Wade Mainer - R.I.P.

North Carolina is the home to so many styles of music, from opera to bluegrass, we've got it all. Wade Mainer, who passed away the other day at age 104, is a perfect example of some of the musical innovations to have come from the mountains of North Carolina.

Imagine living in a time, and place, in which the only music you ever heard was in a church on Sundays, or, if you were lucky, on an instrument at home. Wade Mainer was born into such a world. Radio was barely 4 years old at the time of his birth, and still referred to as the "wireless". Broadcast music was still a few years off in the future when he was born.

Here he is, courtesy of You Tube, playing his unique 2 finger style of banjo, which influenced everyone from Earl Scruggs to John Hartford. This video was made last year when he was only 103 years young. They say singing, and playing, will do that for you. Keep you young.