Dick Kimmel
(1947- )
Inducted 2010
Dick Kimmel has been called “The Ambassador of Bluegrass” and has been associated with traditional bluegrass and old-time country music since 1970. Dick was born in Illinois to a musical family and by the time he was eight years old he was playing old country duets with his brother Charles. His brother taught him to play guitar and banjo with Dick eventually becoming a vocalist and master of the mandolin as well. In 1961 at the age of 14, he formed his first bluegrass band called The Bluegrass Ramblers. Kimmel eventually settled in New Ulm, Minnesota and performed throughout North America and Europe sharing the stage with artists including Del McCoury, Hazel Dickens, Dwight Diller, toured Europe six times as a solo performer, with his band Dick Kimmel & Co., and as a duo with Adam Granger. As a recording artist and songwriter, Dick released more than two dozen recordings made over 50 years, many on the prestigious Copper Creek label, based in Roanoke, Virgina. Dick Kimmel & Co.’s gospel CD entitled My Lord Keeps a Record received excellent reviews from the international media and earned a nomination for Gospel Recorded Performance of The Year 2005 by The International Bluegrass Music Association. Dick and Jerilyn Kjellberg performed together as a duo and sometimes together with Dick Kimmel & Co. In April 2007 they released the duo album Somebody Loves You, Darlin’. Al Schusterman of Backroads Bluegrass publication wrote “Wow! The impact of this extraordinary CD just takes your breath away!” Dick has retired as a Wildlife Research Biologist for The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
