This banjoist was a member of the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, a classic Appalachian string band whose music spanned the gap between old-time music and bluegrass, a distance that can seem minute or measurable in country miles, depending on one's point of view. He has said that his professional career and the common usage of the term bluegrass began around the same time, so listeners can draw their own conclusions. As for a time line, this artist put in a solid 50 years of performing before finally calling it quits, much of the activity based around the tri-state area of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. His talents included covering the bass fiddle and doing comedy routines as a member of Ralph Stanley the Clinch Mountain Boys, which is where many country and bluegrass performers of the next generation such as Del McCoury recall first seeing him. In his later years, he fronted the Goins Brothers band with his younger brother, the guitarist and singer Melvin Goins. This group released several albums of straight-ahead bluegrass in the best brother band tradition, but the brothers' recording collaborations had actually begun years earlier. In the '70s, they produced an album out of the Cincinnati area, coming up with a classic bluegrass gospel effort, entitled He Showed Me the Way, that was reissued decades later on Crosscut. The banjoist has also been happy to pick in a sideman capacity for his brother when he began fronting his own band named Windy Mountain.

The brothers grew up working the fields of their family's farm, which is also where they encountered music in the form of radio broadcasts of country music. The lunch break would usually be spent with ears glued to the family's battery powered radio. It was a pleasure that caused their father much pain, but not because he didn't approve of them listening to music. According to interviews with Melvin Goins, their father just wanted to make sure the batteries would still be charged up when it was time for the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night. The brothers' favorite program was Farm and Fun Time from station WCYB out of Bristol, TN, one of the true classic radio programs of old-time and early country music. The brothers' first attempts at playing their own music were carefully plotted affairs of secrecy, taking place in secluded spots in the woods with only their hunting dogs as an audience. From here, it was a slow climb to the possible wage of about five bucks a day playing professionally. Both Goins brothers have stated repeatedly that they played mainly for the love of it, not for large profits, and would often miss dinner because they were listening to music. All of these things were possible with such limited income to be had from the round of gigs at square dances, box socials, pie suppers, and eventually, drive-in theaters, a harbinger of the rock roll era where at least a band could take 50 percent of the gate. They also performed on their own radio program broadcast out of Bluefield. In the mid-'90s, Ray Goins retired from touring due to health problems. Both Goins brothers were inducted into Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Hall of Fame in fall 2001. Ray Goins also received Morehead State University's Appalachian Treasure Award. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi