chief3 - Posted - 12/14/2013:  12:46:00

"Lost all my money on a two dollar bill..." . I think that best sums up the potential for bad luck .

northwoodspicker - Posted - 12/16/2013:  00:10:23

" but" a two dollar bill, right? That would be "good luck" then.

chief3 - Posted - 12/16/2013:  05:36:13

quote:

---

Originally posted by northwoodspicker

" but" a two dollar bill, right? That would be "good luck" then.

---

Oh yeah, thanks for the correction.  The singer sings what sounds like "but' however I wouldn't be surprise if what is being said is actually "bought".  That would make sense to me since they are buying something that is not very useful,

We replaced the two dollar bill years ago with the two dollar coin.  There have been situations where I was lucky to have one.

chuckv97 - Posted - 12/16/2013:  07:57:26

yeah,we maple huggers up here have loonies and toonies(singular looney and tooney), replacing the extinct one and two dollar bills . The looney has an embossed pic of a loon on the back,the tooney came out later and plays off the words "looney" and "two". KFC even had tuesday specials called "Tooney Tuesdays"- a snack pack for two dollars. But somehow changing the song to "Lost all my money but a tooney coin" just doesn't cut it. :-)

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 12/16/2013:  08:31:00

Sonny,

Do you want to tell us your experiences and attachments to these cars?

"I wish they still made a 1947 Lincoln, a 1940 Ford, 1956 Cadillac sedan Deville,

and how bout a 58 Buick."

I have a few old car attachments and some of the stories are better for public discourse than others.

Ken

Edited by - From Greylock to Bean Blossom on 12/16/2013 08:33:19

TheChief - Posted - 12/16/2013:  08:59:41

Lost all "but" a 2$ bill...I took that to mean that no one wanted it.
He couldn't bet nor spend it!!!!

;-)

Sonny Osborne Banjo Co.
PO Box 647
Hendersonville TN 37077
615-824-0096 1
Chiefbanjo@comcast.net
WWW.sonnyosborne.com

Goldstarman - Posted - 12/16/2013:  09:47:46

Ahh, my Mom still makes cornbread like that today, in a cast iron Skillet on the stove and in the oven. I love to put that i n  glass of buttermilk and polish it off.

TheChief - Posted - 12/16/2013:  13:12:25

The cars I mentioned were mostly fantasies. I've had a lifelong passion for cars. Still!!

I watched some gangster movies when I was a kid and they drove the 47 Lincoln..I thought it was a great looking car. I vowed one day to own one, it never happened.
1940 Ford..I worked in Knoxville in the early 50's and knew some bootleggers who drove a 40 Ford and with a load of liquor "likker" (that thing had a 53 Olds 88 engine in it) it would haul ...!
56 Cadillac sedan deville. I had one in 1964 that my Dad had bought new. Beautiful car...light green /w dark green top, white leather int.
58 Buick was a sharp car. I wanted one so bad I could taste it but heck I couldn't afford windshield wipers, much less the car!

We dream, huh!
s

Sonny Osborne Banjo Co.
PO Box 647
Hendersonville TN 37077
615-824-0096 1
Chiefbanjo@comcast.net
WWW.sonnyosborne.com

Ebanjo - Posted - 12/16/2013:  15:18:01

Sonny, I would have liked to seen that '40 ford. Junior Johnson and some of the other 'shine haulers down here like to put Cadillac engines in their '40 Fords.
Eric Ellis

pick1936 - Posted - 12/16/2013:  16:55:34

Hi  Sonny.   back  in   1966   when  I  saw  You  guys   playing  at  a  club  in  Mo.   I  had  a  1939  chevy  coupe,  like  new   with  38.650   actual  miles  on  it.   Then  I  got  married  and  had  to  sell  it.   I  married  Joyce  Kelly.  Bill  Kellys  cousin.     You and  Bobby  sure  put  on  a  good  show  that  night.    When  I  was  a  kid   the  sharpest  car  I  had  was  a  1950   Hudson  Hornet,  Then  later  a  1934   Terraplane.   Like  Robert  Johnson  wrote   the  song  about.  (Terraplane  Blues).  It  was a car  made  by  Hudson  also.  anyway  I still  listen  to  much  of  Your  older  Music.  I  know  I am  old  BUT,  I  think   (some)  bluegrass  is  headed  the  way  of  the  Whinny  Kiddie  Kountry  Music??  anyway  I  do  get  a  joy  from  Your   music.  THANKS.    and  Keep  on  goin   (Up   This  Hill   And  Down)   again  Thanks  For  The  Memorries.   

Nechville.  In  Higginsville.

Lee  Kelso

 

TheChief - Posted - 12/18/2013:  07:34:47

ABOUT THE 2 DOLLAR BILL.

Had lunch yesterday with Kenny Ingram, Ed Harris, Larry Stephenson, Ronnie Reno, Steve Chandler and Robin Smith. Most had heard stories about the 2$ Bill but Kenny topped them all.

When he worked with Lester Flatt, he said when Lester received one he would tear the 4 corner tips off. Said it was bad luck if you didn't.

I had never heard that one.



s

~

Sonny Osborne Banjo Co.

PO Box 647

Hendersonville TN 37077

615-824-0096 1

Chiefbanjo@comcast.net

WWW.sonnyosborne.com

Edited by - TheChief on 12/18/2013 07:36:14

northwoodspicker - Posted - 12/18/2013:  20:06:17

We bluegrassers are quite a crowd ain't we......

Timeless1952 - Posted - 12/18/2013:  20:50:23

True story!He felt they were luck & Would Not carry one without tearing the corners off.  I thought it was a little strange but that's what he believed.

K

dmiller - Posted - 12/18/2013:  22:58:58

Speaking of "Two Dollar Bill" - - - I usually take one of our (mentally retarded) clients there at the group home out for a drive around town after supper each night.  He's 63 years old, and has the mentality of a 5 year old kid.  He needs a lot of help in many ways, but he loves those after supper drives, and he loves bluegrass (banjo) music.  I have a CD of Mashville Brigade that's in my car CD player all the time to play when I take him out for a "night on the town".  One of the songs on that CD is "Two Dollar Bill".

Lyle (that's his name) loves that CD, and when that song comes on there in the car, he stares at the CD player in the car and "sings" the words Two Dollar Bill everytime it's repeated in the chorus with concentration.  He NEVER does anything with concentration or dedication like he does with that song.  It's really hard for me to concentrate on the road instead of watching him thoroughly enjoying himself and "sing" along with the CD.

Another CD I have in the player there in the car from Ross Nickerson has Jerusalem Ridge on it and when those beginning Am licks on the banjo start, he chimes in with it singing Dummm! Dummmm! - - -  Dummm/ Dummm/ Dummm, and then his right hand starts to move like he's picking guitar (or something) along with it.

Sorry to derail the topic.   Merely wanted to share that.  Back to the Chief.  

TheChief - Posted - 12/19/2013:  08:02:37

I passed the Lester Flatt 2$ bill story on to Jim Smith, my friend from Knoxville, and he had heard of it before so it isn't THAT rare.



Kenny, tell the story about Flatt and the white horse. That one has me baffled.



Back in the days before buses, when we rode in cars on two lane highways, things were quite different, as you can well imagine. We had to pass time by doing some odd things. I had two guys that would bet what the next car we met would be. One dollar per car.

And there was one called "horse." Right side of the car had right side of the road..etc. We would count horses and each one you saw was a point. I believe a white horse was more points, maybe 2. Then if you passed a cemetery, the side of the road it was on would wipe out that sides points. There were tremendous arguments, almost to the fighting stage.



Chubby Collier, good fiddle player with the Stanley Brothers in the early 50's was the master bettor. He would bet on anything...and I mean anything! Funny about his "CHUBBY" name. Usually that name is applied with the meaning the guy is "hefty." In his case though, he was not. Matter of fact he was rather well built. Another funny thing, as I think back, I knew him for several years and I never knew his real name.

We are in deed a strange bunch.



s

~

Sonny Osborne Banjo Co.

PO Box 647

Hendersonville TN 37077

615-824-0096 1

Chiefbanjo@comcast.net

WWW.sonnyosborne.com

Edited by - TheChief on 12/19/2013 08:05:29

Ceres Banjo Works - Posted - 12/19/2013:  08:08:12

What great ways to "pass the time". Now most people pass the time by staring at screen! Missing a lot of things "the ride" has to offer. Who plays "Punch Bug" anymore?

-JB

Timeless1952 - Posted - 12/19/2013:  10:37:55

Lester Flatt while riding down the road in his platform rocker in the Bus had this "White Horse" thing he did & he really thought it brought him Good Luck.  We would be going from date to date & he would be looking out the window & if he saw a White Horse he would lick the tip of his thumb on his right hand, close that hand into a fist, & take that fist and press that hand into his open left hand. He called that "STAMPING THEM OUT."   Even if he didn't see the horse 1st & Marty pointed it out to him he'd still stamp the out. I would say he did that in his car too. That was his thing and I guess in life he was very lucky in a lot of ways. Flatt always said Earl was the luckiest man in the would but that's another story.

K

Goldstarman - Posted - 12/19/2013:  18:10:29

Those are some good ones......so why is Earl the luckiest man in the world......I would love to know what Lester said

TheChief - Posted - 12/20/2013:  08:32:31

I can answer that question.

From experience I speak.

EARL WAS THE LUCKIEST BANJO PLAYER IN THE WORLD BECAUSE HE HAD A GUITAR PLAYER WHO UNDERSTOOD WHAT A BANJO PLAYER NEEDED TO RELEASE HIM FROM THE WORRY OF TIMING, ETC. ALL EARL HAD TO DO WAS PLAY...WHICH HE DID! I played with Lester a few times and it was like a weight was taken from my right hand. I remember thinking; "No wonder Earl could play so easily, he always had the best beside him!"



We had two who was in that category. Dale Sledd was one and the other will go nameless, for obvious reasons. It makes a world of difference.

s

SONNY OSBORNE BANJO CO.

PO  Box 647

Hendersonville,TN.37077

chiefbanjo@comcast.net

WWW.sonnyosborne.com

615-824-0096

Edited by - TheChief on 12/20/2013 08:38:25

northwoodspicker - Posted - 12/20/2013:  21:55:14

Wow, that's cool.

How did Lester play anyway? I know he used a thumb and fingerpicking but how did he achieve that solid sound?

Timeless1952 - Posted - 12/21/2013:  08:24:15

Can't really answer that. All I can say is what he played sounded Great!    I have never heard & I think Sonny will agree that I have never heard anyone & I do mean Anyone play the way he did.  I heard a few claim they play the way he did but I don't think they are even close.

K

myfavefive - Posted - 12/21/2013:  14:00:33

snopes.com/business/money/twodollar.asp

apparently Flatt wasn't alone in tearing corners off $2 bills (see link above for more).  

I guess that's why Long Journey Home lyrics make the point of showing how low a guy can get... "Lost all my money but a two dollar bill..." then he repeats it twice more to make the point that he's really lost everything and all he has left is this bill no one seems to want.  

Goldstarman - Posted - 12/21/2013:  16:57:55

In my book Lester was the best lead singer bluegrass has ever had an I love his guitar work.

TheChief - Posted - 12/22/2013:  16:44:26

As Kenny so correctly put it, No one has ever played like Lester Flatt. Dale Sledd (among others I'm sure) accomplished the same sound and to play with them is probably the same as with Lester, but Flatt had a very unique way of using the thumb and finger pick. I have never seen anyone who did it the same as he did.

We had good guitar players but Sledd and Flatt were the best, easiest for me to play the banjo with. (Complete right hand freedom) And neither of them overplayed. They were consummate band players and did what was necessary for the song.

~

s

SONNY OSBORNE BANJO CO.

PO  Box 647

Hendersonville,TN.37077

chiefbanjo@comcast.net

WWW.sonnyosborne.com

615-824-0096

Edited by - TheChief on 12/22/2013 16:47:02

momo - Posted - 12/22/2013:  17:10:44

Sonny that break on Ruby... you were on fire.. good stuff    that was the Rocky Top Banjo? sounded pretty good   youtube.com/watch?v=usQPqUjq1ngThe jackets you all  were wearing weren't too bad either.. Rhinestones are hard to beat.

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 12/24/2013:  04:27:08

Chief,

I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas.  And I would like to give you this song, by the Cherokee Cowboy , which I find so beautiful and meaningful in both voice and lyric.

youtube.com/watch?v=_hOJDyi9xKs

Thanks again for all you have given us and all you give us.

Merry Christmas Chief.

Ken

TheChief - Posted - 12/24/2013:  08:32:27

Chris;

The black rhinestone suits were my favorite of all we had made. Dixie Neidert of Pottstown Pa. made the majority of those suits. They were flashy but they did a number on the resonator of my Granada. That guitar player in the video is Dale Sledd..he was so important to our career in that he understood completely what we were trying to accomplish. Yeah...that banjo solo was kinda wild and yeah that is The Rocky Top banjo (1934 RB3) that AAron McDaris plays with Rhonda Vincent's Rage.



Ken;

Thank you for the Ray Price song.

While he was in Tennessee my house was only a Joe Montana throw from where he lived and we became pretty good friends. Not really close, but friends. He was a character...very intelligent, but a character. In my opinion Ray Price and Merle Haggard were the very best voices country music has ever produced. And, both were "characters" to say the least. ;-)

~

s

Edited by - TheChief on 12/24/2013 08:33:51

TheChief - Posted - 12/24/2013:  08:41:49

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE MADE ME REALIZE THAT THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN THE BANJO!  (Not much, but more).

~

PLEASE BE SAFE

s

Edited by - TheChief on 12/24/2013 08:44:36

stringman711 - Posted - 12/24/2013:  09:23:17

Merry Christmas Sonny!

momo - Posted - 12/24/2013:  10:34:14

Sonny, same to you and yours, Merry Christmas. I'm still trying to get Dandylion.. but those slides are tough...I know it was your exceptional technique and that Granada.that made those slides so full.

bevans - Posted - 12/24/2013:  10:40:04

Merry Christmas everyone! I posted three mp3 files to Banjo Hangout this morning with short, solo versions of "Christmas Time Is Here," "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow," and "Holly Jolly Christmas." All of these were tabbed out in Banjo Newsletter a few years ago. I hope you enjoy these tunes and I wish you and your families joy and peace for this holiday season and the New Year.

Your friend,

Bill Evans

bill@billevansbanjo.com

billevansbanjo.com

The Pope - Posted - 12/24/2013:  11:05:13

Merry Christmas to Sonny (and Bill and everyone who follows BHO)! 

BanjoTom47 - Posted - 12/24/2013:  11:53:03

Here's hoping for a very Merry Christmas -- and best wishes for a wonderful and happy New Year, as well -- to you, Sonny, and to all the other members of the Tribe and followers of this forum on BHO!  

Ebanjo - Posted - 12/24/2013:  15:48:47

Merry Christmas to you Sonny and the rest of the tribe too.
Eric Ellis

Jeff Markham - Posted - 12/25/2013:  01:26:29

Merry Christmas, Sonny and Tribe. It's 1:25am out here in Cauliflowernia.

mahogchief01 - Posted - 12/26/2013:  14:13:15

Belated Merry Christmas to you all. I've been busy attending to some family matters and haven't been online in a couple of days. I have that all of you had a great Christmas. I'm looking forward to a most joyous and Happy New Year!!! Going to be quite busy picking the banjo this next year. Can't wait to get started!!!

Mick

TheChief - Posted - 12/27/2013:  08:03:47

Hey Jeff, to what part of California did you move?

~

S

Sonny Osborne Banjo Co.

PO Box 647

Hendersonville, TN. 37077

615-824-0096

chiefbanjo@comcast.net

WWW.sonnyosborne.com

WESTILLTRUSTINGOD

Jeff Markham - Posted - 12/27/2013:  12:33:58

quote:

---

Originally posted by TheChief

Hey Jeff, to what part of California did you move?

~

S

Sonny Osborne Banjo Co.

PO Box 647

Hendersonville, TN. 37077

615-824-0096

chiefbanjo@comcast.net

WWW.sonnyosborne.com

WESTILLTRUSTINGOD

---

Petaluma or "Petalumer" as we'd say in North Carolina.

TheChief - Posted - 12/31/2013:  19:57:19

HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FRIENDS!

PLEASE BE SAFE

S.

Ebanjo - Posted - 12/31/2013:  20:18:53

Happy New Year to you Sonny.
Eric Ellis

mahogchief01 - Posted - 01/01/2014:  10:27:28

Happy New Year Chief and friends!!!!

Mick

Joe Connor - Posted - 01/01/2014:  14:24:18

Happy New Year, Sonny, and thank you for all the great music over all the years.

ironhead - Posted - 01/01/2014:  16:59:20

All the best to you in 2014 Sonny! Hope you have a healthy and prosperous(in all ways) New Year! Brian M

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 01/06/2014:  15:40:27

Chief,

I thought you and RatLer and RayD might get a kick out of what this "banjo" thread led to. So here are a couple pictures of some corn bread I made. Now i had a heart attack some years ago so I can't use the bacon grease and fat like my mom used to . So I made the cornbread using no fat but substituted almond milk and apple sauce. And I can't put the ham hocks in the beans so I substitute liquid smoke and BBQ powder. It all tasted great to me.

As they say in the Ozarks: Bon appetit.

Ken

Edited by - From Greylock to Bean Blossom on 01/06/2014 15:47:20

chuckv97 - Posted - 01/06/2014:  15:52:09

Hey Granpa, what's for supper? MMMM...MMMM

RayD - Posted - 01/06/2014:  17:41:32

Yeah, boy! Pinto beans and cornbread, mmm, mmm, good! Try a little picante sauce with your beans, you may be pleasantly surprised. I made some cornbread to go with my homemade chili yesterday evening. Good stuff.

Happy New Year all!

Cheers

RayD

3 finger ninja - Posted - 01/06/2014:  22:20:52

gotta have fresh cut onions on the side!

markbyrum - Posted - 01/07/2014:  09:26:32

Don't forget the chow-chow relish for the beans!

bcampbe5 - Posted - 01/09/2014:  09:52:37

Don't forget the canned tomatoes to go along with the fresh cut onion...  Home canned of course.