"Clint Howard has been known to us as one of the most respected and influential personalities in American musical history...his groundbreaking recordings of classic American folk repertoire have been the cornerstones for countless musicians and audiences throughout the world. It is our humble belief that Clint Howard deserves to be recognized as one of the nation's greatest treasures"
Clint Howard was born October 30, 1930 to George W. and Elizabeth Snyder Howard. Clint grew up on a small farm in Johnson County. When Clint was six years old, his mother began to teach him to sing. She would sing a ballad or a hymn to give Clint the pitch of the part he was to sing, and she would join him to harmonize. When Clint was 11 years old, his father gave him a guitar, and he taught himself to play. After marrying Betty Snyder and having three children in 10 years, he began to play professionally. He teamed up with Clarence "Tom" Ashley, Fred Price, and Doc Watson. This group of men performed all over the United States, including the University of California, the Pete Seegar Show, the Newport Folk Festival, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Among the albums recorded by the group are Old Timey Concert and Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, which was added to the National Recording Registry in 2012, along with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Simon and Garfunkle's The Sound of Silence.
Clint and Fred later formed a band with their sons and recorded The Ballad of Finley Preston. They played show dates at the Smithsonian, the 1982 World's fair, and the National Fold Festival at Wolf Trap Farm in Vienna, VA among others. They were featured on ABC's 20/20 and in Life Magazine. One New York Newspaper from the time said the "put the folk in folk music."
Clint always had a twinkle in his eye and loved to make people laugh. Before he and his band performed, it often fell to him to prime the audience with a funny tall take or to reminisce about what life used to be like when he was a boy. Clint truly loved his mother and credited her with his musical talent. He once told an interviewer, "Me and her would just go to singin' songs out of the song book or gospel songs, or just whatever. Me and her'd sing sometimes til one or two o'clock in the mornin'".
Though Clint traveled the nation and hung with some pretty popular people, he was always a simple man. He, Fred, Doc, and Tom never let a little fame go to their heads. They loved their heritage, their simple lives, and the beauty of their Appalachian homeland. Clint made his living as a welder, a school bus driver, and most importantly, as a farmer. His daddy gave him his first cow- red with a white star on its forehead- when he was seven years. old. He said he was never without cows in his life after that. He cherished his family and his community. He fiercely took objection to anyone who criticized Johnson County in even the slightest way. In his cowboy boots, jeans,and John Deere cap cocked ever so slightly on his head, he was frequently seen around Mountain City in his pickup truck. Clint passed away in 2011, with his family at his side and was laid to rest in Reece Cemetary.