For many of us, our actual childhood introduction to the banjo was Roy Clark, Stringbean, Grandpa Jones, Ronnie Stoneman, Bobby Thompson, and others on Hee Haw. It seemed like they had more banjos than guitars. Yes, we had the intro to Beverly Hillbillies, but not a lot of kids think about the instrumentation of a song they hear.
Later I got into bluegrass, but as a kid I remember seeing and hearing the banjo on Hee Haw because my dad watched it every week (and back then, the family watched what the dad watched on your only TV). When players talk about what got them into the music though, you never hear anyone say, "I heard the banjo on Hee Haw and . . . ." Am I alone on this?
Hee Haw had a lot of great musicians and entertainers on it. Roy Clark and Buck Owens were exceptional in many venues. It did bring in the comedy aspects of the banjo which from what I understand was anti-Earl Scruggs. The show aired about 7 years after the Beverly Hillbillies started so most viewers had banjo exposure from there first and many (like me) remember that show first. Of course that had Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt doing the theme and made at least one appearance that I remember.
Hee Haw was hillbilly blackface. There's a lot of talent on stage for sure but their portrayal of country folks was not particularly accurate or kind. I always got the feeling the audience was laughing at us, not with us. That may be why some folks aren't into it.
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Originally posted by Brian MurphyFor many of us, our actual childhood introduction to the banjo was Roy Clark, Stringbean, Grandpa Jones, Ronnie Stoneman, Bobby Thompson, and others on Hee Haw. It seemed like they had more banjos than guitars. Yes, we had the intro to Beverly Hillbillies, but not a lot of kids think about the instrumentation of a song they hear.
Later I got into bluegrass, but as a kid I remember seeing and hearing the banjo on Hee Haw because my dad watched it every week (and back then, the family watched what the dad watched on your only TV). When players talk about what got them into the music though, you never hear anyone say, "I heard the banjo on Hee Haw and . . . ." Am I alone on this?
I've never watched Hee Haw so I can say in all honesty I never heard the banjo on Hee Haw. But I did hear the banjo on the radio and watched the Beverly Hillbillies on TV. Comedy and what we percieved as humor has changed with the passage of time. Looking back at the comedians and comedy show's of the fifties through the seventies here in the UK makes me cringe and I suppose many new generation banjo players think that of their forebears with a few exceptions. Banjo players are evolving.
I think that Grandpa Jones and/or Stringbean play on nearly every episode.
youtube.com/watch?v=1zfVb6ubssM
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Originally posted by KCJonesHee Haw was hillbilly blackface. There's a lot of talent on stage for sure but their portrayal of country folks was not particularly accurate or kind. I always got the feeling the audience was laughing at us, not with us. That may be why some folks aren't into it.
Fair perspective. I can tell you that, as someone who grew up not in the country (although our family was country as hell), we didn't view it that way. Yes, there were characters (like Ronnie's ironing persona with husband laying around) that were caricatures, but we didn't think it was a put down to all people who live in the country. Louise Scruggs was worried about that with Beverly Hilbillies and famously turned it down at first. And the characters on that show, especially Granny Jethro (Lil Abner) and Elly were total stereotypes. But people did laugh at different things back then and did not necessarily think that stereotypes were always a put down of an entire people. Remember, this was the era of the Polish/Italian jokebooks and the very ethnic humor on shows like All in the Family. Yes, not funny by today's standards. But I don't think Hee Haw ever intended or caused any harm. I don't think folks like Ronnie Stoneman would have done it if she thought it would.
Looking back, when I was a kid, I was certainly starting up on guitar and banjo when Hee Haw aired on TV in the 70’s, and certainly exposed to HeeHaw. At the time me and my young teen buddies thought it was Hokey, Corny and just plain bad. Didn’t stop us from watching it on rainy days once in a while. It was more a theme for busting on each other than a serious show.
Compared to how Flatt and Scruggs were presented, clean, professional, near hero’s even then and how cool we all thought Johnny Cash and Glenn Campbell was, the folks on Hee Haw just seemed, well…just plain stupid, and not cool. Therefore, Nothing to emulate.
In retrospect, I probably should have paid more attention to the banjo playing, but young teens don’t pay attention to much. Even now, when I watch a few episodes for research, the show on some level still makes me cringe. On the other hand, I do recall me and my buddies being wowed by Roy Clark’s performances on more than one occasion. So much so, that my best friend down the street got his hands on a Red White and Blue acoustic guitar. I think a Harmony. At the time, we were all green with envy of him. So we must have watched it some, but not as much as Bonanza.
“I gotta git home Bonanza’s coming on!”
I grew up in a small rural town in the midwest and I didn't see Hee Haw or Beverly Hillbillies as making fun of my community. It seems that anywhere that I've lived, there is always a more hick/hillbilly community to the south of where I have been that has been the focus of many jokes though.
BTW - this Roy Clark clip is worth watching. He was an extremely talented musician.
youtube.com/watch?v=ilm2qeJndWo
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Originally posted by Gallaher“I gotta git home Bonanza’s coming on!”
My wife is a Hatfield from TN and Im a farm kid from middle TN. Some of our relatives dont seem like theyre speakin English at times. Hee haw is way before my time but Ive seen it. Roy Clark makes banjo playin look easy peasy and it was fer him. I dont agree Hee Haw makes southern folk look bad. If anything it makes them look like chill folks with awesome music talent. My own relatives are far more laid back and chill than hee haw makes them look. If only my relatives were such skilled musicians(a few are). But they woke up, plowed fields then slept. No energy or time for barn stompin like the movies represent. My wifes folks were skilled hunters. Too skilled, but definitely liked hammocks. I had to prove I could shoot to court her.
I doubt most on here would understand a word said by these kin o mine, hee haw was too articulate.
I grew up on the Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and Hee Haw. All of a piece. Even as a young teen I knew it was all in FUN. It was COMEDY. Rural folks have been made fun of in "theater" and entertainment since the middle ages. And often even centuries ago, they were made to be a LOT smarter than folks thought -- often outfoxing the smarter city folks.
The Hillbillies and Hee Haw producers were smart enough to feature music in their programs. Roy Clark appeared on the Hillbillies you know, as guitar pickin' Cousin Roy.
Hee Haw producers were wise enough to mix in REAL country and Opry performers for both comedy and music. Much of the brain power behind Hee Haw was CANADIAN! I have always been thankful they employed REAL country entertainers like Grandpa, String, Minnie, Buck, Roy, Bobby Thompson, Jimmy Riddle and Jackie Phelps (the eephers and hambone guy) and the famous guest stars. There was NO PLACE else on tv to get a glimpse of Roy Acuff, Lester Flatt and many others other than Hee Haw. Until PBS started broadcasting the Opry during pledge drives.
If Hee Haw can be criticized in hindsight now it would probably be for the buxom beauties (the Hee Haw Honeys) they draped all over the sound stage. Didn't bother me then or now. Yeah, I liked Benny Hill too.
Audiences for country music used to expect comedy as part of the show. Taking the long view, Hee Haw represented about the last gasp of comedy with music. EVERY old bluegrass act included comedy! Even Monroe. Roy Acuff's show was nearly a carnival.
Edited by - The Old Timer on 10/11/2024 09:33:22
No, you're not alone Brian. I grew up with Beverly Hillbillies and HeeHaw. Most folks gloss over HeeHaw as an influence, I agree, but not me. It definitely caught my ear. As did it yours, apparently.
I had no idea until years later that Roy Clark did NOT play the HeeHaw introduction ... because the way they edited together the intro, ending up on Roy doing the tag lick ending. It was years before I learned that Bobby Thompson, who grew up in Converse, SC, about 10 miles from where I grew up, did the intro theme.
Regarding Hillbilly Blackface, I simply don't see it that way. My dad was born and raised in Brush Creek, TN, about as country as you can get, got his PhD at Vanderbilt. He never missed HeeHaw, it was one of his favorite shows. No country person I know ever felt the show was derogatory, on the contrary ... my grandpa and grandma (rural TN) loved the show as did all my farming uncles and aunts.
Edited by - banjoy on 10/11/2024 13:30:02
I was already playing guitar and banjo when Hee Haw came on, and I loved the show. Not for the comedy, or the pretty girls, but for the music. The guests and the regular musicians were the players on my records or others I heard about, and hear I could watch them play. Some of the humor was pretty clever, too, sometimes making fun of the people who looked down on country people. But most of all I watched for the good music.
I have to say I also really enjoyed watching John Hartford on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. I loved the acoustic segment with this cool guy (Hartford) playing the banjo. His successors were great, but didn't seem as cool at the time. I might think differently now.
I watched Hee Haw occasionally, mainly for the playing of Bobby Thompson. Most of it seemed a bit too contrived for my taste, but I never thought it didn’t deserve a place on tv. Its long run showed that first CBS and then the other networks missed the boat by driving it to independent syndication and cable.
Like others, I grew up watching it for both humor and music. I watched Roy play Cripple Creek every week to learn his variations on it. It was all about fun to me. It was a better time when people were not looking for reasons to get their feelings hurt, just laugh and enjoy a good time. Call BR 549 for Sample's used cars!
I enjoyed it and I'm not ashamed. Grew up watching it. Every Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa. It wasn't offensive unless you're country and take yourself too seriously. Lots of great banjo on there too, including Bobby Thompson. I'd say it played a role in my interest in banjo, sure. The comedy was corny but fun and we laughed. Junior Samples? Pretty girls everywhere? Lisa-freaking-Todd??? What's not to like? Well, those no-talent Hager doofuses I guess. But anyway. Now... on re-runs some of the more forgotten guest talent is a bit painful, especially in the 70s, but plenty of classic performances as well.
I dont ever remember seeing Monroe, Stanley or and big names in bluegrass appearing on Hee Haw, not to mention bluegrass bands in general. I stand corrected. Just saw vid of monroe on hee haw.
Edited by - stanleytone on 10/12/2024 05:42:43
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Originally posted by banjoy
Regarding Hillbilly Blackface, I simply don't see it that way. My dad was born and raised in Brush Creek, TN, about as country as you can get, got his PhD at Vanderbilt. He never missed HeeHaw, it was one of his favorite shows. No country person I know ever felt the show was derogatory, on the contrary ... my grandpa and grandma (rural TN) loved the show as did all my farming uncles and aunts.
The difference--and I think it's a huge one--is that in the minstrel shows, a dominant group (whites) was making fun of a subordinated group (blacks). Nowadays comedians would call that "punching down". In old-school country comedy, rural folks were making fun of their own people.
I remember watching Hee Haw with my family. Many of my friends did too. We were living in middle class suburbia. I was playing guitar at the time, and it encouraged me to learn more about bluegrass. A friend of mine decided to learn banjo from watching Hee Haw, and we used to play banjo and guitar together. So I think it was an influence for lots of people who otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to bluegrass and country music.
At the time, I don't remember feeling that it was a put down for rural people and culture. They were laughing at themselves a bit, then playing great music that they loved. It just seemed like good fun.
My only regret was that I stereotyped Buck Owens as "that guy from Hee Haw." I didn't understand his place in country music. It was only later, after listening to his recordings, that I realized what a great songwriter he was.
I watched it mostly for the music,, many of the jokes were pretty lame. I’d been playing guitar and some banjo already so seeing this fabulous banjo player with the floppy hat really intrigued me… didn’t know who he was at first or anything about his historic playing. I have the greatest respect for Roy Clark ,, he was a showman,,, but his banjo playing was so-so for a guy of his stature. He often had a “ringer” playing with him like Trent or Thompson to cover for him. (I’ll duck now). And as Dick mentioned much of the show was Canadian influenced (YongeStreet Productions ... Yonge St. is Toronto's main drag). Charlie Farquarson was a character Don Harron was performing as before HeeHaw ,, Gordie Tapp was involved in Canadian country music for years.
More demeaning to me was the dumb, backwoods look on Rodney Dillards face on the Andy Griffith Show (the Darlings).
Edited by - chuckv97 on 10/12/2024 08:08:34
“…not funny by today’s standards…” ??
Today does not have any standards.
Ira Gitlin Agreed. But I must add, too, that prejudices, and hatreds, come only after we mature and are exposed to that by others. As an example, as a young kid, I did not see race in the "Our Gang's" Yum-yum-eat-em-up episode, which is now banned. It was just funny. But cartoons of that era, hoo boy, looking at them now ... HewHaw never fit that mold, IMHO
My first banjo was a Huntington Park, Ca pawn shop wall hanger special, long neck 5-string bottle cap resonator. It looked like Dave Guard's (Kingston Trio) banjo. As best, I recall, late 60's, early 70's. Having grown up in big cities, I was clueless about bluegrass, folk, old time music, banjos, or how to play one. It took me months to locate a teacher, & he had difficulty understanding why anyone would want to play an instrument capable of only playing hillbilly music.
Boring as it was, I studied under Walt for two years, learning to read music, chords, yada, yada. However, my bluegrass inspiration came from TV programs such as The Beverly Hillbillies.
I think that Hee Haw was indeed a 20th century minstrel show. It differed from the 19th century minstrel show, in that its comedic device was the stereotype of poor southern whites, instead of the stereotype of enslaved southern blacks. The use of stereotype as a comedic device is as old as comedy itself.
I doubt that Hee Haw or The Beverly Hillbillies could or would be produced today. As more and more demographic groups demand that they never be offended, the use of stereotype as a comedic device has become increasingly untenable. I think it’s one of the reasons that today’s television sit-coms are all “sit” and no “com”.
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Originally posted by chuckv97
More demeaning to me was the dumb, backwoods look on Rodney Dillards face on the Andy Griffith Show (the Darlings).
Interesting point. I never heard anyone complain about the Darlings or Ernest T. Bass.
Edited by - Brian Murphy on 10/12/2024 11:23:13
