Q&A with Grammy-winning musician Jim Mills

Jim Mills, a six Grammy-winning banjo player, will be talking about the history of the banjo today as a part of the Southern Journey series, hosted by the Southern Folklife Collection.

Mills spoke with staff writer Katie Hjerpe about his career and interest in banjos.

Daily Tar Heel: When did you first start playing the banjo?

Jim Mills: My father played, and my grandfather played — not professionally — but there was always a banjo around my house. Hearing Earl Scruggs play for the first time was my inspiration to start playing and still is to this day. I kind of picked it up by myself by listening and watching other people play. I’ve never had any formal lessons — very few bluegrass musicians have.

DTH: How did your career really start to take off?

JM: I started off playing with local bands and traveling around playing bluegrass. I was lucky to be seen by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver — they are considered one of the top five bands in bluegrass music. When I was 20 years old, he called me and offered me a job playing banjo in his band. That really propelled me into the national spotlight as a bluegrass banjo player.

DTH: Where did your career go from there?

JM: I’ve never looked for a job in my life — every employer has contacted me. I worked for Doyle Lawson for about five years and recorded about eight records, which put me in front of everybody who is everybody in the industry. I was then offered a job with Dolly Parton — she was going through her bluegrass phase. While I was working for her, Ricky Skaggs offered me a full-time position in his band. I worked with him for 14 years, won the International Bluegrass Music Association banjo player of the year award six times — more than anybody has, as far as I know — and I won six Grammy awards.

DTH: How does it feel to win a Grammy?

JM: It’s awesome, it really is. It’s your highest peers, it’s music industry folks, and it’s a wonderful feeling that they like what you do. When you record something you hope everybody likes it, you like what you’re doing, and you hope everyone else likes it, and it’s nice to get that confirmation.

DTH: What will your event in the Southern Journey Series discuss?

JM: I’ve been a road musician for the past 25 years, I’ve never done any teaching or speaking. I decided to do some of these things because I’m a big historian of the pioneers of the three-finger style. Scruggs’ style originated in North Carolina, and being born and raised in Raleigh, I was interested in the history of that and the lesser-known pioneers of the style who came along in the 1930s who never made music a career but were a big influence on the people that did. Students can ask questions concerning the earliest things of the three-finger style, as well as the particular banjo that all those guys chose: the Gibson Mastertone. I study and deal with those on a daily basis.

DTH: In what ways do you deal with banjos outside of performing?

JM: I collect, play and record, and also buy, sell and trade pre-World War II banjos. Folks come from all over the world — it’s really a niche business. As far as I know I’m the only guy in America who deals with pre-WWII Gibson banjos, which are considered the Stradivari banjos of bluegrass. I’ve been all over America, across Canada and I even went to Johannesburg, South Africa, and bought banjos. They’re everywhere, but the majority is in the South in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina. It seems a lot of them migrated here, and a lot ended up in the hands of amateurs trying to imitate their heroes — that’s expected because this is where the music took off from.

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