Hubert Dwane "Hoot" Hester (August 13, 1951 – August 30, 2016) was an American fiddle player, multi-instrumentalist, and country music and bluegrass artist. He was born on a small farm near Louisville, Kentucky, on August 13, 1951. Hester played with a number of well-known bands, and later became a session musician and a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry's staff band. Hester was also a featured performer at the NAMM Show during the time it was held in Nashville and 2004.
Career Hester had played backup for a number of country music recording artists, among them Alabama, Hank Williams Jr., Mel Tillis, Conway Twitty, Randy Travis,"Pa's Fiddle: The Music of America to Premiere as National Pledge Special in June". Middle Tennessee State University Center for Popular Music. Bill Monroe, Vern Gosdin, and Ricky Van Shelton. He had also recorded with Manhattan Transfer and Ray Charles.Kuntz, Al. Album Review - The Brooklyn Cowboys: Dodging Bullets. AngelFire. Hester was the former fiddler and founder of a Nashville-based Western swing band, named the Time Jumpers."The Time Jumpers at Station Inn" . Nashville Scene, 20 November 2008. He appears on the band's debut album, On the Air. For many years Hester was a fiddle player for the Grand Ole Opry's staff band.
Beginnings Hester attended Louisville's Southern High School. He began his fiddling career with the Bluegrass Alliance in Louisville. In 1973 he moved to Nashville, having received several job offers after winning fifth place in a fiddle contest at which Chet Atkins and other prominent people in the music industry were judges. For the next year he played with The Whites."Give A Little Back". lpdiscography.com, retrieved 17 September 2013.
From the 1980s onward During the 1980s Hester began doing session recording for various artists and producers, and has continued this work until his death.Bjorke, Matt. "Album Review: Mandy Barnett - Winter Wonderland" . RoughStock, 27 November 2001."Brooklyn Cowboys make mark on the Americana market". Nashville City News, November 8, 2002, retrieved from Music Motel He also began appearing on television shows, one of which played for eleven years. In 1997 Dennis Crouch and Hester put together a western swing band called The Time Jumpers."Jumpin' Time with Nashville's Finest". Honest Tune, 22 June 2009. Hoot eventually left The Time Jumpers to produce and write with Rachael Hester, his youngest daughter, who leads a band named "Rachael Hester and The Tennessee Walkers". Hoot played with the Grand Ole Opry staff band from 2000 until his death.O'Neil, Kelly. "Review: Picnic in the Meadow 'Livin' In Me'" . ReviewYou, 23 February 2011.Bibey, Tom."Earl Scruggs brings the family". Country Standard Time, 3 December 2010 He has also worked with Earl Scruggs until Scruggs' death in March 2012.Wernick, Pete. "Earl Scruggs at the Monroe Centennial". Bluegrass Today, 24 September 2011."Notes from the Road". Dr. Banjo, 2004
Death Hester died on August 30, 2016, after battling cancer. He was 65.
See also The Time Jumpers
References
External links
Namm Oral History Interview. Hoot Hester reflects on working at the phone company right after high school until he started getting enough calls to play that he transferred to Nashville and never looked back. July 21, 2002