b. Allen Dale Potter, 28 April 1930, Puxico, Missouri, USA, d. 13 March 1996, USA. A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, fiddle player Dale Potter contributed to records by many of the stellar country artists of the post-war period, including Hank Williams, Little Jimmy Dickens, Bill Monroe and Cowboy Copas. Taught fiddle and guitar by his father from an early age, Potter gravitated to country music after listening to Bob Wills’ KVOO Tulsa radio performances. This event proved axiomatic in the development of his style - unaware that Wills’ Texas Playboys featured more than one fiddle player, he adapted his technique to enable him to play both harmony and melody. Potter soon landed a regular radio spot himself, before being summoned to Nashville to join Milton Estes’ Musical Millers. He was only 18 when he made his stage debut at the Grand Ole Opry, playing a version of Tex Owens’ ‘Cattle Call’. Zeb Turner then engaged him in recording work to boost his income. His first session was with Hank Williams in 1949, resulting in songs including ‘Wedding Bells’ and ‘Lost Highway’. He subsequently became an in-demand session player, working on Red Foley’s Top 10 hit, ‘Sugarfoot Rag’, and a series of hits by Webb Pierce, Ray Price, Johnny Paycheck and Faron Young. Potter also appeared on the very first Everly Brothers recording session in 1955. Later he joined the Country All-Stars, which featured Chet Atkins, who described him as ‘the best all-round fiddler in the business.’ He worked with Judy Lynn in 1960, then the Sons Of The West in Dallas, before ill health curtailed his career.