12 members (Fdemetrio, Gary E. Andrews, Gavin Sinclair, Bill Draper, Guy E. Trepanier, couchgrouch, Everett Adams, 3 invisible),
873
guests, and
342
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Welcome to the Just Plain Folks forums! You are currently viewing our forums as a Guest which gives you limited access to most of our discussions and to other features.
By joining our free community you will have access to post and respond to topics, communicate privately with our users (PM), respond to polls, upload content, and access many other features. Registration is fast, simple, and absolutely free; so please join our community today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mutlu
by Gary E. Andrews - 04/15/24 07:08 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leafs
by Gary E. Andrews - 04/05/24 01:49 PM
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 6,589 Likes: 1
Top 40 Poster
|
OP
Top 40 Poster
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 6,589 Likes: 1 |
One of my biggest influences, though it might not show, and one of my favorite writers and performers was John Hartford. He was best known as the writer of "Gentle On My Mind" and as Glen Campbell's TV sidekick, and later he was prominent on the soundtrack of "O Brother Where Art Thou" and the subsequent music tours from that...but he was an amazing man. Bluegrass musician extraordinaire, riverboat pilot, humorist...he put on the best one-man-show I ever saw back in the late 70's at the Guthrie, dancing on a miked piece of particle board and playing fiddle, guitar and tenor banjo. I got to say hello to him, and he was as warm and genuine as they come. He also wrote hilarious songs like "Boogie" and "Granny Wontcha Smoke Some Marijuana". If you haven't discovered him, you should. I just happened upon this little film of him piloting a riverboat and talking about music...just as funny and profound as I remember him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aICsD4C-pC8&feature=relatedHats off to Captain Hartford.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 10,941 Likes: 3
Top 10 Poster
|
Top 10 Poster
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 10,941 Likes: 3 |
Fascinating video, thanks for sharing!
Kevin
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,710
Top 100 Poster
|
Top 100 Poster
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,710 |
Mark, I didn't realize John was a steamboat captain on the Big Muddy. Shades of Mark Twain. What a great musician he was...and old man River, he just keeps rollin' along...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,831
Top 30 Poster
|
Top 30 Poster
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,831 |
He was only beginning to reach his ever growing stride when fate took him from our music world. His songs made so many artists famous and wealthy. Miss him? You bet! Thanks for sharing.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,114
Top 40 Poster
|
Top 40 Poster
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 6,114 |
I used to listen to John Hartford quite a bit in the early 80's when I was learning bluegrass and old time music. Most notably his collaborations with The Dillard's who were also from Missouri (Salem). He once said that the royalties from "Gentle On My Mind" bought his freedom.
There is a bend in the Cumberland river called "Hartford's Bend" named after him.
As a proponent of keeping traditional music alive, I was happy to see the likes of Hartford, Norman Blake, and The Stanley Brothers get national and worldwide attention from the "O Brother" soundtrack. A lot of money was made from the movie and soundtrack. Big Hollywood stars, funny story line, and grass roots music. The combination worked. I only wish that someone would try it again.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 678
Serious Contributor
|
Serious Contributor
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 678 |
My wife and I saw him locally years ago too. He may have had the same piece of particle board on that tour as in Minneapolis. Minneapolis could have been his next stop.
My wife wasn't as impressed as I was but I liked the show a lot.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Johnson.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,265
Serious Contributor
|
Serious Contributor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,265 |
One of my favorite Hartford tunes is Steam Powered Aereo Plane. I think he was the first person I saw who used a foot board for percussion. (I always thought it was plywood)
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,761
Top 100 Poster
|
Top 100 Poster
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,761 |
Thanks for the link Mark,
I always felt he was under-appreciated. Saw him "live" a few times. Miss him still...Not only was he a riverboat captain, he also used some of the proceeds from Gentle on my Mind to buy his own riverboat. He'd pilot it up and down the Mississipi, doing his own driving(?) and giving performances. I always thought it was a brilliant way of spending his royalties.
Midnite
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 174
Serious Contributor
|
Serious Contributor
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 174 |
"Wave your flag, wave the bible, wave your sex or your business degree Whatever you want -- but don't wave that thing at me" -Bruce Cockburn
I'm just a verb living in the body of a noun.
|
|
|
We would like to keep the membership in Just Plain Folks FREE! Your donation helps support the many programs we offer including Road Trips and the Music Awards.
|
|
Forums117
Topics125,749
Posts1,161,243
Members21,470
|
Most Online37,523 Jan 25th, 2020
|
|
"Sometimes, the best thing you can say, isn't the easiest thing" -Brian Austin Whitney
|
|
|
|