Roy Acuff Cachet

This post is about a beautiful Roy Acuff cachet by the Collins company that is a part of my collection. In philately, a cachet is a printed or stamped design (other than a cancellation) on an envelope or postcard. Among them, are the special group of items that are hand decorated with drawings, paintings, or other artistic medium. I only have a few of these special items, but you can see one from Haiti on this page.

Roy Acuff

Roy Acuff was born in Maynardville, Tennessee, in 1903. He was from a prominent family in Union country, his grandfather was even a state senator. Acuff’s father was a Baptist preacher as well as a fiddler, while his mother was a pianist. He began learning music, playing both the piano and fiddle, as well as the harmonica when he was very young. Acuff’s first love was baseball and in 1929, he tried out for a minor league team. However, a severe sunstroke put an end to his athletic career.

Acuff’s professional music career began in 1934 when he was hired by a medicine show to play fiddle and sing. While touring with the show, Acuff met many great Appalachian musicians and learned the folks songs of the region. After leaving the show, Acuff made up his own group, the Crazy Tennesseans with guitarist Jess Easterday, Hawaiian guitarist Clell Summey, and bass player Red Jones. The group became popular for their rendition of “The Great Speckled Bird,” and was given a recording contract by ARC.

In 1938, Acuff’s band became the Smoky Mountain Boys and joined the Grand Ole Opry. They were soon one of the Opry’s most popular acts. By this point, Acuff was a nationally known musician, popular for both his fiddling and singing. He even was in several movies, even playing a singing sheriff in Night Train to Memphis in 1946. Acuff became known as the “King of Country Music.”

Acuff’s success led him to form a music publishing company with Fred Rose (Acuff-Rose Music). They became the most important publisher in country music, in part because they treated their musicians more fairly than other companies. Acuff had a long career as a musician and businessman and died in 1992 at the age of 89.

The Stamp

In 2003, the United States honored Roy Acuff with a postage stamp. It was issued on September 13, in Nashville Tennessee. The image on the stamp is from a photo in a 1949 edition of Collier’s magazine. In it, Acuff is holding his fiddle low on his arm (not in playing position) and has a broad bright smile.

Collins’ Cachets

The stunning cachet features the stamp and a first day cancellation in the upper right corner. In the center, an older Acuff sits in a wicker chair on a porch outside a log cabin. His fiddle is under his arm.

Fred Collins began making hand decorated cachets in 1978 and is well known throughout the philatelic community for his specialized pieces. He make a new design for each U.S. stamp issue and limits the run of his designs to a few hundred. You can see more of his work on his website.

Finally, make sure to check out some of Roy Acuff’s classic songs, especially “The Great Speckled Bird.”