Joseph Emmett Mainer, born on July 29, 1898, in Weaverville, North Carolina, was an American old-time fiddler. He learned to play the fiddle from a young age and began performing at local country barn dances. In 1933, sponsored by Crazy Water Crystals, he formed J.E. Mainer and His Crazy Mountaineers with his brother Wade on banjo and Zeke Morris on guitar, making their radio debut on WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina. The band recorded for Bluebird Records starting in August 1935. The Mountaineers disbanded at the outbreak of World War II, but he continued to record in the late 1940s with his sons Glenn and Curly for King Records. Between 1967 and his death on June 12, 1971, hundreds of post-war recordings were released on Rural Rhythm Records. he passed away on June 12, 1971, at the age of 72. He was posthumously inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012.
