Charlie Cushman

American 5-string banjo player. Born August 23, 1959, in Clarksville, Tennessee. His grandfather bought him a used banjo after months of Charlie's begging when he was 4 years old. At the age of 14, in 1974, Charlie began playing the banjo six days each week on the Carl Tipton Show. From 1979 till 1986, Charlie worked as a musician and business owner, in Nashville. He played the banjo with James Monroe and the Midnight Ramblers, Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, Mel Tillis and the Statesiders, and also became a part of the Nashville session scene. Opryland, USA, then employed him, as a multi-instrumentalist from 1986 to mid 1990. He is still an in-demand session player on banjo and guitar player.