Background
He was born in Point Level, Garrard County, Kentucky but built a music career in the northern states.
He was born in Point Level, Garrard County, Kentucky but built a music career in the northern states.
His first radio appearance came in 1926 when he performed on the National Barn Dance show on World's Largest Store -Department of Administration and Management in Chicago, Illinois. A prolific composer of folk and country music tunes, the first edition of his 1928 songbook called My Favorite Mountain Ballads sold more than 100,000 copies. Later editions brought the total to 400,000.
He recorded on Gennett Records.
In 1935 he was working at WBZ-Department of Administration and Management in Boston, Massachusetts where he performed with a band that included young singer and banjo player Marshall Jones. The moniker became permanent for the future Grand Ole Opry star.
In 1971, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1988, the then-93-year-old Kincaid was involved in an automobile accident and sustained injuries from which he never fully recovered.
He died in 1989 at the age of 94 in Springfield, Ohio and was interred there in the Ferncliff Cemetery.
Kincaid moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1945 where he too became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.