James Edward "Ed" Haley was born in 1883 on Hart's Creek in Logan County, West Virginia. Haley, who was a blind professional fiddler, never recorded commercially during his lifetime; he was afraid that the record companies would take advantage of a blind man. However, there were recordings made by Haley's son Ralph on a home disc-cutting machine. When Ralph died, the recordings were evenly divided among the five remaining children. It is believed that the 106 sides which remain are only about one third of those recorded. Most of these have been issued on CD by Rounder Records on two 2-CD sets. The digital rejuvenation of these disks is remarkable. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... State nickname: Mountain State Official languages English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Governor Joe Manchin (D) Senators Robert Byrd (D) Jay Rockefeller (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 41st 62,809 km² 0. ... See also Blindness (novel) Blindness can be defined physiologically as the condition of lacking visual perception. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a fifth apart. ...

Riverboat pilot and bluegrass artist John Hartford worked diligently to compose a detailed biography of Haley, but died before it was completed. Plans to publish the manuscript are still in the works. A first class tourist riverboat High speed planing riverboat High speed hydrofoil riverboat Local passenger transport craft Riverboat specialized for cargo truck transport Self propelled gravel barge M.V. Splendid China layout A riverboat is a specialized watercraft (vessel) designed for operating on inland waterways. ... John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937– June 4, 2001) was an American bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics and unique vocal style. ...

Haley, who was often accompanied by his wife Martha, who was also blind and played mandolin, traveled to fiddle contests and small towns throughout West Virginia and Kentucky. Before the Great Depression, he made as much as twenty dollars a day. But Haley would also play special requests for people who loved fiddling but had no money to pay for it. One of Haley's lifelong friends was an Ivydale physicial named Laury Hicks. Shortly before he died, Hicks requested that he be able to hear Ed Haley one more time. Ed arrived too late, and it is said that he played over Laury's grave for hours into the night. The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ... State nickname: Mountain State Official languages English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Governor Joe Manchin (D) Senators Robert Byrd (D) Jay Rockefeller (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 41st 62,809 km² 0. ... State nickname: Bluegrass State Other U.S. States Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) Senators Mitch McConnell (R) Jim Bunning (R) Official languages English Area 104,749 km² (37th)  - Land 102,989 km²  - Water 1,760 km² (1. ... The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to approximately 1939. ...

In regard to his own fiddling, Haley was not particularly vain, although he was aware that he could put "slurs and insults" into a tune in a manner that set him apart from all other fiddlers. "I like to flavor up a tune," he told Cecil Williamson, "so that nobody in the world could tell what I'm playing." And he sometimes wished that "someone might pattern after me a little when I'm dead." Today, many young fiddlers such as Brad Leftwich from Indiana and Bruce Molsky from Virginia, have proficiently learned Haley's tunes.

Haley died of a heart attack on February 4, 1951 at his home in Ashland, Kentucky.

Clark Kessinger considered Ed Haley to be the finest fiddler he had ever heard. Molly O' Day says that his playing was unearthly, like music from another world. J.P. Fraley tells how Haley's fingers seemed to possess a life of their own when he played, as if little men were running across the fingerboard of his violin. One old-timer, after hearing Haley play "Bonaparte's Retreat", declared that "if two armies could come together and hear him play that music, they'd kill themselves in piles."