Hoyt Ming

Hoyt Ming (October 6, 1902 – April 28, 1985) was an American old-time fiddler.

Biography Hoyt Ming was born in Choctaw County, Mississippi on October 6, 1902. Later, in his life he married Rozelle Ming (April 25, 1907 - September 29, 1983); the couple performed together for the rest of Hoyt's life. He played fiddle with the Pep Steppers, a family old-time band from Tupelo featuring Hoyt (fiddle), Rozelle (guitar) and Hoyt's brother Troy on mandolin, sometimes billed as "Floyd Ming and the Pep Steppers", instead of using his real name "Hoyt". Hoyt and his band recorded for Ralph Peer and RCA Victor on February 13, 1928 at the Peabody Hotel including their most famous song "Indian War Whoop" which was included on the album Anthology of American Folk Music. The recorded band also featured A.D. Coggins doing the set calling. They performed at local dances and fairs until about 1957, when he stopped playing. Interest in the band revived in the 1970s. They took to the stage at the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap Farm in 1973 in the Washington D.C. area where they would record the album "New Hot Times" and at the 1974 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife as well as other shows.

For most of his life he was a potato farmer. Hoyt sold potato plants, partly direct to other farmers and farming cooperatives, but in high season, from April to the end of July, through small ads in papers like Progressive Farmer and Southern Agriculturist, once counting and bunching 30,000 plants in one day. Recording Location Recording Date "Indian War Whoop" Victor 21294

"Old Red" Victor 21294 "White mule" Victor 21534 Tupelo Blues Victor 21534

New Hot Times (1973)