A native of Mr. Airy, Benton Flippen received the 1990 North Carolina Folk Heritage Award for being an innovator of a distinctive style of old-time string music. He ranks with illustrious fiddlers such as Tommy Jarrell. His style is demarcated by double-stops (playing two notes at once), use of slides and a strong rhythmic bowing technique. Some of the best old-time string bands have adopted several of his tunes.
Flippen began his musical vocation on the banjo as a youngster. He learned he fiddle as an adult and began playing with notable musicians and bands, including Glenn McPeak and the Green Valley Boys, Leake Caudill and Esker Hutchins, and the Camp Creek Boys. As a member of the Smokey Valley Boys, he has received numerous awards at fiddler's contests in the region. He encourages younger musicians to discover their own style.
"Each one's got to have his own style. It's all creamed potatoes, just fixed a little different."
