrument and had taken an interest in the mandolin. My mom and dad saw the development and interest that I had in music and bought me my first mandolin.

It was a great financial sacrifice for my parents to purchase the instrument and I’ll always be grateful to them. That mandolin was the most beautiful blonde Gibson A model in the world. To me it was the only mandolin in the world. At this time of my life I began to work seriously developing my lead vocal and harmony.  

  The most influential artist in my lifetime is Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, The Louvin Brothers, Ralph Stanley, Johnny and Jack, Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Jimmie Rodgers, Jim and Jesse McReynolds, Cathedral Quartet, Inspirations Quartet, and Earl Taylor.

  Thru the years I have had the privilege and honor to perform live and work in radio and television in the genre of Gospel, Country, and Bluegrass music from the perspective of organizing, managing, producing, engineering, recording, owning and operating a recording studio, singing and playing with numerous quartets, trios and duets. Music has always been a huge part of my life and will be until the day I leave this old world.

  To this day I still love, enjoy and get a thrill from performing with one of the best groups that I have had the privilege to play mandolin and sing first tenor with, and that is; Leipers Fork Bluegrass.