WAMU's Bluegrass Country

About Hubie King

Hubie King was born and raised in Washington, DC, where at about 15 he discovered “hillbilly” music being played by Don Owens, a young local DJ, and also being broadcast over WWVA, the “Wheeling Jamboree.” It was an instant love affair. When Don first played Earl Scruggs’ “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” Hubie told his parents he had to have one of those. To his great surprise, they bought him a banjo, and he taught himself to play it.

By the early 1950s, Hubie was playing in bluegrass bands on Washington area radio stations. A young mandolinist and singer in the band in 1954-55 was John Duffey, soon to become a well-known founding member of both the Country Gentlemen and Seldom Scene bands. However, after Hubie earned his BA in Business at George Washington University, he left to follow his other love, flying for the Air Force, where he became a flight instructor and fighter pilot.

After retiring from the Air Force, Hubie finished a Masters degree in Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1976, and then worked as a Consumer Fraud Investigator in the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office. With four years of this experience, he came home to DC and worked for the Office of Consumer Protection in Prince William County, Virginia, becoming that agency’s Director.

On arrival in Washington, he scanned the radio dial and found WAMU. With lots of bluegrass on the air, “It felt like I’d never left,” he says. He also discovered a vibrant world of old-time music in the area and soon was “in love” again, playing clawhammer banjo at jam sessions, with summer trips to various festivals and workshops.

Retiring again in 1990, Hubie worked as a volunteer at the Library of Congress under Alan Jabbour at the American Folklife Center’s Archive of Folk Culture, cataloging collections of folk music. He continues to play old-time banjo in various bands at dances, festivals, contests, and jam sessions. He recorded one CD with Diane Jones, called There Are No Rules, and he works to promote interest in old-time music by teaching banjo and hosting guest-artist workshops at his home. He also acts as a mentor for the Friends of Old Time Banjo organization. Since September, 2007, he has hosted the Old Time Jam program on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country, playing records and bringing live talent into the studio.

Hubie lives in Annandale, Virginia, with his guitar-playing wife, Chris. Two of his adult children and three grandchildren live in the Washington, D.C. area, while another son, two granddaughters and two great-grandchildren are living in Wisconsin.