Grandpa Jones (Louis Marshall) of “Hee Haw” has been fooling people for years by looking and sounding older than he actually is.

Young Louis left Henderson, Kentucky, with his banjo and migrated to Akron, Ohio, where in 1929 his banjo and guitar performances brought him first prize in a talent contest over 450 entrants.  He traded his $50 first prize for a better guitar and began performing on radio.

In 1935, he teamed with Bradley Kincaid.  Listeners thought Jones sounded older than he actually was and the “Grandpa Jones” image was born.

Jones has headlined his own “Grandpa Jones and his Grandchildren” radio show in Wheeling, West Virginia; been a staff member of WLW in Cincinnati; played on the AFN Network out of Munich, Germany during his World War II stint in the army; been a Grand Ole Opry regular since 1946; and made many return trips to Europe and Asia to entertain American troops.

Jones’ fantastic amount of energy, his superb knowledge of the banjo and his unique and personally-written material have combined to make Grandpa Jones one of country music’s most popular members.  In 1978, Grandpas received the ultimate accolade when he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.