Jimmy Henley Biography

This bio is courtesy of Jimmy Henley Entertainment

Jimmy became interested in the banjo while watching his father, James, give banjo lessons in the home. It all began one evening when he came to his father in tears and asked him how to play an old banjo tune called "Cripple Creek." Rather than to spurn his request, his father decided to sit him down and let him discover that he was too little to play banjo. To his amazement, Jimmy was playing the song in less than thirty minutes.

Jimmy started playing banjo at the age of seven with his earliest "performance" in his first grade classroom in Hobbs, NM, followed by his first professional show for which he was paid twenty-five dollars. Jimmy's uncanny ability brought him a great deal of publicity very quickly, and this seven-year-old was in vast demand for private parties and community functions. All of this led to state-wide interest and many appearances on KBIM-TV in Roswell, NM.

At the age of ten, Jimmy won the World Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Memphis, TN, after competing against sixty contestants age fifty-seven and under. After this, Jimmy got the attention of Roy Clark. Roy met the Henley family at the New Mexico State Fair, where Jimmy performed for the "Hee Haw" star. Roy immediately realized that this was no ordinary cute little boy who could play banjo a bit. This was truly a phenomenon! Shortly afterward, Jimmy and his dad performed on "Hee Haw" for the first time. He also performed as a guest on the Grand Ole Opry. Roy Clark hired Jimmy and his dad, and they worked as a feature act on the Roy Clark tour for twenty-six years.

Jimmy has played with many other artists such as Marty Stuart, Bill Monroe, Vince Gill, Lester Flatt, Glen Campbell and more.