Gene Merritts

He was born Jan. 15, 1929, in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, and began to play music early in life. His first performance was playing the harmonica at school literary (P.T.A.) meetings. At the age of 9 he learned to play the guitar, a beginners’ Stella that he bought for $4.00 with pennies he had saved. After that, he bought a mandolin and learned to play it too. Every Saturday night Gene tuned into station WSM and the Grand Ole Opry on the family’s Silvertone dry-cell battery-powered radio. It was there he would listen to the likes of Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, and Ernest Tubb. He dreamed of one day playing at the Opry or with legends like Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe. “And the way it turned out, I did — an old country boy from way back in the sticks,” Merritts said in an interview. In 1943 at the age of 14, Gene bought his first fiddle for $5.00 from a close neighbor who needed money to get married. He soon learned to play it and a short time later was playing for square dances and on local radio programs. When the Korean conflict broke out he enlisted in the Air Force and was sent to San Antonio, Texas, for training. Three months later he was shipped to Korea and, while there, played for the Air Force Radio Network by way of wire recordings. He also toured with a U.S.O. Show from the States. They entertained the troops in the military hospitals in Japan. After an extended tour of duty, he was rotated back to the States and back to San Antonio, Texas. Here he served the remainder of his military term and was honorably discharged in October of 1953. During his stay in Texas, he played with several Western Swing bands, backed up Charlie Walker and others, and fell in love with swing music. Gene played on various TV shows around the country. He played the Coast to Coast Radio Network Show every Saturday night. After a while Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper hired him to play twin fiddles with Stoney. Gene worked with Stoney for a while and then left him to go to Denver, Colorado, where he worked on Channel 2 TV and played night clubs around town. While in Denver, he also had his own 7-piece Western Swing band that played in a huge club called the Four Seasons. While at the Four Seasons he backed up the Grand Ole Opry Stars from Nashville that needed a band. One of those stars, Webb Pierce, told him he should move to Nashville, “where the music is.” Merritts did just that, and arrived in Music City in 1963. After his arrival in Nashville he found work on a TV show called Country Junction, and had soon also added performances backing up an assortment of artists including Patsy Cline, Dottie West, Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, and many others. In 1971, Opryland U.S.A. came into being. Gene got a job there after the second year it was open, playing fiddle in the Country Music Show at the Theater by the Lake. He played for that same show until Opryland closed, 24 years later. As the elder musician on the show, castmates soon gave him his nickname “Pappy,” and the name stuck for his 24 years with the show, and beyond. Over his long career, Merritts played many prestigious events, including for two presidents — Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon. After Opryland closed in 1997, Merritts began working at Robert’s Western World. There he joined the band of Jesse Lee Jones, Brazilbilly, and then Joe Manuel’s swing band. In 2001 he began a long tenure with John England and the Western Swingers, a band that formed after Manuel moved to Texas. Merritts continued to play with the Swingers until quarantine closed Robert’s in 2020. Throughout his time with the band he was a continuing source of joy and inspiration to both his bandmates and the multitude of happy audiences who were lucky enough to see him play. He passed in December 18th, 2021.