Billy Waller is the voice of the Bluefield Billies — lead singer, acoustic guitar player, and harmonica player. His grit, humor, and holler heart helped shape the band’s breakout smash “Beans, Biscuits and Beer.”
Billy grew up in Bluefield, and by age 11 he was already known around his stretch of the holler as the best picker anybody had heard. While other kids chased trouble, Billy stayed close to his banjo and acoustic guitar, learning the old mountain sound one sore fingertip at a time.
On Friday nights, 50 to 100 folks from around the holler would gather for potluck, and Billy would play and sing for just about all of them. Influenced by Bill Monroe, porch music, and the muddy-road life of Bluefield, Billy’s grit, humor, and holler heart helped shape the band’s breakout smash “Beans, Biscuits and Beer.”
Ida Mae Jasper brings fire, rhythm, and heart to the Bluefield Billies. Known for shredding the fiddle, she also adds percussion, and backing vocals that help give the Billies their foot-stomping Bluefield sound.
Ida Mae Jasper grew up outside Princeton, not far from Bluefield, in a thinly populated stretch of Mercer County where children were scarce and entertainment was scarcer. Homeschooled by her grandfather—an old-school bluegrass fanatic who cared more about scales than worksheets—Ida Mae spent much of her childhood surrounded by fiddles, mandolins, washboards and anything else that could carry a tune or keep time. Some days she practiced for six hours straight, much to her grandfather’s delight.
At thirteen, Ida Mae attended the State Fair of West Virginia and was invited to sit in during a bluegrass performance. By the time she finished, seasoned musicians three times her age were standing back and grinning while the crowd called for another song.
Three years later, a local pastor who had been quietly keeping track of the area’s best young musicians convinced her grandfather to take her over to the Waller place. Ida Mae and Billy began playing together on the porch and barely stopped before dark. By seventeen, people were traveling in from neighboring hollers just to hear the two young musicians play.
Today, Ida Mae is the Bluefield Billies’ secret weapon—a blistering fiddle player, gifted percussionist, occasional backing vocalist and natural multi-instrumentalist who can usually make music from anything placed in front of her.
Clem Atkins is the banjo beast of the Bluefield Billies, bringing drive, grit, and sharp pickin’ to the band’s sound. Along with banjo, Clem adds guitar, percussion, and background vocals that help keep the Billies rolling strong.
Clem grew up in the same small town as Virgil Miller, and by high school the two were already making more noise than most established bands in the county. Clem was the spark—a lightning-fast banjo picker, hard-driving electric guitarist and natural performer whose hands always seemed to be moving one measure ahead of everybody else.
After school, Clem and Virgil practiced in the Miller family barn, where Virgil’s parents welcomed the music as long as the chores were finished first. Clem pushed every song faster, while Virgil’s steady drums and upright bass kept the whole operation from running off the rails.
The two eventually formed The Muddy Fork Ramblers, playing church suppers, farm auctions, county fairs and community events throughout the area. They were usually booked as the opening act, but their speed, musicianship and youthful nerve often left the scheduled headliners wondering how they were supposed to follow them.
A local pastor who had been quietly watching the region’s finest young musicians finally introduced Clem and Virgil to Billy Waller and Ida Mae Jasper. From the first jam, it was clear that Clem had found musicians capable of keeping up with him—and the earliest foundation of the Bluefield Billies was complete.
Virgil Miller is the heartbeat of the Bluefield Billies, driving the band’s sound with his hard-working stand-up bass and deep Bluefield groove. Best known for his powerful bass playing, Virgil also adds percussion, occasional drums, and his unmistakable whistle to the Billies’ foot-stomping style.
Virgil Miller grew up around Muddy Fork, a small farming pocket outside Bluefield, and met Clem while the two attended the same county high school. Even then, Virgil possessed the rare kind of timing that made every musician around him sound better. He could drive a song from behind a drum kit, then step over to an upright bass and hold the whole room together with the same steady confidence.
Most afternoons, Virgil and Clem hurried back to the Miller farm, where Clem often helped finish the chores so they could reach the barn before supper. Virgil’s parents encouraged the music as long as the animals were fed and the work was done. They allowed the boys to practice late into the evening, brought food out when rehearsals ran long and frequently drove Clem home after dark.
Together, the boys formed The Muddy Fork Ramblers, named for the creek, road and little patch of country they both called home. They played church suppers, school programs, farm auctions and county gatherings—usually as the opening act. Before long, their musicianship and energy were drawing some of the loudest applause of the night, occasionally leaving the scheduled headliners with a difficult act to follow.
A local pastor who had been quietly watching the region’s finest young musicians eventually told the Millers that Virgil and Clem needed to meet Billy Waller and Ida Mae Jasper. The Miller family provided the ride to the Waller place, where the four youngsters played together until well after dark. Clem supplied the lightning, but Virgil gave it somewhere to land—and that steady heartbeat would become an essential part of the Bluefield Billies.
Additional musicians Tommy Sturgill of Fort Drum, Florida, Daisy Williams of Belview, Minnesota, and Bobby McCoy of Mims, Florida help bring extra fire to the Bluefield Billies sound. From live performances to select studio recordings, they add depth, rhythm, and country-bluegrass spirit whenever the Billies need the sound to get a little bigger.