AD3AD3AD3 - Posted - 01/14/2010:  05:30:20

---

I'll go with Bill Keith. 'Invention' is incremental (different people and places over time,) but nobody's done more to develop and popularaize the melodic style than Bill Keith.

steve davis - Posted - 01/14/2010:  06:25:47

---

I don't see the need to try and designate credit for the natural evolution of a musical style.

Can't we just play a tune?

Ronnie - Posted - 01/14/2010:  06:47:13

---

My opinions may be a bit biased.. I was a personal friend of Thompson and contact with Keith, et al, has been minimal. Bobby was the first melodic picker I ever heard.

---

Edited by - Ronnie on 01/14/2010 06:47:50

trapdoor2 - Posted - 01/14/2010:  07:38:00

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve davis

I don't see the need to try and designate credit for the natural evolution of a musical style.

---

Because it is fun to discuss?

Besides, otherwise we'd stuck on what flavor of Jell-O is best...

Laurence Diehl - Posted - 01/14/2010:  08:28:08

---

Don - there you go again!...making sense
I knew some famous guys, but I'm no more kewl than others who never knew those famous guys.

---

Edited by - Laurence Diehl on 01/14/2010 08:31:59

WildJimbo - Posted - 01/14/2010:  08:46:40

---

Here's some snippets from Steve Arkin in "The Bluegrass Reader"

http://books.google.com/books?id=Lg...e&q=&f=false

corcoran - Posted - 01/14/2010:  08:58:54

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve davis

I don't see the need to try and designate credit for the natural evolution of a musical style.

Can't we just play a tune?

---

Two reasons:

a). Because we are primates, and primates are very curious critters, the consequence of having an enormous neocortex.

b). Because it's fun.

Okay, there is a third reason:

c). Because we can.

Look, as I said at the outset of my very long-winded post the other day, "This is an interesting discussion, and an important one from a historical perspective – that is, if you care about the derivation of banjo styles." If you don't care, and I can certainly understand why a lot of people would not care, then the whole discussion is irrelevant and probably a distraction. C'est la vie.

The subtext of my message (which perhaps did not come out too clearly) is that the origins of melodic style have been discussed and speculated on since bluegrass players first became aware of melodics, in 1963, just as people continue to speculate on the origins of Scruggs-style (i.e., three-finger North Carolina style) banjo. What is interesting to me is that there are no definitive answers to the question, and my fond hope/delusion is that people might understand this and refrain from uttering conclusive and dogmatic statements about an issue that is essentially indeterminate. HAHAHA, fat chance.

Michael

Goldstarman - Posted - 01/14/2010:  09:00:59

---

Lynwwod you said

"There are some recordings of Mr. Best from the later '30's, early '40's that demonstrate his "classical" style of finger-picked banjo"

where can I find them or hear them at?

steve davis - Posted - 01/14/2010:  09:45:54

---

When you get all done you'll have clearly defined Best,Thompson and Keith camps
just like you had before you started.

JC1708 - Posted - 01/14/2010:  09:59:19

---

Scott vestal is pretty good..he can switch from melodic to single string and back to scruggs just about better then anyone i know.He is great at playing a fiddle tune right with the fiddle.

JC1708 - Posted - 01/14/2010:  10:00:44

---

I mean i know he didnt start it or nothing just i think he is one of the great melodic all around players today..one of them that is

rexhunt - Posted - 01/14/2010:  10:16:02

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Old Timer

Well, I've read about the Bobby Thompson and/or Bill Keith comparison since the 1970s. Carroll Best is relatively new to me.

I like to put an iron in the fire on behalf of Don Stover who had worked up some melodic "phrases" as early as the 1950s. I seem to remember Bill Keith offering some kudos to Don for giving him ideas about chaining notes together, but Stover never polymerized those short chains into entire "passages" or breaks.

As far as "developing" the style, I'd say it would have to be the two guys with the early COMMERCIAL success, exposing LOTS of banjo pickers around the world to the style. That's Thompson and Keith. Keith maybe got higher acclaim earlier due to the Blue Grass Boys exposure advantage. And Bill Monroe did got OUT OF HIS WAY to publicize Bill Keith's style. Those are the 2 players I was aware of when I was learning in the 1960s.

I heard little short flashes of melodic "licks" from Douglas Dillard too.

Probably the next COMMERCIALLY important melodic player I saw get wide exposure was Ben Eldridge with the Seldom Scene in the early 70s.

Then maybe Courtney Johnson/John Hartford/early Bluegrass Alliance in early 70s?

I was never wild about the melodic style, so I didn't pay as close attention as I might have!

---

I realize everyone is dismissing the classical/melodic players from the turn of the 20th century since their music was quite different from modern Bluegrass but I just wanted to point out that in his day Vess Osman was a widely popular and commercially important banjo player. Probably more well known in his day than Keith or Thompson.

Rex

Goldstarman - Posted - 01/14/2010:  10:44:31

---

Steve why is it about 50% of your replies on posts I see are ho hum...why so glum? Dont say anything if you cant add to it or be nice. Go be glum elswhere.

Tuneager - Posted - 01/14/2010:  11:45:40

---

Carroll Best Compilation: Chinky Pin, Cripple Creek, Home Brew, and others (help)

This was an informal jam session I was privileged to be filming in 1992 with melodic pioneer Carroll Best and Pat Cloud. This is just as it was filmed with no edits with 3 tunes I could identify, which are Chinky Pin, Cripple Creek, and Home Brew, with some others mixed in, that I'll leave you to identify as memory fails. Pat doesn't play on these tunes, he just watches with admiration and adds commentary at times. That night was a nice interplay between two very humble players who held mutual respect for each other. It was a fine time in life in the presence of some true banjo pioneers. My apologies if the frame rate is a little off, I just didn't feel like adjusting the fps deal once again, and it's fairly close. I wish I knew the name of the guitar player that accompanied Carroll, he did some fine playing himself. Carroll Best, one of the first, if not the first (arguably) banjo player to play in the melodic style. Enjoy!

http://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/videos.asp

I have one more video I'll post later which is Carroll Best in concert with Bob Black on a couple of tunes.

Remember if you want to watch it in fullscreen click on the You Tube icon in the bottom right of the screen player, then click the fullscreen icon on the You Tube player page.

steve davis - Posted - 01/14/2010:  12:50:49

---

I suppose it would have a lot to do with anyone's definition of melodic playing.

Alex Z - Posted - 01/14/2010:  13:06:24

---

The value of what we are doing on this thread doesn't lie in the "voting" or "opinion" of who did what when, based on hearsay and unsubstantiated third party reports.

Rather, the value lies in unearthing and putting in writing first hand experiences concerning the origins of the melodic style and techniques.

There are thousands of participants in the BHO, and one heck of a lot of first hand information that is coming out, that (if not using the Internet as a communication tool) otherwise would be almost impossible to assemble and correlate in one place. Those that were involved and picking in the 1940s and 1950s and 1960s are not all that young any more -- and so first hand information won't be with us forever.

Some may not be interested in a more complete history -- and that's OK. Some may find the history very interesting, and will work to record and preserve what they discover.

Alex Z - Posted - 01/14/2010:  13:19:52

---

Tuneager, I appreciate your posting the videos. Never would I have thought that I'd be able to watch Mr. Best play these tunes.

steve davis - Posted - 01/14/2010:  13:22:03

---

Jamming with fiddle players is good for building melodic playing.
My origins came from trying to fit in with Canadian fiddlers.
Quick key changes and "pay attention" chords.Good training.

Darcy - Posted - 01/14/2010:  14:11:14

---

An interesting aspect of melodic playing for me is the point where it was actually incorporated into playing something other than a fiddle tune. By that, I mean for a lot of early melodic banjo players, it was an "on/off" switch. They either completed a break or an entire song in melodic or scruggs style. I may be opening a can of worms here, but I always felt with Bill Keith it was an "on-off" switch (especially his early playing). Either he was playing a song melodically or not. I felt Bobby Thompson was better at incorporating melodic banjo into existing styles. I also think Ben Eldridge was really the innovator in blurring the distinction between melodic and scruggs, finding ways to seamlessly blend them.

Maybe people have a tendency to think the worst, but it's really tough to remember years. It's not purposeful contradiction. Especially in interview, you may give the wrong year you met someone or you may get names mixed up. Additionally, you may remember incorrectly, or give a generalization of a year that later gets incorporated into the lore as a fact. I used to tell people I started playing banjo when I was 12 until I actually thought about it later and realized I really started when I was 8. I also took lessons from a great banjo player here in Canada called Jake Peters. I have NO idea what the years were, nor how long I took lessons. But I'm sure I've tried to guess and have contradicted myself to numerous people. Of course, people could care less about my past. But for people like Thompson, Keith and Best, it makes a big difference. Cut them some slack. From what I've heard, seen and read, they seem to be all pretty good guys. That's my opinion.

---

Edited by - Darcy on 01/14/2010 14:12:05

Don Borchelt - Posted - 01/14/2010:  15:17:19

---

Tuneager wrote: "I have one more video I'll post later which is Carroll Best in concert with Bob Black on a couple of tunes."

Great videos, Tuneager, I would love to see the Best/Black videos. Really fine stuff.

Don Borchelt - Posted - 01/14/2010:  15:29:11

---

Darcy wrote: "Maybe people have a tendency to think the worst, but it's really tough to remember years. It's not purposeful contradiction. Especially in interview, you may give the wrong year you met someone or you may get names mixed up."

Of course that is true, and we all do it, especially as we get older. I tried to be careful in my statements, but I also wanted to stir up some debate. It is sometimes a fine line to walk, and I apologize if I did not do it well.

Tuneager - Posted - 01/14/2010:  15:45:44

---

I remember many moons ago when first going to college, the professor showed an example by doing an experiment with probably 100 people in the room. He went down and whispered a simple message in the ear of the first person who then preceded to whisper it in the ear of the second person, by the time it got to the 100th person, that person stood up and told the story as it was relayed to him, and after the professor told what the original message was the whole auditorium cracked up laughing because there was so little semblance of the original message left, if any, that it pointed out how things do change as they are told from one to another.

pastorharry - Posted - 01/14/2010:  18:46:35

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tuneager

I remember many moons ago when first going to college, the professor showed an example by doing an experiment with probably 100 people in the room. He went down and whispered a simple message in the ear of the first person who then preceded to whisper it in the ear of the second person, by the time it got to the 100th person, that person stood up and told the story as it was relayed to him, and after the professor told what the original message was the whole auditorium cracked up laughing because there was so little semblance of the original message left, if any, that it pointed out how things do change as they are told from one to another.

---

Ah yes, the telephone game, we play that one alot with the kids....throw in a couple half deaf, half senile folks like me and it gets real intresting!!

Tuneager, I'd like to thank you for bringing a bit of direction to this thread, and also for posting those wonderful videos. That is some sweet picking Mr. Best is showing...very inspirational. Aloha, PH

Tuneager - Posted - 01/14/2010:  22:57:27

---

While we're on the subject of melodic playing, I think most of us know that melodic breaks usually comprise trying to coordinate something that makes sense out of our mentally stored stock of licks, or some scale patterns that lead us into new territory surprising ourselves at times if we're lucky. I don't know if any of you have listened to the Pat Cloud videos I posted, but do yourself a favor and check out his breaks on Foggy Mt. Special and Farewell Blues. The difference with Pat is that he has such an in depth music theory knowledge of the banjo neck, that while I'm sure he has some stock licks as well, he improvises out of how he sees the fretboard in a way that just blows my mind. He's a unique player in that aspect, I don't know of anyone else who improvises as he does. Pat is a great guy, very humble, and very appreciative of others playing, he even put up with me trying to jam with him a few times, I felt honored, he's way over my head.

Foggy Mt. Special
http://www.banjohangout.org/myhango....asp?id=3695

Farewell Blues
http://www.banjohangout.org/myhango....asp?id=3730

BanjoLink - Posted - 01/15/2010:  17:21:16

---

Tuneager - great comments and thanks for the videos. I got chill bumps listening to Carroll, as the tunes and his playing really brought back some great moments. I had never heard anyone play like that before him nor have I since. Whether any of the three players that we are talking about had any influence on each other or not, their syle is still their style. I prefer Carrolls, probably only because I knew him and had so much respect for him as a person. Carrolls music seems to flow more from the "heart", while Bill Keith's seems to flow from the brain. Keith is an extremely intelligent and tallented gentleman and his music contains a lot of theory and musical study. None the less, his playing is terrific. I think they just approached music from a different perspective.

I never heard Carroll take credit for showing Bobby or Bill anything and feel pretty sure he would not have claimed to unless it were true. Carroll would not have lied about that, as he did not have an egotistical bone in his body and I doubt that he was trying to take credit for anything other than his own style of playing. He may have gotten dates wrong in interviews, but he would not have misled intentionally.

There are probably still a few folks around the Waynesville/Canton area that may remember the style Carroll played in the 50's, so it might not be that hard to verify what he was playing then. Mac Snodderly played a lot of fiddle with Carroll in the 70's and may have known how Carroll played much earlier. It may be hard to prove who influenced whom, but maybe we can find out when each started playing the melodic style. I'm still guessing that they all arrived at their style independent of each other.

WildJimbo - Posted - 01/15/2010:  17:55:38

---

Something to think about...

According to the interview in Melodic Banjo (Tony Trischka) Bobby indicates that when he left Jim and Jesse he joined the army and once he got out he played bass with a group for about 6 months then decided he would quit and "threw it all on the bed and didn't touch it for two or three years. I just worked in a machine shop."

He then states that he got the bug again and picked up the banjo in 64 or 65.

So, it was during this time that Bill Keith recorded with Monroe, and played on the Opry a good bit. There's a great possibility that Bobby had heard Bill from 61-64. Bobby does indicate that the first tune he heard Bill play was Sailor's Hornpipe - and that maybe that was on the Opry.

Steve Arkin also accounts that Bobby found him in 64 and was then already playing quite dazzling melodic stuff. It was because of this meeting that Bobby Thompson and Bill Keith met at Thompson's home.

As with so many things there's multiple facets of influence, and it's quite likely that both influenced each other. We know, according to Arkin, that Bill was influenced by Bobby.

---

Edited by - WildJimbo on 01/15/2010 19:02:23

Nosferatu - Posted - 01/15/2010:  18:47:36

---

Bobby told me that he use to play his melodic stuff in the back seat of the car going to gigs with Jim and Jesse and at the gigs he'd go back to Scruggs because that's people wanted to hear...That was before he joined the army...Then after he left the army...He went back with Jim and Jesse...

Edit: ...and then the machine shop...He was working at the shop for quite some time, at least in to 1969 as he fabricated the LEM antennae that sent word from the moon to earth that the “Eagle has landed” and “That's one small step for [a] man......”

---

Edited by - Nosferatu on 01/15/2010 19:02:35

WildJimbo - Posted - 01/15/2010:  18:54:56

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nosferatu

Bobby told me that he use to play his melodic stuff in the back seat of the car going to gigs with Jim and Jesse and at the gigs he'd go back to Scruggs because that's people wanted to hear...That was before he joined the army...Then after he left the army...He went back with Jim and Jesse.

---

Yup.. he told me the same thing. He even mentions that in the interview in Melodic Banjo.

Another note of interest - at least to me was when I visited with Bobby one of the things that Bobby seemed most proud of was the recording of him and Bill. And while I don't remember his comment exactly he did say something to the effect that people arguing about who did what first was a bunch of crap (pretty sure "crap" wasn't the word he used. If you've talked to Bobby you probably know what he did say.)

---

Edited by - WildJimbo on 01/15/2010 19:06:08

Nosferatu - Posted - 01/15/2010:  19:15:33

---

"If you've talked to Bobby you probably know what he did say." -- Jim

I do know what he said...and I remember his comment exactly...

WildJimbo - Posted - 01/15/2010:  19:23:14

---

Suffice it to say that it wasn't just his music that was "colorful". :)

Tuneager - Posted - 01/15/2010:  19:29:27

---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfmvkO5x6Ng

Nosferatu - Posted - 01/15/2010:  19:36:28

---

But Who is on first...That's what makes it funny.

---

Edited by - Nosferatu on 01/15/2010 19:37:24

Tuneager - Posted - 01/15/2010:  20:08:19

---

(Photograph by Victor C. Schreck, 1902)

The banjo was commonly played by slaves in the quarters. African in origin, the instrument provided simultaneously both a melodic and a percussive accompaniment for improvised verses. Under the guise of humor, slave musicians criticized and mocked the planter class.

---

Edited by - Tuneager on 01/15/2010 20:09:56

schwimbo - Posted - 01/15/2010:  20:59:30

---

Nothing to do with who played melodic style first, but a side "note" about Bobby Thompson's recorded version of Border Ride: the the first 2 measures of the descending "melodic sounding" break were actually played using a TITM roll using the TIT (no jokes here) part in single string style. I heard about Bobby's use of single string style for this break years ago from Winnie Winston, who maybe heard about that from Bill Keith who I think watched Bobby play it. I confirmed it by listening to the recording carefully and duplicating the notes - and it plays very easily and very fast using the single string approach. Of course, Bobby was great at both melodic style and single string style, so no insult is intended by pointing out that the break was really more of a single string style solo for the first couple of measures. You could play almost the same notes using melodic style, but there are a few notes that can't be done using melodic style, and also you might notice that the notes in Bobby's solo are very staccato sounding, which is more typical of single string style than melodic style.

Nosferatu - Posted - 01/16/2010:  07:44:45

---

schwimbo: Which recording of Border Ride are you speaking of? I'd really like to know...Below is a tidbit from 1958.

Hugh


Border Ride (1958) with Jim & Jesse

---

Edited by - Nosferatu on 01/16/2010 07:50:36

schwimbo - Posted - 01/16/2010:  12:41:01

---

Hugh,
I'm talking about the same recording on Starday. In your tab, you can't repeat the solo if you end on the 5th string with your thumb and start it again for the 2nd time through with your thumb again at the speed they were going. The second time through, the TITM pattern probably becomes ITIM for the first 4 notes of the descending run. I'll try to post a tab of it. If this doesn't work, give me advice on how to post an image.

(img)<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://img192.imageshack.us/i/borde...'><img src='http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/...ridetab.jpg' border='0'/></a>(/img)

schwimbo - Posted - 01/16/2010:  12:59:02

---

I guess I have to try to post the tab again. Here goes.

EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:09:42

---

I was browsing through my copy of "America's Music: Bluegrass" earlier today, and happened upon
this segment:

One man's history of melodic banjo picking

Ed Brown, in an interview at IBMA in 1992, described early melodic banjo playing. .."I first heard of
Billy Faier in 1966. I got hold of a banjo player I had known for several years...His name was Bob Johnson.
Bob had an album of Billy Faier's which was released in 1957 and he called it 'The Art of the Five-String
Banjo'....it had a lot of melodic-style banjo playing".

I also have a recording released in about 1926 on the Sears & Roebuck Record label by Fred Van Eps,
another famous banjo player. And he was playing... 'Sailor's Hornpipe' about like we do it today".

"So what I'm tryin' to say, I guess, is that melodic banjo pickin' has been around for a long time...Back
in the 1800's they had it...Classical banjo playing is kind of a ragtime-type stuff - but they do it with
three fingers and bring out the melody a lot more prominent than the standard Scruggs style would."

So he is making the same point that many others have made, that forms of three-finger melodic
banjo playing have been around for a long time. Of course, this discussion is primarily about
melodic playing in a bluegrass context, not classic or jazz era music. I have not heard Billy Faier
before - I'll have to check him out.

---

Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 01/16/2010 13:23:32

steve davis - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:35:18

---

If Bobby had a business manager like Louise Scruggs,he probably would have been more visible.

Nosferatu - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:37:06

---

Jim, Thank you for the tab, I'll add it to my collection.

Tuneager...There isn't a lack of Bobby's recordings...What the trouble is they are not all in one place. You're new here so you may not have seen "The List." You can also go to www.bobbythompsonbanjo.com and you'll find 2 CDs of his work and also two Area Code 615. IF you order any please remember that Judy, Bobby wife, is on vacation at this time.

To post a list of songs that Bobby recorded would be impossible but I can post a partial list of
artist he recorded for.

Randy Travis
Keith Whitley
Al Kooper
Oak Ridge Boys
Reba McEntire
Emmylou Harris
Johnny Cash
Waylon Jennings
Jessi Coulter
Tompall Glaser
Glaser Brothers
Jerry Garcia
Charley Pride
Porter Wagoner
Dolly Parton
Dottie West
Linda Ronstadt
Jackie Deshannon
Dan Seals
James Gang
England Dan and John Ford Coley
Steve Miller Band
George Jones
Tommy Cash
Crash Craddock
George Strait
Ed Bruce
Judy Rodman
Holly Dunn
Gail Davies
Vern Gosdin
Joe Stampley
Billy Edd Wheeler
Merle Haggard
K. T. Oslin
Kathy Mattea
Marty Robbins
Ronnie Robbins
Hank Williams Jr.
Hank Snow
Skeeter Davis
Perry Como
Roger Whittaker
Jane Morgan
Carol Channing
Trini Lopez
Sammy Davis, jr.
Nancy Sinatra
Pete Fountain
Chet Atkins
Ace Cannon
Earl Thomas Conley
Steve Wariner
Roy Acuff
Jim Ed Brown
Carol Baker
Marie Bottrell
Paul McCartney
Helen Cornelius
Barefoot Jerry
Area Code 615
Buck Trent
Roy Clark
Buck Owens
Eddie Rabbitt
Ray Stevens
Mickey Gilley
John Stewart
Dick Feller
Jerry Reed
The Monkees
Elvis Presley
R. C. Bannon
Louise Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Tammy Wynette
Janie Fricke
Johnny Duncan
Barbi Benton
Wynn Stewart
Les Paul
Thumbs Carlisle
Jimmy Dean
Loretta Lynn
Don Williams
Donna Fargo
David Allen Coe
Merle Kilgore
Red Steagall
Keith Steagall
Linda Hargrove
Little Jimmy Dickens
Zella Lehr
Paul Williams
Eddy Arnold
Bobby Gentry
Dobie Grey
O. C. Smith
Doc Severinsen
Johnny Carver
Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians
Anita Kerr Singers
Everly Brothers
Sawyer Brown
Billy Joe Shaver
Malveen Leed
Pointer Sisters
Melanie
Chris Gantry
Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass
Tanya Tucker
Stella Parton
Ferlin Husky
Olivia Newton-John
Statler Brothers
Tom T. Hall
Ronnie Millsap
Doug Kershaw
The Gaither Trio
Mac Wiseman
Charlie McCoy
Ray Price
Lynn Anderson
Lloyd Green
Sonny James
Sonny Burnette
Johnny Paycheck
Kenny O'Dell
Billy Thundercloud
Grandpa Jones
Whitey Shafer
Jim and Jesse
Carl Story
Bobby Bare
Stoney Edwards
Carl Smith
Connie Smith
Moe Bandy
Del Reeves
Kenny Price
Stoneman Family
Guy Clark
Vernon Oxford
Mickey Newberry
Tupper Saussy
Patsy Slead
George Hamilton IV
Don Gibson
Guy Mitchell
Troy Seals
Bob Luman
Arthur Smith
Mother Maybelle Carter
Leon Russell
Kitty Wells
Bobby Wright
Al Kooper
Roy Drusky
Faron Young
Don Cherry
Glen Barber
Glen Shirley
Mac Davis
Dr. Hook
Larry Gatlin
Mel Tillis
Dave and Sugar
Jeannie C. Riley
Johnny Russell
Eddie Raven
Jimmy Buffett
Dave Dudley
Gary Stewart
Dean Dillon
Floyd Cramer
Billy Walker
Jeannie Seely
Charlie Rich
Chris Ledoux
Mel Street
Freddie Weller
Leona Williams
John Anderson
Greg Guidry
Brenda Lee
Marie Osmond
Sammi Smith
Bobby Borcher
Rattlesnake Annie
Kenny Rogers
T. G. Sheppard
Razzy Bailey
Carl Perkins
Joe Maphis
Roy Rogers/Dale Evans
Jimmy Swaggart
Neil Young
Johnny Tillotson
Dickie Lee
Parker McGee
Jerry Lee Lewis
Grady Nutt
Bill Monroe
Ronnie Rodgers
Glen Sutton
Don Mclean
Towns Van Zant
Terry Bradshaw
Butch Baker
Conway Twitty
The Kingsmen
Susan Jacks
The Wright Brothers
Stonewall Jackson
The Hensons
The Million Dollar Band
Albert Coleman
Marcel Dadi
The Blackwood brothers
The Hemphills
The Rambos

Bobby played on and produced the following:
Jak Kelly - monument
Sonny Curtis - elektra
Troy Seals - elektra
Frankie Miller - chrysalis
Jim and Jesse - can't remember the label

He produced others that were great, but they never made it to a label.

Bobby also played on the following soundtracks to these movies:

Smokey And The Bandit
Smokey And The Bandit II
A Walk In The Spring Rain
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Urban Cowboy
Five Easy Pieces

---

Edited by - Nosferatu on 01/16/2010 13:38:56

Tuneager - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:44:30

---

Yes, I realize that, and I know he was one of the most utilized studio musicians around, but that studio work rarely put the banjo front and center, with the exceptions of things like the Theme to Smokey and the Bandit. My regret was that there wasn't more solo work centered on "his" playing as there was and is with many others. I don't think you will find many that will counter Bobby Thompson's influence. His legacy will outlive any words that can be uttered here.

WildJimbo - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:45:14

---

Speaking of Ed Brown...

VIDEO: Ed Brown at Dekalb County Fiddlers Convetion - 2009 (click to view)

steve davis - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:48:31

---

The 70s weren't especially kind to bluegrass or its promotion.

WildJimbo - Posted - 01/16/2010:  13:51:47

---

I think the fact that Bobby got out of the "Bluegrass World" seriously impacted his popularity among the bluegrass community. Sure, a lot of "in the know" banjo players were listening to him, but the general "bluegrass crowd" was pretty much unaware of him or had forgotten him.

Nosferatu - Posted - 01/16/2010:  14:10:39

---

Tuneager: have you been to www.bobbythompsonbanjo.com ?

schwimbo - Posted - 01/16/2010:  14:23:34

---

I need to correct one note in my Bobby Thompson Border Ride tab posted earlier - here is the corrected version (the 7th note of the 2nd measure should have been 5th fret on the 3rd string rather than an open 5th string - doh!!). Hugh was right about that note, and I was wrong.

Border Ride tabbed by Peter Schwimmer, played by Bobby Thompson

Tuneager - Posted - 01/16/2010:  14:43:20

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nosferatu

Tuneager: have you been to www.bobbythompsonbanjo.com ?

---

Thanks Nosferatu,

I'm glad those recordings are available through that site. It's great to see his music living on.

Nosferatu - Posted - 01/16/2010:  15:09:04

---

Thanks Jim, I fixed it on my copy of your tab. I'll try it out tonight.

You're welcome Tuneager...If you get the 2nd CD, my niece did the art work for the back cover.

---

Edited by - Nosferatu on 01/16/2010 15:11:43

EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 01/16/2010:  15:27:01

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by WildJimbo

Speaking of Ed Brown...

---

Thanks, I enjoyed that video. I've never seen Ed play in person.