In Remembrance of Les Sandy

August 28, 1928 - July 28, 2022

Former Blue Grass Boy, Les Sandy, passed away at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, North Carolina, on July 28, 2022, after a short battle with cancer. He was 93 years old. (Richard Thompson, “Les Sandy Passes” Bluegrass Today, August 3, 2022)

Leslie was one of the eight children of the late Lloyd Allen Sandy and Maude Davis Sandy. He joined the US Navy in 1944 and is a World War II Veteran. His strong desire to learn more prompted him to leave home when he was nineteen years old to pursue a professional career in music and to meet other musicians who could share their knowledge that would influence him to become the outstanding fiddle player known by many.

Leslie, a well-known bluegrass singer has been featured on radio programs around the country including The Louisiana Hayride in New Orleans and the Suwannee River Jamboree in Live Oak, Florida, The Briar Hoppers, Slim Mims and The Dream Ranch Boys, Snuffy Jenkins and The Hired Hands, Arthur Smith and The Cracker Jacks, Curly Mulligan and The Sundowners and Jim and Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys. 

In 1953, he was privileged to play the bass fiddle for Bill Monroe on the Grand Ole Opry as one of his Bluegrass Boys. After three years on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, he went to Wilmington, North Carolina. He established his own television show, The Carolina Jamboree on WMFD (now WECT). A young Charlie Daniels was a frequent guest on this show.