Roy Linwood Clark was born on April 15, 1933 in Meherrin, Virginia. He was 8 when his family moved to Washington D.C., but Roy considers Meherrin his home town.
Roy's father, Hester, played in a square dance band, but exposed Roy to many different kinds of music before he ever played. His dad said, "Never turn your ear off to music until your heart hears it - because then you might hear something you like." Roy began on banjo and mandolin. He received his first guitar, a Sears Silvertone, as a Christmas present when he was 14. In Washington, D.C., he began playing bars and dives on Friday and Saturday nights. Soon, he was playing every night and skipping school, eventually dropping out at 15. After winning a national banjo competition in 1950, Roy was invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. In 1960, he was seeking a solo career. An invitation to open for Wanda Jackson in Las Vegas proved to be his big break. It led to his own tour for 345 straight nights. He returned to Vegas in 1962 as a headliner and recording star with his debut album, "The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark."
The ever-popular "Hee Haw" TV show premiered in 1969. In 1983, he helped create another musical venue when he opened the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri. The highlight of his career was a pioneering, sold out 1976 tour of the then-Soviet Union. Jim Halsey managed this tour. When he returned in 1988 to now-Russia, Clark was hailed as a hero. At the top of this numerous hits list is "Yesterday," "When I Was Young," "The Tips of My Fingers," "Thank God and Greyhound You're Gone," "Come Live With Me," and his own 12 string guitar version of "Malaguena."
The Country Music Association and Academy of Music have honored Roy many times as Entertainer of the Year, Instrumentalist of the Year, and Comedian of the Year. In 1999, Roy received the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian of the Year Award. Roy is also a former Oklahoma Ambassador of Goodwill. However in his opinion, his most significant honor is having a grade school named after him - The Roy Clark Elementary School in Tulsa. Roy lives in Tulsa, where he moved in 1974 with Barbara, his wife of over 40 years. They have four children. Roy expects to keep performing and supporting his charitable associations involving children, such as the Roy Clark Celebrity Golf Tournament.