Raymond Fairchild
Raymond Fairchild (March 15, 1939–October 13, 2019) was an American five-string banjoist and entertainer. Born in Cherokee, North Carolina, he was of partial Cherokee descent. He established a long-running trio with the Crowe Brothers in 1975. A recurring guest on the Grand Ole Opry beginning in 1977, his extensive recording career for labels like Rural Rhythm yielded over twenty albums, including two certified gold records for King of the Smoky Mountain Banjo Players and Mama Likes Bluegrass Music. Reluctant to tour heavily outside his home region, he and his wife Shirley opened the Maggie Valley Opry House in North Carolina in 1988, where he anchored seven-night-a-week summer residency sets alongside his Maggie Valley Boys for over thirty years. He co-designed the specialized Cox/Fairchild banjo line with luthier Jimmy Cox, and was inducted into the SPBGMA Hall of Greats in 1989 and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2015.