Claudia Dunaway

Claudia was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father was a travelling shoe salesman and her mother was an artist, poet, and former owner of White's Tavern in downtown Baltimore. All the 78s from the tavern moved to Reidsville, North Carolina with the family when Claudia was one and she grew up listening to Spike Jones and Guy Lombardo.

At age eight Claudia began her performing career with ballet and tap dancing lessons. "I towered over the other little dancers so I decided that maybe playing the cornet in the school band suited me better. Then, a few years later, Arthur Godfrey appeared on the scene and pretty soon I was playing 'Five Foot Two' on the ukulele.

"I went to UNC-Greensboro to study art and left my horn and uke behind. After college I had the usual life experiences-made and sold pots, got married, taught school, had a great kid, Kathryn, opened a pottery shop in Virginia, got divorced, taught school, and seven years later moved to to Florida.

"Then I met John D. Richards, Genius. He swept me off my feet when he played a Spike Jones tape in his van. I moved to St. Augustine and we were married right away. I started playing the old cornet again and eventually joined the 3rd Florida Regimental Band. We were dressing up like Civil War soldiers and playing for battle reenactments so I purchased a beautiful Robb Stewart rotary valve cornet. Later, a few of the women in the group formed a brass quartet called the Brass Belles.

"In 2001 John recruited me for his group The Ancient City Slickers. A couple of years later we moved to Burnsville, North Carolina. When John started gathering up a bunch of musicians for yet another band, I polished up my cornet and got a new uke!"

When not playing music, Claudia makes beautiful stoneware and porcelain pottery which can be seen at the Yummy Mud Puddle.