Bluegrass great Herschel Sizemore has died

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Bluegrass great and longtime Roanoke Valley resident Herschel Sizemore has died.

A native of Alabama, Sizemore started playing when he was just seven years old.

He worked with many of the best-known musicians in Bluegrass during his influential career.

Sizemore also recorded and performed with his own band and enjoyed passing along his knowledge of the mandolin.

“I don’t think music should be a selfish thing,” Sizemore told WDBJ7 in 2003. “It’s a God-given talent and if I know how to do something or can show somebody something, you know, I think we ought to pass it on.”

Sizemore Is a member of the Alabama Bluegrass Hall of Fame. And he has been nominated for induction into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame.

He lived in the Roanoke Valley for more than 50 years, and celebrated his 87th birthday last month.

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