Benny Sims

Benny Sims was born in Sevier County, Tennessee in 1924.,died on December 23, 1995 in Johnson City, TN. Benny played with The Morris Brothers, Wiley and Zeke, through which he met Earl Scruggs, a previous bandmate of the brothers. Scruggs had recently formed a band with Lester Flatt, and when they found themselves in need of a fiddler in 1949, they invited Sims to join the group. After joining Flatt and Scruggs, Sims played on over 25 recordings in 1949 and 1950, including "Little Girl in Tennessee", "It's Too Late Now", "Salty Dog Blues", "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", "Pike County Breakdown" and "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms." Sims sung lead vocals on "Old Salty Dog Blues," When Flatt and Scruggs changed their label, Sims recorded just six more tunes before leaving the band, including "We Can't Be Darlings Anymore," "I'll Stay Around," and "Head Over Heels In Love With You." After leaving, Sims ventured to Knoxville, Tennessee where he became a staff musician on the WNOX Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round (a popular country-radio program) and another program called The Tennessee Barn Dance that aired each Saturday night. During this his time at WNOX, Sims worked with many artists including Carl Story and Charlie Monroe. After three years in Knoxville, Sims moved to Johnson City, Tennessee to work at WJHL-TV where he appeared on the morning show, "Hi Neighbor." The show aired only three times per week, so in Benny's extra time he performed around East Tennessee with acts like Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe. Excluding a short tour with Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Sims spent the remainder of his life in Johnson City, where he fully retired from professional entertainment and traveling in the early 1960s