Dr. Tommy Bibey is the world's only physician bluegrass fiction writer. He grew up in rural North Carolina, and made house calls with his country doctor father. His mother was an English teacher who took him to the library every week, and he fell in love with books early on from her influence. He read every book in the Harvey County library twice.
| “I was raised in a valley town between the Cumberland Mountains, I know the characters in the Mandolin Case. Dr Bibey shows them as they are; fun loving musicians, card players and sportsman. These are the people I grew up with. Mix them with a bunch of lawyers and you've got one hell of a read. I didn't want it to end.´ -- Don Sterchi, Newspaper columnist and free lance writer |
By high school he was a bored and indifferent student with a strong interest in girls, guitars and golf. A favorite high school teacher changed all that and convinced him to open his chemistry book. He became a doctor.
Bibey loved the guitar and the Beatles, but it was mostly a way to meet girls. After he met his Marfar he no longer looked for girls but still played guitar. They were married in 1975, and have two children, Tommy, Jr., a paramedic, and Marie, a medical systems analyst in the Tobacco Triangle.
After graduation from Harvey High, Bibey attended Lake Forest University, and then Sandhills University Medical School.
| “I introduced Dr. B to bluegrass music and helped with his medical education. He has blended both of these disciplines into a metaphor for his story telling and view of life in general. My congrats on the publishing of his book. It will be well received.” -- Dr. Peter Temple, Retired rural Family Physician and Community Medicine preceptor for East Carolina University School of Medicine |
He was an "A-B" student at each institution. At Sandhills, he met eastern North Carolina bluegrass guru Dr. Peter Temple and fell head over heels for bluegrass music in Temple's front porch sessions. They remain friends to this day. As a kid, Tommy had fallen fell under the spell of Flatt and Scruggs. Between their influence and Peter Temple's, Bibey gave up rock 'n roll and became true bluegrass. Dr. Temple said Bibey was his only student who ever made an "A" in both medicine and bluegrass music.
After med school Bibey did his residency in Knoxville, Tennessee. There he studied banjo under the late Glen Laney. After internship he joined "SawBones Grass" as a banjo player. People began to tell him he was unusual and needed to write a book.
He returned to Harvey County and became a country doctor. Moose Dooley, a local banjo man, asked him to fill in on the mandolin for a gig. Bibey bought a mandolin and played the show three weeks later. Later he became friends with Darin Aldridge who became his major mandolin influence. Between Darin's years of assistance and lessons with Wayne Benson, Dr. B emerged as a reasonable amateur mandolinist.
| Dr B---I have really enjoyed reading your work. It appears you have captured the essence of what we strive to do in the legal profession with your portrayal of Martin Taylor. He has the requisite qualities and attributes of a true Southern lawyer and what I consider the ultimate qualification—a seeker of truth. Perhaps one day you could introduce me to him. I would love to get to know him better. You should continue your writing efforts, as you have a unique talent. -- Bill Elam -prominent Charlotte, N.C. attorney and medical malpractice specialist |
He took on a teaching position at Sandhills, and again was told he needed to write a book. He was unsure why, but began to save notes. He recalled Jerry Clower's words. "If you hear it twice it's scripture." Bibey viewed medicine as a healing art, not a business. Bothered by the modern trends he witnessed, he began to write with increased intensity.
The result is his first book, "The Mandolin Case." As Ted Lehmann's wife Irene said, "When a man writes like that, there has to be a reason." There is. In his story, and in the series to follow, Bibey shows why.
Dr. Bibey can be reached at tom.bibey@yahoo.com or his blog:
http://drtombibey.wordpress.com
or FaceBook, where he posts a "Song of The Day"