jbaker7 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  12:17:43

To Mickey G. and All,

Can you even imagine how Melodic banjo would have developed had Bobby Thompson lived longer? Bill Keith had time to develop his magic but Bobby was not given his fair share of time--too bad for banjo.

Bobby's banjo style was mostly short melodic fragments but he could certainly play some incredibly well developed solos too...Jack 

Edited by - jbaker7 on 06/24/2012 18:07:06

beegee - Posted - 06/24/2012:  12:40:10

I don't know...he's only been gone 7 years. He made his mark and gave us a real legacy. In the years before his death he had developed his interest in black-powder rifles and such and seemed to be pursuing his bliss. yes, it would have been nice to have him around longer, but he never seemed to be in the forefront as so many modern pickers tend to be. I think he knew how good he was and didn't feel like he had to constantly prove it.

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  13:11:40

Hi Bob,

Well I certainly don't entirely doubt what you say, but from what I have heard from some reliable people in the country music business is that Bobby had been ill for quite a few years, before he died and lost interest because his hands weren't there for him anymore --not long after his stint with Hee Haw. He did continue to persue other interests as you mentioned though.

I was just wondering I guess...Jack  

---

Originally posted by beegee



 

I don't know...he's only been gone 7 years. He made his mark and gave us a real legacy. In the years before his death he had developed his interest in black-powder rifles and such and seemed to be pursuing his bliss. yes, it would have been nice to have him around longer, but he never seemed to be in the forefront as so many modern pickers tend to be. I think he knew how good he was and didn't feel like he had to constantly prove it.

---

Edited by - jbaker7 on 06/24/2012 13:14:42

beegee - Posted - 06/24/2012:  13:44:55

He was really sick for a long time. he had gone into Mountain-Man reenacting was into black-powder shooting. I always thought it was a raw deal for him to have to play behind Roy Clark. They should have given him a lot more face time on Hee-haw.

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  13:55:28

Yeah,

I always wondered why Hee Haw always had Bobby take a back seat to Roy Clark instead of featuring Bobby's obvious talents much more as a part of the show--like a Bobby Thompson solo on every show...Oh well...tks Bob...Jack

---

Originally posted by beegee

He was really sick for a long time. he had gone into Mountain-Man reenacting was into black-powder shooting. I always thought it was a raw deal for him to have to play behind Roy Clark. They should have given him a lot more face time on Hee-haw.

---

banjobilly32 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  14:33:13

Bobby sure had a distinct style and always pulled such great tone from his banjo. He always got the short end of any feature when there was more than one banjo player. There just isn't a lot of good video of his contributions either.  He had the notes pouring off like a waterfall and they never strayed too far from the melody. Not many picked up his style. Maybe Pikelney?

Harry - Posted - 06/24/2012:  14:44:22

What if .... just enjoy what he brought to banjo playing and take your hat of the way he dealt with his life and possibilities.

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  14:59:40

Is that an order or a suggestion? .  Jack Baker NYC  

quote:

---

Originally posted by Harry

What if .... just enjoy what he brought to banjo playing and take your hat of the way he dealt with his life and possibilities.

---

Harry - Posted - 06/24/2012:  15:17:34

No Jack, just a suggestion.

And buy the way; thank you for the great many tabs from which I learned a lot!

But "what if" just doesn't work for me.

kmwaters - Posted - 06/24/2012:  15:55:20

I agree with you fellas.  Hee Haw was quite entertaining, but looking back on it, they failed to take advantage of some of that wonderful musical talent.  Bobby's banjo playing was probably the best example.  But the guys running the show apparently wanted to highlight the bigger names, like Clark, Owens, Grandpa, etc.  Hell, even the exceptionally mediocre Haggar twins got more air time than Bobby and they were certainly far from stars.  Oh well. R.I.P. Bobby.

eagleisland - Posted - 06/24/2012:  16:34:11

Not all brilliant musicians are charismatic performers.

HeeHaw, and the music business in general, tends to favor the charismatic performers - particularly if they can convince brilliant musicians to play behind them.

Fathand - Posted - 06/24/2012:  17:03:52

Well Buck and Roy were the hosts of the show and quite famous as singers in ther own right. Of course they were featured more than anyone else. Roy won many major awards as an Instrumentalist including CMA awards and a grammy and plays 7 instruments. Roy is no slouch on the banjo or anything he put his hand too. Yes Bobby is a better banjo player but singing almost always trumps instrumentals in the entertainment industry. I have seen many clips with Roy and Bobby sharing the stage as banjo players, not many banjo players got that kind of exposure on national TV.    

quote:

---

Originally posted by kmwaters

I agree with you fellas.  Hee Haw was quite entertaining, but looking back on it, they failed to take advantage of some of that wonderful musical talent.  Bobby's banjo playing was probably the best example.  But the guys running the show apparently wanted to highlight the bigger names, like Clark, Owens, Grandpa, etc.  Hell, even the exceptionally mediocre Haggar twins got more air time than Bobby and they were certainly far from stars.  Oh well. R.I.P. Bobby.

---

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  17:34:04

Hi Harry,Glad you're enjoying the tabs. My Grandparents are from the Netherlands--yep, I'm a Dutchman...Jack   p.s. where did the "what if" appear or is it that my post "begs the question" ?   Let's hope you can live with it :-)

quote:

---

Originally posted by Harry

No Jack, just a suggestion.

And buy the way; thank you for the great many tabs from which I learned a lot!

But "what if" just doesn't work for me.

 

---

Edited by - jbaker7 on 06/24/2012 17:50:54

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  17:46:44

Hi Rick,

Yes Roy was quite talented for sure and an all around good player. I just wish the show would have given Bobby Thompson a little more time for just a quick solo is all...Jack

quote:

---

Originally posted by Fathand

Well Buck and Roy were the hosts of the show and quite famous as singers in ther own right. Of course they were featured more than anyone else. Roy won many major awards as an Instrumentalist including CMA awards and a grammy and plays 7 instruments. Roy is no slouch on the banjo or anything he put his hand too. Yes Bobby is a better banjo player but singing almost always trumps instrumentals in the entertainment industry. I have seen many clips with Roy and Bobby sharing the stage as banjo players, not many banjo players got that kind of exposure on national TV.    

quote:

---

Originally posted by kmwaters

I agree with you fellas.  Hee Haw was quite entertaining, but looking back on it, they failed to take advantage of some of that wonderful musical talent.  Bobby's banjo playing was probably the best example.  But the guys running the show apparently wanted to highlight the bigger names, like Clark, Owens, Grandpa, etc.  Hell, even the exceptionally mediocre Haggar twins got more air time than Bobby and they were certainly far from stars.  Oh well. R.I.P. Bobby.

---

 

---

Edited by - jbaker7 on 06/24/2012 17:47:52

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/24/2012:  18:09:33

Ah! Ok Harry,

It's the title (or was) of my post; that's my story and I'm stickin' to it . Jack

 quote:

---

Originally posted by jbaker7

Hi Harry,Glad you're enjoying the tabs. My Grandparents are from the Netherlands--yep, I'm a Dutchman...Jack   p.s. where did the "what if" appear or is it that my post "begs the question" ?   Let's hope you can live with it :-)

 

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Harry

No Jack, just a suggestion.

And buy the way; thank you for the great many tabs from which I learned a lot!

But "what if" just doesn't work for me.

 

---

 

---

Edited by - jbaker7 on 06/24/2012 18:10:07

TLG - Posted - 06/24/2012:  19:02:28

Bobby played on every Hee Haw show-----the theme song--- opening music & the ending music,
it was a great tune
He was a studio musician also, played on countless country & ect recordings playing guitar & lots of banjo. There for a time, if the studio wanted a banjo , it was Bobby. You can always tell it was Bobby by the style of picking.
Hee Haw theme & Lynn Anderson 's Rocky Top are amoung my favorite

Tommy

banjoy - Posted - 06/24/2012:  19:51:31

When I was a kid and watched HeeHaw, long before I started playing banjo, I always thought it was Roy Clark who played the opening theme. And it was easy for me to make that mistake, because the way the opening was put together, you saw the credits, heard the theme song, then it cut to Roy Clark finishing the tune with a shave and a haircut. So the way it was cut together gave the impression that Roy Clarke was picking it.

It was not until years later when I started banjo, and had moved to Memphis, TN for a few years, I met Randal Morton, a great picker and BHO member too. He taught me all about Bobby Thompson.

You guys remember in that Tony Trishka book back then, maybe it was Melodic Banjo (?) there is the story of when Bill Keith drove from New York to Converse, SC after hearing about Bobby Thompson, That was in 1964. The two met at Bobby's house, and Bill had a reel-to-reel recorder with him. I was fortunate to obtain a copy of that tape, so it's awfully cool to hear Bobby Thomson and Bill Keith jamming together, in what I consider to be a legendary tape of two legends. Bobby was doing some AMAZING jazzy chordal stuff that blows my mind still. He was doing more of that on this tape then full head on melodic stuff, but he definitely did some tunes that were melodic all the way through.

My understanding is Bobby Thompson suffered from multiple sclerosis. I met Bobby very once very briefly in 1988, and he was afflicted then and had pretty much put banjo down by then as far as I know. I'm not sure of that though.

An interesting side note is, the fellow I pick music with, Wes Wyatt, grew up knowing Bobby Thompson as a kid. Wes' dad also grew up in Converse, SC, and was a local jazz guitar teacher for decades. Bobby would frequent the jam sessions put on by Col. Gene Wyatt. There are lots of pictures of Bobby jamming at Col. Gene's jams over the years.

He was an amazing banjo picker no doubt. Definitely among my favorites.

Edited by - banjoy on 06/24/2012 19:57:03

banjocatman - Posted - 06/24/2012:  19:58:59

Would love to hear that tape!

stanleytone - Posted - 06/25/2012:  15:04:59

Jack, you can be sure that when Bobby was hired on to the Hee-Haw cast ,it was made clear beforehand who the STAR was gonna be.But in reality I'm sure Roy knew who the better banjo player was. Roy's guitar playing far outshone his banjo playing. 

Edited by - stanleytone on 06/25/2012 15:07:51

ColdFingers-alaska - Posted - 06/25/2012:  16:23:33

Try to imagine the string wizardry we would have heard if Bobby had chosen to record a solo banjo album. (or more). His arrangement of Little Rock Getaway gives us an inkling of what such a project would have produced. I don’t think most of us have heard Bobby playing at his full potential. I don’t feel that Commercial Country and Bluegrass music afforded Bobby the opportunity to fully demonstrate his technical mastery and creative genius. It is unfortunate he did not record a solo project.

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/25/2012:  20:24:08

Hi Gary,

I totally agree with you...Jack

quote:

---

Originally posted by stanleytone

Jack, you can be sure that when Bobby was hired on to the Hee-Haw cast ,it was made clear beforehand who the STAR was gonna be.But in reality I'm sure Roy knew who the better banjo player was. Roy's guitar playing far outshone his banjo playing. 

---

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/25/2012:  20:27:08

Hi Frank,

Great post and information...tks,   Jack

---

Originally posted by banjoy

When I was a kid and watched HeeHaw, long before I started playing banjo, I always thought it was Roy Clark who played the opening theme. And it was easy for me to make that mistake, because the way the opening was put together, you saw the credits, heard the theme song, then it cut to Roy Clark finishing the tune with a shave and a haircut. So the way it was cut together gave the impression that Roy Clarke was picking it.

It was not until years later when I started banjo, and had moved to Memphis, TN for a few years, I met Randal Morton, a great picker and BHO member too. He taught me all about Bobby Thompson.

You guys remember in that Tony Trishka book back then, maybe it was Melodic Banjo (?) there is the story of when Bill Keith drove from New York to Converse, SC after hearing about Bobby Thompson, That was in 1964. The two met at Bobby's house, and Bill had a reel-to-reel recorder with him. I was fortunate to obtain a copy of that tape, so it's awfully cool to hear Bobby Thomson and Bill Keith jamming together, in what I consider to be a legendary tape of two legends. Bobby was doing some AMAZING jazzy chordal stuff that blows my mind still. He was doing more of that on this tape then full head on melodic stuff, but he definitely did some tunes that were melodic all the way through.

My understanding is Bobby Thompson suffered from multiple sclerosis. I met Bobby very once very briefly in 1988, and he was afflicted then and had pretty much put banjo down by then as far as I know. I'm not sure of that though.

An interesting side note is, the fellow I pick music with, Wes Wyatt, grew up knowing Bobby Thompson as a kid. Wes' dad also grew up in Converse, SC, and was a local jazz guitar teacher for decades. Bobby would frequent the jam sessions put on by Col. Gene Wyatt. There are lots of pictures of Bobby jamming at Col. Gene's jams over the years.

He was an amazing banjo picker no doubt. Definitely among my favorites.

---

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/25/2012:  20:30:03

Hi Cold,

I believe you can buy CDs put out by Bobby years ago, or members of his family did...I'd actually like to get those myself. Here's Bobby's Homepage...Jack Baker 

 

bobbythompsonbanjo.com/ 

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by ColdFingers-alaska

 

Try to imagine the string wizardry we would have heard if Bobby had chosen to record a solo banjo album. (or more). His arrangement of Little Rock Getaway gives us an inkling of what such a project would have produced. I don’t think most of us have heard Bobby playing at his full potential. I don’t feel that Commercial Country and Bluegrass music afforded Bobby the opportunity to fully demonstrate his technical mastery and creative genius. It is unfortunate he did not record a solo project.

---

Edited by - jbaker7 on 06/25/2012 20:40:26

jbaker7 - Posted - 06/25/2012:  20:54:01

Be sure to click on Photos if you go to Bobby's homepage...The photos are amazing and a wonderful memory of Bobby...Jack Baker

bobbythompsonbanjo.com/ 

quote:

---

Originally posted by jbaker7

Hi Cold,

I believe you can buy CDs put out by Bobby years ago, or members of his family did...I'd actually like to get those myself. Here's Bobby's Homepage...Jack Baker 

 

bobbythompsonbanjo.com/ 

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by ColdFingers-alaska

 

Try to imagine the string wizardry we would have heard if Bobby had chosen to record a solo banjo album. (or more). His arrangement of Little Rock Getaway gives us an inkling of what such a project would have produced. I don’t think most of us have heard Bobby playing at his full potential. I don’t feel that Commercial Country and Bluegrass music afforded Bobby the opportunity to fully demonstrate his technical mastery and creative genius. It is unfortunate he did not record a solo project.

---

 

---

banjoy - Posted - 06/25/2012:  21:18:20

I just spent some time checking out the Bobby Thompson tribute website you linked to. It has been a few years since I visited that site.

I just to thank you for this great thread you started about a truly great banjo picker.

Thanks Jack!

stanleytone - Posted - 06/26/2012:  13:44:05

Too bad Thompson, Vestal, Keith, Fleck, and Brown didn't do something together. would have been other worldly

Edited by - stanleytone on 06/26/2012 13:45:33

anasazi - Posted - 06/26/2012:  15:23:22

Thanks for the link, Jack. Some mighty fine pickin there.

Mike in ATL

quote:

---

Originally posted by jbaker7

Be sure to click on Photos if you go to Bobby's homepage...The photos are amazing and a wonderful memory of Bobby...Jack Baker

bobbythompsonbanjo.com/ 

 

 

 

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by jbaker7

Hi Cold,

I believe you can buy CDs put out by Bobby years ago, or members of his family did...I'd actually like to get those myself. Here's Bobby's Homepage...Jack Baker 

 

bobbythompsonbanjo.com/ 

 

 

Edited by - anasazi on 06/26/2012 15:27:39