I am a northern, born in 1949. I so very much enjoy and Appreciate these type of videos. They mean so much and brings back memories of days lost and gone . Thank you sir .
So, I was just 2 years old when this was filmed. It was filmed just over the mountain from where I grew up in east Tennessee. These are my people and this is my heritage. Whenever I hear about "white privilege" I quietly think about the absolute abject poverty and hardship of these people and this region of the country and just shake my head. These people have been bypassed, ridiculed and dismissed throughout history. Thank you Mr. Hoffman, for telling our story and sharing your love of these sweet, kind, loving, gentle people and our way of life. God Bless You.
I may be wrong, but wouldn't most filmmakers at that time just dismiss a man like this and his way of life as insignificant? God bless you for filming this man, his music, and his way of life. Just beautiful.
Not really, that would have been right around the height of the public interest in American folk music. Guthrie, Dylan, Pete Seeger, Kingston trio, the Byrds, etc, were all popular 'round bout then.
You can't beat mountain music and mountain people. My grandfather moved to Tennessee from North Carolina in the early 1900s. He came from an Irish family, Flanagan.He had seven brothers who all were self taught to play some type of musical instrument.Granddaddy played the banjo, which had a coon skin for a head because he couldn't afford to buy a factory made one. When I was a child he would sit in the backyard and play to keep me entertained.I still have that banjo and can still hear him singing. Thank you for making this documentary it brought back sweet memories.BTW, my momma would get carried away and start clog dancing... lol
This is what I grew up in. I love mountains of NC. I was born in 1962 and this exactly how it was. We didn't even know it was hard times. We just enjoyed each other, and life.
David, the fact that you were forward thinking enough to capture all the footage you have is amazing. The fact that you have taken all this time to share it with us on UA-cam is even more amazing. THANK YOU!!!
As a child I grew up around this experience , in Southern Ohio . It was the treasure brought north with my Grandparents and relatives , who had came looking for work outside the mines and or moonshine of Kentucky ... Either sitting in the living room or under a shade tree many time family members would spend time in musical harmony ... The World seemed a better place then ... Thanks for sharing this wonderful film
Thank you for the compliment on the film. But just to let you know, the mountain folk and mountain music and culture are still there and alive and active. So many young people doing great work and posting on UA-cam. David Hoffman filmmaker
This was a magnificent dream. These are the events that inextricably link humanity: growing and hunting, cooking, music, song and dance, caring for our family, friends, and strangers, sharing when there’s little to share ... sharing, even when there’s nothing to share but laughter and/or tears. We humans are an amazing and mysterious group of beings. Thank you so much for sharing this GEM.
When I married a Kentucky girl. She took me around to her relatives. I was so surrounded by love and joy this Michigan boy was overwhelmed. Didn’t know people could be so kind.
Thank you David so much for helping the preservation of this music and for the respect and kindness not just showed to obray but for all the rural people you’ve recorded despite coming from such different walks of life.
Bascomb Lamar Lundsford and Obray Ramsey! Names that Ring Bells for a few older living people from 55 years ago and even longer too that remember "Their Music" playing in the hills of North Carolina! I actually worked with some fella's that were very much country folk as they listened to Blue Grass and often used the term Whistle Pig when they saw a groundhog running in the fields of Lancaster, Ohio. This Post from Mr. Hoffman is very much a Story within a video about Blues Grass Story Telling! Absolutely resonates today...especially in a pandemic time for me as it shows how laid back life was back in the Hills! They simply lived by a code...Faith, Family, Work and Music was their humble way of Thanking The Lord for their comforts. Thank You and Cheers From Ohio
I'm blessed enough to still live in the Appellatia mountain s .people still play music everywhere here. In the restaurants on the side walk or on the front porch or barn.thank god im a mountain man.
I’ve recently moved from Florida to the Appalacian Mountains in Southwest Virginia. My husband’s family is from here and many of them still live here. This music is alive and well and being passed on to the kids. A program called JAM teaches kids bluegrass instruments and old time music. My husband’s uncle taught in the program for a while. My daughter and I saw a group of kids perform at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia and they were wonderful! I’m so thankful that you were able to capture the mountain music and people during that time. So much has changed, but so much remains the same.
I'm from western NC best place to live. My cousin was Raymond Fairchild he was the greatest banjo picker around him and my dad taught themselves how to pick my dad played guitar. My dad lived for music he played and sang in church his entire life. Love where I'm from and love this music is speaks to ur soul. Best ever we've always been made fun of because we was poor and didn't have much but y'all that did this u had know idea what u was talking about we are the rich ones wouldn't trade my poorest days growing up in the mountains to u rich likes. God bless all my mountain people and their families.
Now that I'm listening. These people from the Appalachians take in a similar way as my grandparents in rural Mexico do. They tell their stories and memories with the same pauses and inflections. I love the way they tell those stories. This is so interesting.
Unfortunately this kind of person is harder and harder to find in the Southern Appalachians. American remains. But there's still some inredible characters in them thar hills.
I was lucky enough in 1968 to spend a week traveling through Northern Rural Mexico with a friend and his wife. We picked up his elderly Aunt and visited her friends and relatives. People would ask me how it was. My reply that it the Mexicans were just folks. They didn't speak English, but they were just plain folks. A friend, many years later was being all superior because I hadn't eaten in any "haute cuisine" restaurants. He had a friend who was an Hidalgo and was contemptuous of the peasants. He said, "Obviously you didn't associate with the upper class." My reply was, "No, thank God." I didn't grow up around "upper class". We were just folks. Don't get any better than that.
I hope it inspires some of today’s young film makers to do some of the same- make documentaries of cultures that are a precious part of our heritage. I live in the south, so I’m familiar with much of this through visits from our big southern city to relatives who lived in tiny southern towns. It was night and day, the difference between the small towns and the big city. One of my favorite parts of small southern towns even today is that people greet each other as they walk or drive by one another. Here in the city, we tend to lower our heads and walk quietly by.
I watched and enjoyed the clog dance video before i even realized it was David Hoffman who had so long and varied a career. Many thanks David for the continued enjoyment you bring!
I feel so nostalgic for that period of time even though I never witnessed it. It's a shame what this country has become today. These nice moments are just no more
There are people like Obray, young people, all over the mountains and they are doing new versions of the same things that I recorded way back then. I wish I had the time and the money to go back and record a bunch of new nice moments. David Hoffman - filmmaker
@Tadqwerty29 more dangerous technologies, less human-to-human contact, more group identity and more animosity between the groups (e.g: men and women), more corruption, more division, more homeless people, etc. Additionally, these days people rather watch Cardi B on UA-cam than go find someone who plays banjo in the country. Too much more have gone wrong than right.
Coming from eastern Kentucky, this video makes me smile. People like this are still around here today, though they’re a dying breed. Keep em coming man! These videos are the best on the internet.
And I’m from eastern Kentucky also, and was brought up listening to Doc Watson, Tony Rice, and of course Scruggs and Monroe. Bluegrass music is in my blood and still get goosebumps listening to this. That cripple Creek on the banjo brought back many memories of when I started playing guitar. My dad was a five string banjo picker also.
I literally stumbled onto your channel and I am delighted. In the 1970s I was teaching banjo and eventually folklore classes in Salem, Oregon. I showed your film in every class. I lamented that I might never again hear Bascom's recitations or Obray's banjo. I appreciate so much, also learning the back story of you and this film. I feel like I've been brought home. Thank you!
Love the clog dancing, or as my Mom called it, flat foot in’. She could flat foot with the best of them! She tried to teach me, but I never was able to do it. I grew up with this kind of music and the husband and I still enjoy it.
This reminds me so much of my ancestors. I don't talk to any of them because of family drama but they loved music more than life. I miss these circles. I miss playing till the meat is done. I'm sending you happy healthy vibes. I hope to one day be able to try this profession. Such beautiful art.
David I love this doc, I’ve seen it before when you posted it. In 1989 I had basic training in Alabama we had this guy in the Company he grew up right outside the base he had joined the Alabama National Guard he took a few of us to his home very friendly family they gave us some “water” too.... ya some water!
Love this film!What a beautiful sound of Mountain music!Mr Ramsey was a pioneer of this beautiful music!You have a wonderful piece of American history in this film it's a treasure!💜
Sir Hoffman, this man was magnificent, but, i really think that no one will ever be good as Earl Scruggs when it comes to banjo. Im from Croatia but, i really do love old American music culture. It touches my soul when i hear good Blues or good County music. If there was no tradition like that in the US, i would never become a professional guitarist. Thank You, another great video.
I'm a 5th generation BLACK American, traditionalist. I really enjoyed your comment, for I also love our traditional folk music, delta blues, bluegeass. This music is being lost on younger Americans. So glad you enjoy it
@@kenwilliamsvoice I'm a white Englishman who loves American Folk and Blues . From my understanding ,the Banjo can be traced back to an instrument used in Africa that was subsequently evolved by slaves in the USA . In all it's guises , the Banjo is a truly American instrument. Btw , The Carolina Chocolate Drops are brilliant musicians ,well worth a listen if you're not already a fan .
Mr. Hoffman is well aware of the other North Carolina Banjo Giant Earl Scruggs...check out David's documentary on him that’s on UA-cam...it’s just as fascinating as this one.
Great story!! So awesome! I was in charge of a college student programming organization that included folk, country, bluegrass, music. It was great attending those performances meeting some of the performers. Great to hear such diverse music and culture especially right here in the USA!
Mr. Hoffman, what an amazing life YOU have had. We all meet people but most of us ( due to responsibilities, stay within a very small area of the world) only meet the same few people over and over again. You because of your profession have had the chance to seek out very different people and their stories.
Thank yoou so much David for who you are as a man, as a documentary film maker, and for taking me back in time to my people. Some might view our life as poor but growing up, you don know that. You only know its a llife you truly love because of the nature and because of all who you see. I left when I need to go fight Charlie before my card number was called. It was a starnge life in the Army, but I grew up for 22 years in it to prosper. Now at 66, on the morning of Feb 27, 2021 I got to go back home to the folks I so loved. Thank you so very much and God Bless you and yours (family & crew, too). You are welcome to my home if ever you are out by Glendale, AZ, Casey & Chickadee (she's fighting the breast cancer & won against the COVID))
Ps i read the article you posted; Obray Ramsey was loved. I also found it quite interesting when it noted where to look for chestnuts in The Blue Grass Mountains stating that if people knew where to look/forage it'd be hard to go hungry. God Bless Us 1 and All.💜🙏
I grew up in the big city. A family of 7. My parents were not wealthy but we had everything we needed and most of what we wanted. I always thought of it as a great life growing up. But , somehow , I feel that I missed out on some of what life had to offer. I would have loved to have done what you were able to do. There is a richness in the people and the music/dancing of this era. Thank you for preserving and sharing it with us!!
David, you are a blessed man! You got to talk & experience the heart of America. Those were/are real people that this country needs more of - lots more. Thank you! Marcus from Chesapeake VA.
I grew up in that valley Alabama about 50 mi out of Anniston and heard this music growing up all my life and still love it Rudy Brooks it's good to know someone else still appreciates it
Listening reminds me if being a wee girl on weekends round da fire outside drinking"water" from the still. An listening to the stories an the music. My Pop-pop's worn banjo an the smell of those times in the Ozark Mountains. Like watching this whole video brought them all back for the time.... I so adore this music it feels like a warm blanket on a cold day!!! Soothing an interesting all at one time.... I love what you've done an the art u create an the history you've saved.... Thanks my friend!!!
I am literally in tears watching this. This is the meaning of life. And your adventurous no fear spirit's ability to travel to people and places that I could only dream of, just touches my soul. Thank you Mr. Hoffman, Obray, Lost John and all the others I have yet to meet here on UA-cam. ❤🙏
Such touching memories. We grew up and lived in a very protected world. A world guarded by those majestic mountains that the Lord provided to watch out for us. The outside world called out to me via the railroad. In a sense, the Jimmie Rodgers song, “My Wild and Rowdy Ways” took me out of the mountains to a career on those “Railroad Trains”, after my graduation from East Tennessee State University.
Thanks for sharing this! I am currently learning the banjo and this is a great help to me on my journey. I now have acquired another picker for my study. I’m very grateful to God for you and your work. God bless you and the rest of your day! -Ronnie
Mr. Hoffman, words cannot express how much I appreciate your documentation of these people and this music. I was raised and continue to live in SW Virginia where this music was born. I also play with a bluegrass band. These people are precious and often misunderstood. Thanks for showing them as talented and accommodating. I know and have known hundreds of these folks. So many great memories. Thank you from the bottom of my heart...
🌻David Hoffman🌻 Groundhog hunting, music & a talented man that played a banjo sang & clog dancing local people & songs to make a documentary by David. 🌟Listening from Mass USA🌟Hello🌟 everyone
I would’ve worked free for you, Mr. Hoffman! Just to see all the beauty that God created, and to hear the beautiful music, singing, and dancing. You were truly blessed to experience all of that. I am sincerely very much extremely happy for you, sir. 😁 I didn’t know about the very talented Bascom Lamar Lunsford until I discovered your UA-cam videos. WOW. Thank you for your videos. I’m in awe... wow... ❤️
Thank you for capturing this in such a down to earth and intimate way, for expressing your joy in it so freely and most of all sharing it with the rest of us.
I remember wandering through the Appalachian Mts. when I was in college and hearing mountain music like this at the "Dew Drops" - that's general stores with a gas station with 2 hot dogs and a Pepsi for a buck. Folks would just seem to gather spontaneously and play music. It was a time of turmoil with Viet Nam and civil rights issues. The music seemed to cut through and allow folks to enjoy each other.
I am coming up on 30 and my heart breaks for the path that music has taken in my lifetime. I wish people were still being brought up on real music. As a guitar player that was exposed to traditional cajun music growing up but never learned to play in the traditional ways, this music warms my soul and makes my heart hurt at the same time. Thank you for bringing us this beautiful music.
Writing from the Caribbean here. I said this in another comment section. This is where the USA's true wealth and power lies, its musical culture Blues, bluegrass, jazz, C&W, R&B snd s much more.
This is a well-done treasure. Thank you for preserving the stories, the music, the dances, and the lives of these people. I heard some folk songs and ballads I’ve not heard before, and “new” versions of familiar songs. Love love love. Thank you!
Groundhog, whistle pig! He had an incredible voice just distilled country soul and what a banjo picker. I don’t think there’s anyone else ever captured this music like you did David and we’re so lucky you were there with your camera
Thank you Jim for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that UA-cam is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts. David Hoffman filmmaker
David, this has to be my fav vid of yours, so far. Love me some mountain music! My husband's grandfather played the Grand Ole Opry regularly, and he inherited his acoustic Gibson- it's still in beautiful condition. Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, indeed! Thanks so much for sharing, sir! 🪕
Thank you so much. With your background and your husband's, you have what we used to call "real credibility." I wonder if when I made a film there in 1969, at the Grand Ole Opry, your husband's grandfather was there? David Hoffman - filmmaker
I love this. My first trip into the Southern mountains was in about 1972 and while my experience was different, it was just as wonderful. I'm a big fan of this music and I started listening to it on the radio when I was 5 years old. My folks bought a new big old farmhouse in Maine in 1954 and I was scared so my father let me have his radio. I found the Grand Ole Opry and so I began to love this music. They always had at least some of this kind of music, even though most of it was the more popular music, such as Hank Williams Sr. This was called Appalachian music but the "....latch..." was pronounced like a gate latch. "appaLATCH'an" I still love it. Funny, being a Yankee, some might not expect I'd like this but we had hillbilly music shows such as the Ken MacKenzie Show on TV. I listened to it as often as I could find it.
You have no idea how much I love you for always seeing the best in everyone despite their background and you really are an example of an American man you have love for our country and love for the american people. Thank you so much David. I never get tired of your perception.
I am from the first nations of the United States and European I really feel the threat to our freedom in which makes our country the greatest country in the world. Look even Prince Harry moved here in at such a horrible time for the world but he has distant family members such as myself that live here. I hope he can enjoy some of the things that founded this country. Yes there were many lives taken on my mother's side of the family but there's still a rich history for the Pitt River People.
Tears in my eyes for what’s been lost and seems to be unappreciated by much of today’s America. Wonderful slice of life. Glad I discovered your channel. Thanks
I'm glad you enjoy this portion of my work, Keith. But just to let you know, this type of music and culture and dance is alive and well in the mountains many young people participating. David Hoffman filmmaker
Thanks David. That’s so wonderful to hear. One’s perception can get clouded by the current climate and narrative. Your work is is incredible. I’ve been watching a number of your other creations and am amazed at the breadth of your subject matter. Thanks again.
I read somewhere that Mr. Lundsford was a lawyer as well as a great singer/player, so I looked it up. Yep, he was. Here’s a short bio: “Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 - September 4, 1973) was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional (folk and country) music from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians."” THANKS A GREAT VIDEO!
I was there at a bluegrass festival during covid 19 .. July 2020.. Got family up in Virginia.. When we visited, them being musicians and our natural love foot music we had to go.. Even made the news.. Ol GA boy giving a rebel yell.. God bless
If only my fellow Southrons cared for their traditions and unique lifestyles like this yankee does. Thank you for this sir
I sure do miss Carolina watching this videos.
I am a northern, born in 1949. I so very much enjoy and Appreciate these type of videos. They mean so much and brings back memories of days lost and gone .
Thank you sir .
This is awesome music 🎶🎵love it from Ontario 🇨🇦
Didn't like the shooting...
Wotever, Do Capri oh.
So, I was just 2 years old when this was filmed. It was filmed just over the mountain from where I grew up in east Tennessee. These are my people and this is my heritage. Whenever I hear about "white privilege" I quietly think about the absolute abject poverty and hardship of these people and this region of the country and just shake my head. These people have been bypassed, ridiculed and dismissed throughout history. Thank you Mr. Hoffman, for telling our story and sharing your love of these sweet, kind, loving, gentle people and our way of life. God Bless You.
I may be wrong, but wouldn't most filmmakers at that time just dismiss a man like this and his way of life as insignificant? God bless you for filming this man, his music, and his way of life. Just beautiful.
And You saved a good one. Yup,! G-G 😆
I'm a North Carolina gal, living out west. I love North Carolina and have sweet memories of a hot summer day. Listening to good old time music.
Not really, that would have been right around the height of the public interest in American folk music. Guthrie, Dylan, Pete Seeger, Kingston trio, the Byrds, etc, were all popular 'round bout then.
You can't beat mountain music and mountain people. My grandfather moved to Tennessee from North Carolina in the early 1900s. He came from an Irish family, Flanagan.He had seven brothers who all were self taught to play some type of musical instrument.Granddaddy played the banjo, which had a coon skin for a head because he couldn't afford to buy a factory made one. When I was a child he would sit in the backyard and play to keep me entertained.I still have that banjo and can still hear him singing. Thank you for making this documentary it brought back sweet memories.BTW, my momma would get carried away and start clog dancing... lol
Good old country folk has no price and is gold in the air...beautiful stuff.
This is what I grew up in. I love mountains of NC. I was born in 1962 and this exactly how it was. We didn't even know it was hard times. We just enjoyed each other, and life.
David, the fact that you were forward thinking enough to capture all the footage you have is amazing. The fact that you have taken all this time to share it with us on UA-cam is even more amazing. THANK YOU!!!
As a child I grew up around this experience , in Southern Ohio .
It was the treasure brought north with my Grandparents and relatives , who had came looking for work outside the mines and or moonshine of Kentucky ... Either sitting in the living room or under a shade tree many time family members would spend time in musical harmony ... The World seemed a better place then ... Thanks for sharing this wonderful film
Most of us had ancestors that came here and lived at least somewhat like this. This is what makes America so special!
Greatly enjoyed this. These mountain folk who were the bedrock that this country was built upon. They are sorely missed.
Thank you for the compliment on the film. But just to let you know, the mountain folk and mountain music and culture are still there and alive and active. So many young people doing great work and posting on UA-cam.
David Hoffman filmmaker
This was a magnificent dream. These are the events that inextricably link humanity: growing and hunting, cooking, music, song and dance, caring for our family, friends, and strangers, sharing when there’s little to share ... sharing, even when there’s nothing to share but laughter and/or tears. We humans are an amazing and mysterious group of beings. Thank you so much for sharing this GEM.
Absolutely! When life was simple, common sense was alive, about real things that actually mattered!
I was born too late!
@Digga's Crypto Awareness Down Under Right ! when things really mattered, nothing seems to matter these days. Being real meant something then ✌🏽♥️🌺
Yes .. well said
I’m glad to see that these people and their music is appreciated to this day
When I married a Kentucky girl. She took me around to her relatives. I was so surrounded by love and joy this Michigan boy was overwhelmed. Didn’t know people could be so kind.
Thank you David so much for helping the preservation of this music and for the respect and kindness not just showed to obray but for all the rural people you’ve recorded despite coming from such different walks of life.
Bascomb Lamar Lundsford and Obray Ramsey! Names that Ring Bells for a few older living people from 55 years ago and even longer too that remember "Their Music" playing in the hills of North Carolina! I actually worked with some fella's that were very much country folk as they listened to Blue Grass and often used the term Whistle Pig when they saw a groundhog running in the fields of Lancaster, Ohio. This Post from Mr. Hoffman is very much a Story within a video about Blues Grass Story Telling! Absolutely resonates today...especially in a pandemic time for me as it shows how laid back life was back in the Hills! They simply lived by a code...Faith, Family, Work and Music was their humble way of Thanking The Lord for their comforts. Thank You and Cheers From Ohio
Beautiful thing that time in life.... Memories are the movies only we can see.....
@@donnakawana Agree Donna....I'm so grateful for The David Hoffmans of this world for recording and sharing their Treasures with us all...Cheers
Yep groundhogs.....old folks 5aught me in 70s....whistle and the groundhog stands up tall and.....bang!....dinner is on!
I'm blessed enough to still live in the Appellatia mountain s .people still play music everywhere here. In the restaurants on the side walk or on the front porch or barn.thank god im a mountain man.
Jeff. That sounds GREAT! Thank GOD for you wonderful musicians, you bring a lot of joy to people around the world.🙏🏼
Living history thanks to you Mr. Hoffman. A priceless treasure.
Mr Hoffman, just found your precious channel. Great stories and material!
I’ve recently moved from Florida to the Appalacian Mountains in Southwest Virginia. My husband’s family is from here and many of them still live here. This music is alive and well and being passed on to the kids. A program called JAM teaches kids bluegrass instruments and old time music. My husband’s uncle taught in the program for a while. My daughter and I saw a group of kids perform at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia and they were wonderful! I’m so thankful that you were able to capture the mountain music and people during that time. So much has changed, but so much remains the same.
I am from Raven 😎 Virginia...Mill Creek Holler to be exact... Good Music and God's blessings All around there...
Proud to be from Western Carolina! Thanks for recording part of our history and culture!
It is so rich!
I'm from western NC best place to live. My cousin was Raymond Fairchild he was the greatest banjo picker around him and my dad taught themselves how to pick my dad played guitar. My dad lived for music he played and sang in church his entire life. Love where I'm from and love this music is speaks to ur soul. Best ever we've always been made fun of because we was poor and didn't have much but y'all that did this u had know idea what u was talking about we are the rich ones wouldn't trade my poorest days growing up in the mountains to u rich likes. God bless all my mountain people and their families.
Fantastic! Thank you Mr. Hoffman
Thank you so much for preserving this evening for everyone who couldn’t be there.
Now that I'm listening. These people from the Appalachians take in a similar way as my grandparents in rural Mexico do. They tell their stories and memories with the same pauses and inflections. I love the way they tell those stories. This is so interesting.
Unfortunately this kind of person is harder and harder to find in the Southern Appalachians. American remains. But there's still some inredible characters in them thar hills.
I was lucky enough in 1968 to spend a week traveling through Northern Rural Mexico with a friend and his wife. We picked up his elderly Aunt and visited her friends and relatives.
People would ask me how it was. My reply that it the Mexicans were just folks. They didn't speak English, but they were just plain folks.
A friend, many years later was being all superior because I hadn't eaten in any "haute cuisine" restaurants. He had a friend who was an Hidalgo and was contemptuous of the peasants.
He said, "Obviously you didn't associate with the upper class." My reply was, "No, thank God."
I didn't grow up around "upper class". We were just folks. Don't get any better than that.
@@jeanmeslier9491 yeah don't get any better'n thet
😊
This kind of thing is so fascinating, filming history so you have something to look back on has inspired me and others in many ways.
Thank you. That's just how I see it.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
I hope it inspires some of today’s young film makers to do some of the same- make documentaries of cultures that are a precious part of our heritage. I live in the south, so I’m familiar with much of this through visits from our big southern city to relatives who lived in tiny southern towns. It was night and day, the difference between the small towns and the big city. One of my favorite parts of small southern towns even today is that people greet each other as they walk or drive by one another. Here in the city, we tend to lower our heads and walk quietly by.
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker This is the real America to me. What a great era the 50s and 60s were.
NZ
I watched and enjoyed the clog dance video before i even realized it was David Hoffman who had so long and varied a career. Many thanks David for the continued enjoyment you bring!
I feel so nostalgic for that period of time even though I never witnessed it. It's a shame what this country has become today. These nice moments are just no more
There are people like Obray, young people, all over the mountains and they are doing new versions of the same things that I recorded way back then. I wish I had the time and the money to go back and record a bunch of new nice moments.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
@Tadqwerty29 Things will only get worse, as far as I can tell
@Tadqwerty29 What's the indication that things have gotten better? (in social context)
@Tadqwerty29 more dangerous technologies, less human-to-human contact, more group identity and more animosity between the groups (e.g: men and women), more corruption, more division, more homeless people, etc. Additionally, these days people rather watch Cardi B on UA-cam than go find someone who plays banjo in the country. Too much more have gone wrong than right.
I’m from Southern West Virginia , thank you so very so much for the respect you showed Mountain Folk and your a mighty dandy story teller at that!
Coming from eastern Kentucky, this video makes me smile. People like this are still around here today, though they’re a dying breed. Keep em coming man! These videos are the best on the internet.
And I’m from eastern Kentucky also, and was brought up listening to Doc Watson, Tony Rice, and of course Scruggs and Monroe. Bluegrass music is in my blood and still get goosebumps listening to this. That cripple Creek on the banjo brought back many memories of when I started playing guitar. My dad was a five string banjo picker also.
I literally stumbled onto your channel and I am delighted. In the 1970s I was teaching banjo and eventually folklore classes in Salem, Oregon. I showed your film in every class. I lamented that I might never again hear Bascom's recitations or Obray's banjo. I appreciate so much, also learning the back story of you and this film. I feel like I've been brought home. Thank you!
I love this music! The more I listen to the more damp my cheeks become. Thank you.
Check out Abby the Spoon Lady UA-cam channel, many featuring The Tater Boys
I have to ask you Sharon what does this saying mean?
"the damper my cheeks get"?
I've obviously never heard it but it did give me a chuckle 😂
@@diggascryptoawarenessdownu7246 The music has touched her heart, and it made her cry, so, her cheeks got wet/damp 😢🌹
Digga's Crypto Awareness Down Under my eyes were leaking tears down my cheeks. 😄 old one. I’m 75.
Krystyna 1polishchik I’ve been watching Abby since she rode trains. She’s a goodin’.
As a Canadian, I still can get goosebumps listening to this real deal authentic Americana roots music. I think Bob Dylan et al would agree.
Love the clog dancing, or as my Mom called it, flat foot in’. She could flat foot with the best of them! She tried to teach me, but I never was able to do it. I grew up with this kind of music and the husband and I still enjoy it.
Thanks David, you've gone and brought another tear to my eye ... with a pig whistling groundhog. Another historical treasure! 😷👍💗💗
Whistling pig, time for supper getting caught up in those leading and traveling fingers
This reminds me so much of my ancestors. I don't talk to any of them because of family drama but they loved music more than life. I miss these circles. I miss playing till the meat is done. I'm sending you happy healthy vibes. I hope to one day be able to try this profession. Such beautiful art.
Playing music to the smell of food cooking is an ancient daily rite of passage, as a human. :) A smell of a tune, if you catch my drift. Hahaha
@@coronapapi exacrly
I know about the drama ,old wounds good music whisky and brew and gram ran the house;
This is priceless David.
Thanks for sharing your adventures and life's work with us.
I saw your heart for a second, sir.
Thanks for another wonderful repast for the eyes and ears.
David I love this doc, I’ve seen it before when you posted it. In 1989 I had basic training in Alabama we had this guy in the Company he grew up right outside the base he had joined the Alabama National Guard he took a few of us to his home very friendly family they gave us some “water” too.... ya some water!
Ft. McClellan? He must of lived near Pelham Range.
Love this film!What a beautiful sound of Mountain music!Mr Ramsey was a pioneer of this beautiful music!You have a wonderful piece of American history in this film it's a treasure!💜
Sir Hoffman, this man was magnificent, but, i really think that no one will ever be good as Earl Scruggs when it comes to banjo. Im from Croatia but, i really do love old American music culture. It touches my soul when i hear good Blues or good County music. If there was no tradition like that in the US, i would never become a professional guitarist. Thank You, another great video.
I'm English and love this music too. Have you heard of Dock Boggs ? I love his recordings .
I'm a 5th generation BLACK American, traditionalist. I really enjoyed your comment, for I also love our traditional folk music, delta blues, bluegeass. This music is being lost on younger Americans. So glad you enjoy it
@@kenwilliamsvoice I'm a white Englishman who loves American Folk and Blues . From my understanding ,the Banjo can be traced back to an instrument used in Africa that was subsequently evolved by slaves in the USA . In all it's guises , the Banjo is a truly American instrument. Btw , The Carolina Chocolate Drops are brilliant musicians ,well worth a listen if you're not already a fan .
Have you watched David's video on this channel of Earl and Randy Scruggs singing with Joan Baez? Really great stuff
Mr. Hoffman is well aware of the other North Carolina Banjo Giant Earl Scruggs...check out David's documentary on him that’s on UA-cam...it’s just as fascinating as this one.
David, What a treasure you captured for all time . Thank you!
This is so awesome. The Dillards have an excellent rendition of “Groundhog”.
Such eloquence, musically, linguistically. Such poetry. It really challenges what we are told about where "culture" comes from and what it means.
Great story!! So awesome! I was in charge of a college student programming organization that included folk, country, bluegrass, music. It was great attending those performances meeting some of the performers. Great to hear such diverse music and culture especially right here in the USA!
Mr. Hoffman, what an amazing life YOU have had. We all meet people but most of us ( due to responsibilities, stay within a very small area of the world) only meet the same few people over and over again. You because of your profession have had the chance to seek out very different people and their stories.
Brought tears to my eyes, what a treat and what a voice
Wow!!! Thank you David.
It's by far his best version of rain and snow. Thanks for having this.
Wow. This is fantastic. It is always a pleasure to see and hear this brilliant piece of history and culture
Beautiful, beautiful voice Obray.
The timbre...
Mountains make it so pure.🎶♥️
What a great story!!! This is true Americana at its most authentic core. Thank you for sharing such wonderful moments with us!
Thank you for loving our culture and documenting it for everyone else that loves it. Hopefully everyone that watches these will love it!
Thank yoou so much David for who you are as a man, as a documentary film maker, and for taking me back in time to my people. Some might view our life as poor but growing up, you don know that. You only know its a llife you truly love because of the nature and because of all who you see. I left when I need to go fight Charlie before my card number was called. It was a starnge life in the Army, but I grew up for 22 years in it to prosper. Now at 66, on the morning of Feb 27, 2021 I got to go back home to the folks I so loved. Thank you so very much and God Bless you and yours (family & crew, too). You are welcome to my home if ever you are out by Glendale, AZ, Casey & Chickadee (she's fighting the breast cancer & won against the COVID))
Ps i read the article you posted; Obray Ramsey was loved. I also found it quite interesting when it noted where to look for chestnuts in
The Blue Grass Mountains stating that if people knew where to look/forage it'd be hard to go hungry. God Bless Us 1 and All.💜🙏
This kind of stuff makes me love my country even more!
I grew up in the big city. A family of 7. My parents were not wealthy but we had everything we needed and most of what we wanted. I always thought of it as a great life growing up. But , somehow , I feel that I missed out on some of what life had to offer. I would have loved to have done what you were able to do. There is a richness in the people and the music/dancing of this era. Thank you for preserving and sharing it with us!!
Most all my life I lived in south eastern KY i grew up to bluegrass music it's beautiful and always takes my mind home to them ky hills.
David, you are a blessed man! You got to talk & experience the heart of America. Those were/are real people that this country needs more of - lots more. Thank you! Marcus from Chesapeake VA.
I grew up in that valley Alabama about 50 mi out of Anniston and heard this music growing up all my life and still love it Rudy Brooks it's good to know someone else still appreciates it
Listening reminds me if being a wee girl on weekends round da fire outside drinking"water" from the still. An listening to the stories an the music. My Pop-pop's worn banjo an the smell of those times in the Ozark Mountains. Like watching this whole video brought them all back for the time.... I so adore this music it feels like a warm blanket on a cold day!!! Soothing an interesting all at one time....
I love what you've done an the art u create an the history you've saved.... Thanks my friend!!!
I am literally in tears watching this. This is the meaning of life. And your adventurous no fear spirit's ability to travel to people and places that I could only dream of, just touches my soul. Thank you Mr. Hoffman, Obray, Lost John and all the others I have yet to meet here on UA-cam. ❤🙏
I can't thank you enough for this video. It's simply amazing!
Thank you as always my friend😊
Such touching memories. We grew up and lived in a very protected world. A world guarded by those majestic mountains that the Lord provided to watch out for us.
The outside world called out to me via the railroad. In a sense, the Jimmie Rodgers song, “My Wild and Rowdy Ways” took me out of the mountains to a career on those “Railroad Trains”, after my graduation from East Tennessee State University.
Mr. Hoffmann this made me feel like weeping. I was born in the wrong era. Thank you for sharing this. It is so beautiful.
Thanks for sharing this! I am currently learning the banjo and this is a great help to me on my journey. I now have acquired another picker for my study. I’m very grateful to God for you and your work. God bless you and the rest of your day!
-Ronnie
wow, never got here this early, It'll be interesting to watch a slice of life of that time, and your own experiences!
Mr. Hoffman you are a national treasure.
Mr. Hoffman, words cannot express how much I appreciate your documentation of these people and this music. I was raised and continue to live in SW Virginia where this music was born. I also play with a bluegrass band. These people are precious and often misunderstood. Thanks for showing them as talented and accommodating. I know and have known hundreds of these folks. So many great memories. Thank you from the bottom of my heart...
I like the way his wife is there, supporting him. It is an awfully beautiful situation. God bless all of youcountryfolks
This truly is a treasure, history! Thanks for sharing these gems.
🌻David Hoffman🌻 Groundhog hunting, music & a talented man that played a banjo sang & clog dancing local people & songs to make a documentary by David. 🌟Listening from Mass USA🌟Hello🌟 everyone
I would’ve worked free for you, Mr. Hoffman! Just to see all the beauty that God created, and to hear the beautiful music, singing, and dancing. You were truly blessed to experience all of that. I am sincerely very much extremely happy for you, sir. 😁
I didn’t know about the very talented Bascom Lamar Lunsford until I discovered your UA-cam videos. WOW. Thank you for your videos. I’m in awe... wow... ❤️
Thank you for taking the time to write your comment.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
These are my people. I love this. Thank You ~
Thank you for capturing this in such a down to earth and intimate way, for expressing your joy in it so freely and most of all sharing it with the rest of us.
Thank you for saving this great slice of our American heritage. God Bless You.
I remember wandering through the Appalachian Mts. when I was in college and hearing mountain music like this at the "Dew Drops" - that's general stores with a gas station with 2 hot dogs and a Pepsi for a buck. Folks would just seem to gather spontaneously and play music. It was a time of turmoil with Viet Nam and civil rights issues. The music seemed to cut through and allow folks to enjoy each other.
Mr Hoffman, I once saw a documentary about how a ship is held together. Riveting!
Thank You Very Much Sir !
*I Respect And Appreciate It*
Wow you lived in the good ole days .. Our house cost 12,000 in 1965.. Good job sir life is a trip n you chose a good one.🙏💜😊
Amazing, beautiful footage!! Thank you, sir.
I am coming up on 30 and my heart breaks for the path that music has taken in my lifetime. I wish people were still being brought up on real music. As a guitar player that was exposed to traditional cajun music growing up but never learned to play in the traditional ways, this music warms my soul and makes my heart hurt at the same time. Thank you for bringing us this beautiful music.
Thank you David Hoffman. The world needs not to forget these stories told by song and by those who lived, loved and died with every note.
My whole mountain family played and sang the old time mountain music. Nothing like it!!!
Writing from the Caribbean here. I said this in another comment section. This is where the USA's true wealth and power lies, its musical culture Blues, bluegrass, jazz, C&W, R&B snd s much more.
👏👏👏BEAUTIFUL 👏👏👏.... Thank you sir, hope to find my calling as well. Semper Fidelis
Thank you for having the foresight to preserve these historical gems and for sharing them with the world. They now will live forever
Love this experience 🤗💐
This is a well-done treasure. Thank you for preserving the stories, the music, the dances, and the lives of these people. I heard some folk songs and ballads I’ve not heard before, and “new” versions of familiar songs. Love love love. Thank you!
Groundhog, whistle pig! He had an incredible voice just distilled country soul and what a banjo picker. I don’t think there’s anyone else ever captured this music like you did David and we’re so lucky you were there with your camera
Thank you Jim for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that UA-cam is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts.
David Hoffman filmmaker
You make me smile Mr Hoffman! How delightful this is. Thank you from Canada. It is so nice to tune into your channel. Stay well.
How wonderful that you have preserved this.
David, this has to be my fav vid of yours, so far. Love me some mountain music! My husband's grandfather played the Grand Ole Opry regularly, and he inherited his acoustic Gibson- it's still in beautiful condition. Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, indeed!
Thanks so much for sharing, sir! 🪕
Thank you so much. With your background and your husband's, you have what we used to call "real credibility." I wonder if when I made a film there in 1969, at the Grand Ole Opry, your husband's grandfather was there?
David Hoffman - filmmaker
Well, a few years earlier, you would have! Thanks, again!
I love this. My first trip into the Southern mountains was in about 1972 and while my experience was different, it was just as wonderful. I'm a big fan of this music and I started listening to it on the radio when I was 5 years old. My folks bought a new big old farmhouse in Maine in 1954 and I was scared so my father let me have his radio. I found the Grand Ole Opry and so I began to love this music. They always had at least some of this kind of music, even though most of it was the more popular music, such as Hank Williams Sr. This was called Appalachian music but the "....latch..." was pronounced like a gate latch. "appaLATCH'an" I still love it. Funny, being a Yankee, some might not expect I'd like this but we had hillbilly music shows such as the Ken MacKenzie Show on TV. I listened to it as often as I could find it.
You have no idea how much I love you for always seeing the best in everyone despite their background and you really are an example of an American man you have love for our country and love for the american people. Thank you so much David. I never get tired of your perception.
Thank you so much Sabrina.
David Hoffman filmmaker
I am from the first nations of the United States and European I really feel the threat to our freedom in which makes our country the greatest country in the world. Look even Prince Harry moved here in at such a horrible time for the world but he has distant family members such as myself that live here. I hope he can enjoy some of the things that founded this country. Yes there were many lives taken on my mother's side of the family but there's still a rich history for the Pitt River People.
Tears in my eyes for what’s been lost and seems to be unappreciated by much of today’s America. Wonderful slice of life. Glad I discovered your channel. Thanks
I'm glad you enjoy this portion of my work, Keith. But just to let you know, this type of music and culture and dance is alive and well in the mountains many young people participating.
David Hoffman filmmaker
Thanks David. That’s so wonderful to hear. One’s perception can get clouded by the current climate and narrative. Your work is is incredible. I’ve been watching a number of your other creations and am amazed at the breadth of your subject matter. Thanks again.
i really love Mountain music, Just the sound of them talking makes me feel at peace.
Gorgeous music 😊🎶
I read somewhere that Mr. Lundsford was a lawyer as well as a great singer/player, so I looked it up. Yep, he was. Here’s a short bio: “Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 - September 4, 1973) was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional (folk and country) music from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians."” THANKS A GREAT VIDEO!
That's it perfection .
Excellent thanks
I was there at a bluegrass festival during covid 19 .. July 2020.. Got family up in Virginia.. When we visited, them being musicians and our natural love foot music we had to go.. Even made the news.. Ol GA boy giving a rebel yell.. God bless