Scout70 - Posted - 06/16/2020:  19:03:20

Thought I’d share this acoustic session of the Doobie Brothers tune “Listen to the Music” with John McFee on banjo. John Cowan is on base. Nice piece.


youtu.be/etGV7D3hYoY

banjonz - Posted - 06/16/2020:  19:23:40

Niiiiice!

Foote - Posted - 06/16/2020:  20:18:10

Thanks for this. I knew Cowan had been with them now for years, but I didn't know McFee could play the banjo.

scramblefingers - Posted - 06/16/2020:  23:17:58

Thanks for sharing, good stuff.

GrahamHawker - Posted - 06/17/2020:  00:47:39

Sounds good but clearly not live.

banjoonthebrain.com - Posted - 06/17/2020:  08:43:59

Thanks for the video. The Doobie Brothers was the last band I saw before the virus outbreak and shutdown. I did not know JC was with them before I saw them. My wife and I thought it was him when they opened with the first song which he sang. Later in the show they introduced him as well as the rest of the band. They are better than they have ever been! Most old bands slip some with age but not the Doobie Brothers. They still have great voices and put on a great show. I would go see them again. JC is a great addition to their band. Go see them when you can. If your older like me (60), It will take you back. JC being with them is a great blue/newgrass connection. This video is great for banjo!

RB-1 - Posted - 06/18/2020:  11:03:21

Pleasantly surprised by Mr. Mc Fee's playing.   Sparse, effective, fits the song very well.

Less so, though, by his banjo and the sound of it....

Under which stone has he (apparently a professional studio musician) been for the past 10 years, to come up with something like that?

This all, while now you can have a Recording King 35 or 36 that outplays 95% of what's available for that price.... and with 95% certainty the thing he's handling there.

As seen in the comments on YT, nobody seemed to notice this either, so what do I know?

OregonJim - Posted - 06/18/2020:  14:40:32

Thanks, Bob. I ran across this a few days ago and loved it. I'm glad you reminded me of it because I still love it, even though I've never considered myself a Doobie Brothers fan.

Aradobanjo - Posted - 06/19/2020:  03:53:11

Hello,

Well I was pleasantly impressed to read comments that the banjo was originally included in this song. I was equally impressed to see a Banjo Highway capo on the Recording King banjo. This was before Greg Rich took over. No massive tone ring.

A bumblebee isn’t supposed to fly, but it does. Amplification makes any instrument sound good. The player makes sound better. The 5th string capo looks like it is positioned to B. He is playing open A. I enjoyed see the video. Thank you for sharing this.

RB-4 Picker - Posted - 06/20/2020:  04:05:33

Great stuff ! I ran across this video a few days ago also, still sounding good after all these years !

Brian

pickn5 - Posted - 06/20/2020:  05:59:27

Nice, thanks for posting this video.

steve davis - Posted - 06/26/2020:  10:16:50

This was on the jukebox in Aberdeen Proving Grounds service club where I shot pool for 8 weeks in '72.I was so happy to hear the banjo in popular music back then.
Deeper phase-shifting in the original,but I don't miss that.

dflowers - Posted - 06/28/2020:  08:36:48

Schmoooth, man, schmoooth!