Bill Clifton, a bluegrass musician and collector whose life's work was dedicated to the preservation of traditional American music, died peacefully in his sleep on October 30, 2026, at the age of 95. Born William August Marburg on April 5, 1931, in Riderwood, Maryland, he grew up on a farm near Baltimore, developing an interest in country music through radio and vintage 78-rpm records.

Over his career, he recorded nearly 30 albums, beginning with Mountain Folk Songs on Starday Records in 1960 and concluding with Mountain Laurel in 2004. While studying at the University of Virginia, Clifton founded The Dixie Mountain Boys, a band that occasionally featured Mike Seeger.

Following his 1954 graduation, he served in the Marine Corps, during which time he compiled Bill Clifton 150 Old-Time Folk and Gospel Songs, a seminal work for many bluegrass musicians. In 1961, Clifton organized one of the first bluegrass festivals in the US at Oak Leaf Park in Luray, Virginia.

In 1963, he relocated his family to England, spreading American bluegrass across Europe, and later performed similar cultural outreach in the Philippines as part of the Peace Corps. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

Bill Clifton has made his mark through passion, dedication, and devotion to the preservation of our unique musical heritage, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum stated. Bill's legacy is a lifetime of service to the music of his homeland in hopes that it continues to live on for generations to come.

Musician Dennis Cash paid tribute on Facebook, writing, The music world lost a pioneer today. I lost a hero.

He is survived by his sister, 10 children, 18 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.