Rough Old-Time Mountain Man Was A Great Fiddle Player Back In 1965
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- The time was 1965 and I was making my first documentary for television. I got sent to the mountains of North Carolina. Asheville. Buncombe County. Madison County. Wilkes County.
I was on the road following and filming the great collector of music Bascom Lamar Lunsford. He was taking me to film his best of the best, the folks he was going to choose to perform at his Mountain Dance and Folk FestivalIn Asheville, North Carolina, the first festival of that type in the USA.
I was 23 years old and making my first television special. I did my best following Bascom for six weeks of recording. The finished film ran on national primeitime television in 1966 and showed Americans for the first time, what these people were like, not just their wonderful musicianship, but their storytelling and poetry and dance and culture.
One day Bascom took me to Jesse "Lost John" Ray, who he said folks in that region called their greatest fiddler. I presented this clip on my channel before and many commentators debated whether or not he was. So I decided to make this video to explain why Bascom thought Lost John was so great.
After all these years, I still remember my experience as though it was yesterday and have a deep affection and admiration for the people of the mountains of North Carolina. They treated me beautifully and gave me the opportunity to record wonderful 16mm film.
I wish that I still had the outtakes but back in those days, I was too dumb to realize that I should keep them and didn't have the room in my small Queens New York apartment.
I loved mountain music - bluegrass music - country music back then, and I still do today. Especially when played by "real folks" like Lost John.
Some commentators surprisingly have felt that I am putting down this culture which is the polar opposite of how I feel and what I am saying with his clip. Their culture was the most rich culture I have ever personally witnessed and I feel very fortunate that I was with these people when I was just 23 years old.
Some commentators have asked what happened to Lost John and the others in my film. Unfortunately in most cases, I do not know.
Bascom Lamar Lunsford died several years after the film was made but he got the chance to see the very positive reviews on national television and to see his Asheville North Carolina mountain music and dance Festival grow even more popular.
I visited the great banjo picker singer Obray Ramsey after Bascom had passed on to ask him about Bascom in his last days and you can find that by searching his name on my UA-cam channel. My 1965 film had increased Obray's underground popularity and he told me that he was pleased to have been a part of it. He also was one of the most charming storyteller singer banjo pickers I encountered in my long career filming different cultures.
I would like to thank those advertisers who have supported this video. Search any if they interest you. North Carolina Appalachian bluegrass. North Carolina bluegrass. Appalachian bluegrass music. folk music in America. fiddle. bluegrass music Asheville NC. bluegrass music Asheville. Live music Winston Salem NC. music in Brevard NV. bluegrass music. Biltmore estate Asheville. Biltmore house Asheville. Folk Center Asheville. North Carolina Asheville Arboretum. Bascom. Fiddler's convention.
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David Hoffman filmmaker - Фільми й анімація
Here is the movie from which that scene came. Many incredible scenes in it. ua-cam.com/video/kgHgLgR9WNc/v-deo.html
David Hoffman filmmaker
This almost brings me to tears…..
I love the music, the nostalgic home scenes, and friendly, happy people!
Breakin’ Up Winter is old-time all the time, demonstrating the roots of what we know today as bluegrass music. Pick away!
5/13/23: Thank you, David. Come to Breakin’ Up Winter in March 2024. Pick away!
Great Doc David, weirdly I’m decended from a very famous Cowboy by the name of Earl Bascom…out West
Mountain people have a sweetness that makes my heart ache with love and pride. I'm not mountain, but I'm American, and this the heart of the Republic.
My grandmother grew up on a farm in North Dakota during the depression. She told me once, "We were dirt poor but we didn't know it. We had what we needed, family, friends and our freedom."
Thats beautiful
That's what I tell my millennial, young adult children. I tell them not to get involved in the social media scrum because, at the end of the day, nobody cares about you as your family and friends do. I also tell them that they have the freedom to choose to engage or not, which is a privilege that is unprecedented in history. It's not a perfect analogy but, I hope you see what I mean.
I didn’t know there were people in North Dakota back then
So true....gives me chills to think about that statement in the context of today’s world
Ain't that amazing? We take so much for granted nowadays.
This film makes me realize how much I miss America while living in America.
That is so sad but so true. Makes me want to cry. I'm afraid we'll never see that wonderful America again.
Same every western country the corporations won. The way neighbours came together looked after one another, broke bread and formed a community a village is definition of socialism the heartless corporations are capatalism in a nutshell. Free yourselves
You got that right brother. Much of our culture of independence is lost. I'm just a millennial and even I long for a freedom that seems to have vanished from the ether of the US.
@@Nobodynewduh For sure....and younger folks from your generation are getting screwed-royale by corporates and so called "gig" work which amounts to indentured slavery. I feel for the youngsters trying to navigate through whatever the hell this place has turned in to.
Yep that's right the good old days, simpler times people don't even realize just how life is good, when you have family friends and your freedom you have everything you need. Here I am an American been denied social security when I've already put in for it, I have benefits coming but they're being jerks, the United States government is preventing me from having a plain simple cabin, and the size of that cabin will be a 16x20, a single room with four or five windows, possibly two doors. One small wood burning stove with an oven, one small bed, a composting toilet, 6 ft kitchen counter, a root cellar to keep food in, no electricity, a couple of solar panels , my banjo, my acoustic guitar, a nice comfy chair, a small radio, my bibles, no t.v. needed. A propane burner stove, a propane freezer if I want one, a 3000 gallon water tank to be filled from time to time, a 3X3 shower in the corner, a 10 gallon propane water heater, three or four windows, in a rocking chair for picking on the front porch and drinking lemonade. Now that's really not a lot to ask to be able to live a simple life, as an older retired man, and a godly Man at that, the United States government is denying lots of people a nice comfortable way to live just because of their stupid so-called rules, and all it is is about money all they want is money money it's always about money with the government, and that's local government too that's state federal and local government, if they're not getting a mighty dollar from you, you're not allowed to live a simple life, I guess they figure you're cheating that the utility companies out of utilities if you live without it, just like people live for many hundreds of thousands of years on this here Earth. I just want to live a simple life and have those people leave me alone and let me live. I worked and earned for my social security. There's no reason for it. It's a clerical error they say, meanwhile I have to try to survive in a tiny little camper in my truck with no money coming in while I try to save to do what I need to do to live a simple life, meanwhile I have to figure out everything on my own. Well you know what I have to say about that, the same as what a lot of other people would say but I have to draw back to the Lord on this one, because I'm just going to have to trust in the Lord, no matter what happens no matter what I have to do the Lord is with me. Here I am just trying to pick myself up keep myself above ground level be obedient to the Lord and live a simple life, I have a halfway decent truck, I have a halfway decent small RV, I have one acre of treed property that's real nice that's paid for, when the government of the United States gets done with me it's a good possibility that I might have to sell my property give them all the money because we know what we think of them they're bad people I might have to lose my truck lose my trailer lose my blankets lose all my personal goods lose my musical instruments all because of the government and they made a technical error in their office, while I sit by idly trying to figure out what to do next next and survive for who knows how long a year two years I just thought I'd speak out about this matter, I figure at least this way somebody else knew, it's kind of nice to let other people know how nice the government is I'm raking you over the coals and spitting yeah out. It would be real nice if everybody joined together in a group called A.F. N.G. THAT NAME is Americans for new government, join all Americans that are fun loving freedom fighters Patriots to stand up against the federal government local and state governments, we need change, we need government to stay out of our business, okay pay taxes fine, but not be over taxed and stay out of our house, and don't tell us how to raise children, give parents control over their children once again. America needs to wake up, I'm not the only one there are other people out there, and I figured that this is one way to let other people know how I feel about this garbage or should I say wrong doing, I'm tired of all the wrongdoing in this country, what I'm trying to say is I think we all need to do our part until the good Lord comes back for us, Jesus is coming for his children. I'll do what I can or things that I have to do to survive I don't have no problem with that this makes me a little angry how the government does what they do, they want to ask you questions why this and why that, but when they have a mistake that they made on their part, they won't even apologize to you, and if you don't fight for what belongs to you they'll just keep it, they won't give it to you you have to ask for it or fight for it, meanwhile if you do owe them something one way or the other, by gosh you're guilty and they want it right now, what's yours is theirs, and what's theirs is theirs. But what I say is the Earth and everything in it belongs to God, and the government's going to have to answer to God In The end. Y'all have a good day and I hope you don't have to go through anything like I'm going through. God bless all the poor people God bless all his children, father God turn all the evil people and all the sinfulness away from the devil and have them all turn to you Lord in the name of Jesus I pray amen.
I’m 63 and I’ve lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains my entire life. This is the kind of music I grew up on. I have cousins who had their own bluegrass band until one of them had such health problems they had to quit and he eventually passed away. Bluegrass is still a music staple here and the older I get, the more I appreciate it. It was so wonderful too to see Lost John as the amazing musician he was and not as a poor man or a freak of nature. Mountain people are the best.
I truly luv this kind wish there was more available to hear.
Such a piece of American and human history. I descended from Kentucky Scots-Irish. Something that transcends time grabs my soul when I see scenes like this and hear this music. And another note, it seems like everyone could play some sort of instrument. No tv, probably no phone and maybe a radio. Books, music, dancing and talking together. The past was rough in many ways, but not without merits.
I am from Scotland with a heartfelt connection to this music. All my days my ears prick up when I hear the Appalachians playing. Thank you for bringing this to us all.
This is America. It's still around, though you wouldn't know it from today's media. Trust me, it's still around...alive, kicking, and vital...it's just like it always was; humble, head down, and getting on with life.
And deeply anti-vax. Stop idolizing inbreeding and lack of education.
@@bustaplz I think Id take no education before whatever turned you into such an awful person
@@bustaplz say you watch too much news, without telling me you watch too much news.
@@bustaplz Idiot...they haven't heard of covid, let alone covid vaccine. WTFU
unfortunately they have been nearly annihalated by an opioid epidemic :(
To us people who live in Tennessee, North Carolina , Virginia, etc., music is and has been a very vital part of Our Lives. We play, our parents played, our grandparents played, our great-grandparents played, you get the picture. We love our music and we are so glad people all over the world love it too. We consider it a gift of God and we want to share it with everyone. Especially in these troubled times.
"We didn't know we were poor till the government came along and told us so."
Gave you health care so the women didn't die in child labour. But let's not care about the truth let's storm the capital and kill a cop. Qanon maga
@@catwrangler7907 What the hell's that fiasco got to do with mountain folk, you prejudiced moron? Don't act obtuse, the quote is meant to say you can be money poor and rich in spirit. Hateful folk like you are why this country is so divided. Shut your trap and enjoy the music for a spell.
@@catwrangler7907 Ironic thing is, bringing more children into this shit show of a world seems more amoral than your kids dying of natural causes like they did for all of history until the last 100 years. The last 100 years also happens to be exactly when the exponential curve of the world turning into a shit show really took off...
@@catwrangler7907 You call *that* "storming the Capitol"?? There were easily enough people there to tear the building down brick by brick had they wanted to! "Insurrection" my A**. It was hardly the storming of the Bastille! No fires started. No mass destruction of property (unlike the many Antifa/BLM riots.)
NO "cop was killed", only an unarmed young woman shot in the face by a "security guard" who got off scott free. The dead cop you mention so casually actually died of natural causes the next day (from a stroke, his family have said.) NO firearms were found on any of the people arrested (often unneccesarily) by the Capitol police, according to the Chief of Police himself.
You really need to stop believing your lying, Marxist MSM and parotting their lies.
This Cat Wrangler fella seems to be a victim of tribal thinking. He came to hate on what he believes are his enemies. I don't know about you guys, but I'm here to enjoy the music.
From the hearts of the humble come the loftiest things.
Can you imagine walking thru the hollers and hearing music like this
Andy, as long as what you’re hearing ain’t Dueling Banjos 😮😄
@@deewaddellinstudio_1886 paddle faster!
I'm not one bit embarrassed to tell you my maternal ancestors came out of the Highlands of Scotland and went right up into the Appalachian Mountains before my grandparents went to Indiana looking for work in the 1950s. My great uncle died at 94 years of age still living in a log cabin that was built before the United States came into existence. I had a great aunt who passed away in 1998 who lived in a house with no plumbing. My ancestors had little money in Scotland, less money in the colonies and even less in the USA.
As my Scottish mother said when my sister asked if we were poor, "Of course we're no poor! We just don't have any money. There's a difference, lass."
Nonetheless, they led good lives and I am proud to call them fellow citizens. They are the salt of the earth, and God is no respector of persons.
THANK GOD for old-time country music!!! And, many thanks to your brave, proud, and noble Scottish ancestors, who brought their music with them across the ocean for full-blooded Italian-Americans like me to enjoy and love. YEE-HAW!!!
@@franklopresti2870 French Americans, too. 🎼🇫🇷🇺🇸🎵
‘Saor Alba’ 🏴
These films you’ve made are truly a gift. I can’t begin to thank you enough for how you’ve preserved a little piece of American history in these shorts. Just fantastic.
Thank you 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
I love this music so much, and i am from the Netherlands but i feel very comfortable when i hear this kind of music
They are your people my friend!
They are your people!! Klopt. Zit ook bijna elke dag te zoeken naar deze fantastische muziek. Bijzonder...
@@paulkuijer8129 Me too.
Truly universal music. Bluegrass has origins in northern Europe folk music and resonates over time. Just like when I visit the Netherlands and hear Dutch. I think, "The Dutch can't wait to go home and to relax with English." (Apologies to my Dutch friends and Garrison Keillor of "Prairie Home Companion" for stealing his joke. :)
My mother was from Middlesborough Kentucky, and was half Dutch and half Cherokee. Her mother's maiden name was Holland. There were a lot of settlers from the Netherlands in the Cumberland Gap region of the Appalachian Mountain range.
You may be distantly related to some.
.....HELL, .....maybe even ME!😂
Oh my I am seeing this on Christmas day- what a present. I grew up knowing many people like this from back in the hollers, so poor they hardly had two pennies yet they would share whatever they had with you. Treat you like you were king of Egypt. They would be hard core, uneducated but yet the best people you could ever meet and be around. For anyone watching this who never experienced that I am so sorry for all the money in the world could not buy those kind of times. Thank you David for sharing. I'm also a Hoffman-my family all but lost in the Holocaust.
And these people had no idea they would be playing together that day. Master musicians
And the Devil bowed his head cos' he knowed that he'd been beat and laid that Golden Fiddle on the ground at Lost John's feet!
Best comment.
Best for sure
Right right
😒X-RING !😍✨
You won this. Sir.
What they play, is exactly what you hear. No electronics, no auto-tune, no enhancements. Just self cultivated talent and a living version of "The Darlings" on Andy Griffith. Thank you for preserving this treasure of mountain music and the people that made it.
The Darlings were not something concocted for the TV show, they were a real bluegrass band, actually called The Dillards. Led by brothers Doug (a great banjo player!) and Rodney Dillard from Missouri, they were a bit younger than the old folks in this video but still the real deal.
@@theronb1177 That's so cool. I never knew that. Thanks for the info.
In the smokies ,of western Carolina, my folks settled there ,long before the Civil War. Folks back then made their oun musical instruments !! Bango ,out of barrel tops , goat hide , wire of any kind , hickory long arm stems ! We then , had to make what we wanted ! That's what makes mountain music so special to me !! l'm 73 , now , never let our heritage be forgotten!! 🇺🇲🇺🇲
There's poor, and from the look of his place Lost John and his family were poor. But then there's poverty--when all hope, all joy, everything worthwhile has just been kicked out of you. Lost John did not live in poverty; there was art in his life, and joy. This is a man surrounded by a community that respects him and his abilities. This man lived poor, but he did not live in poverty.
Exactly what I was thinking!
👍
This is the sort of thing I mean when I say that there's poor and there's broke. Both mean little to no material wealth. The dividing line is despair.
He may have been one of the richest men alive.
Wealth should never be measured by money.
Well put. Interestingly I know dozens of Cubans in Cuba that are poor but very very far from poverty with rich full lives. I also know several wealth Canadians that live in abject poverty. Interesting your statement. Causing thought.
Thank you for that perspective, he was rich indeed
As much as I love this video, I want to take a second to appreciate David. This man has given us so much. Thank you David. I've spent hours and hours watching your content. Whether working, studying, or just wanting to learn from history - your videos are treasures.
Thanks mate, for all you've done and all you do.
Thank you for your kind thoughts. I feel fortunate to have done what I have done and be able to share it.
David Hoffman filmmaker
To
I’m a generation removed from my KY mountain relatives. They lived in very poor conditions, but the music was and always has been very much alive.
(Not too far removed, I suppose. My father had rickets as a child. Lack of vitamin D.) He carried the music forward and onward when he left KY.
Got a college education, and traveled the world as a military officer. I swear, the music speaks to my soul. I embrace this part of my heritage.
Howdy Maya! I'm sure you'll highly appreciate some of the Bluegrass that the band named "Six String Soldiers" perform on UA-cam. They have a sergeant playing fiddle and a guy playing banjo too...
You will like it, for sure
I recall my first job as a milk delivery man in the west of Ireland. Some people used to get free milk,about a pint or two per day depending on the number of children in the family and the income they had ( mostly low) in order to build up the vitamin D in their systems and prevent Rickets which led to brittle bones and bad walking posture if not prevented in time. The funding was through the regional health boards at that time. Our local school briefly had a breakfast scheme, milk and bread, to accommodate pupils who did not get a breakfast through parental neglect or poverty. The scheme lasted 2 or 3 years and was badly needed at the time.
The compassionate thing about the scheme was the every child got the breakfast so that the poor kids did not stand out among the rich and get teased which could happen if it was only confined to the poor kids. The school I went to was unusual in that the free book scheme was done with great care to keep the recipients confidential so as to avoid the inevitable teasing that would happen if the recipients were made public, some schools were not so understanding.
@@jgdooley2003 Thank you for sharing this. Whoever was in charge of that school program had a great deal of compassion. Many Irish crossed the pond to Appalachia and brought their music and their resilience with them.
One of my father’s sayings I heard several times was “you cannot become a true musician until you appreciate and respect all genres of the art” 😎👍🏻👍🏻
so true
All genres except modern country.
@@fredgarvinMP you got that right.
@@fredgarvinMP
That’s about right...and German Techno!
@@NoLefTurnUnStoned. I do like Kraftwerk though...
These folks are all long gone, yet their music lives on forever. They were not famous, just a bunch of the "un-famous" talented people that no one would have never heard of except for this chance meeting
when Lost John handed the fiddle over it lost all it's Mojo. I'm glad you caught that moment on film because it demonstrates how his sound was much more rich and full when compared to the other fiddle player. Thanks for yet another amazing moment in History, perfectly captured and preserved
Thank you Jeff.
dear sir that “other” fiddler is a legend and I was shocked to hear that famous melody…
Wow, this is worthy to be in the national archives. Outstanding.
It's on the trail of the Alan Lomax Archive.
Why wouldn't we have... let's say... David Hoffman Archive, too?!?;-)
Great stuff reminds me of growing up in north ga mountains
Although I am an outsider I do so stand with you upon this risen conviction
Best comment ive seen in a while
@@kengibson2605 I grew up in the county that Bascom Lamar lunsford grew up in and, while most of the people he learned from, knew of, glorified for being better than him; because in most cases they were, his knowledge of everything/one is still praised and taught about.
It doesn't hurt that he is essentially the only famous person to have come from our county. Sadly he's not even considered famous anymore.
I play Blues and Metal. As a musician, all i can say is, if you do not appreciate and value this music and its history, you should start. Blues and this kind of Country mountain music was the start and gave "birth" to RocknRoll. You know it all from there on...
You're spot on.
M y sons are Smokestack Relics. They started blues. Love it!
@Lord Of The World Agreed!
@@inthemaze7441 That is awesome, You must be very proud :) 👍
I am from mountain folk in Poland and their music is quite unique. Polish Highlanders or Goralska Muzyka...check it out. Thanks for another history lesson.
Brought me to tears. My grandfather who was born and raised in Monroe County, Mississippi could play any song he heard. Watching these people gather round one another was amazing. Pickin' and grinin'. Grandpaw died when I was 4. I am 46 now and this transported me back to standing on the chair rung beside him holding onto his overalls while he played. Thank you so much for work.
Same as my family back in the days ( Jasper co.... Mississippi)💖💖
😳 Monroe County MS representing here too!!! Used to go to Pickin’ & Grinnin’ on Main St. Amory!! Wonder if you were there! Haha! Small world!
@@thejoshwardchannel I have family strung from Bartahatchie to Hamilton to 45 in Columbus:). We lived in Hamilton and my Grandpaw was in the sticks in Bartahatchie. I dont know if that was even happening in the early 70s. It is a small world:)noce to meet ya Josh
@@thejoshwardchannel Pickin and Grinnin at Carolina Community Center, Monday nights, 6pm pot luck, 7pm music. Bring your voice/instrument
My father was born in 1882 in NE Mississippi. My grandfather fought in the Civil War. My father was a very good fiddler and played many a Sunday at “all-day singings and dinner on the ground” in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. I remember the food and the ladies fanning themselves in the church with fan’s advertising the funeral home. A wonderful time that will never be relived, and I miss it so.
God I miss growing up listening to this music at my Family Reunions. We are from the Hills of VA. Down Home Folks who'd give you the shirt off our backs if you needed. Didn't give a damn what color your skin happened to be.
I've always thought that the best part of being human is music and the ability to make it. I may have said this before, but my Polish aunt, Pauline, married a man down Appalachia. My uncle Johnny (Segna), taught me to play the guitar in the summers when I'd go to visit them beginning at 6 or 7 years old. They lived about 15-20 miles from Asheville, NC. I learned on an old 1920's Martin & Co. Guitar. My uncle gave it to me before he passed and if I had a penny for every offer from someone to buy it, I'd be a Gazillionaire. Time. Learning to play well takes time, the right mindset and a good ear. You know that as well as I do David. Some of us just have it and others really have to work at it. Although, I still really worked at it and still do. I've played every single day for the past 50 years. Beginning at a young age is crucial as well. No dolls for me, just a nice guitar and books. I'd play at home the remaining three seasons and uncle John would mail me lessons written out in longhand. Neither of us read music. I only read Tabliture, but it does not matter, because all I need is the key any song is in and I'm as good as locked in. I never play the same lead twice and that is the fun of it for me. Throwing the curveball in. These gentlemen here know all of this. It is a gift, but you still need to take the time, these guys have/had a lot of time on their hands. This is also the area where I realized that you don't need much money to live and have a good time. As poor as they are, people still do for each other down there. I miss that. Those were the best days of my life. I've known and played with many fine ladies and gentlemen down there. I love those people and I have wet cheeks right now just remembering it all. Nice work David.
Thank you.
David
Srar, thank you so very much for your heart warming story. You definitely have a treasure, in the 1920’s Martin guitar, not only the guitar, but the beautiful memories.♥️
This makes me miss my daddy more than I can day. If only I could turn the clock back for just a few moments and have one more sing together. Life wasnt easy but it held a beauty that most will never know.
The one great thing about music is it sees no color, background, or anything but the love of great music and the sharing of one's soul. We need more music and even more respect for those who make it. Thanks for your videos, Love them.
so very well said
"If music be the food of,play on." William Shakespeare.
These musicians had a light heart and could handle a heavy wheelbarrow. The opposite of today.
Heavy hearts and light wheelbarrows?
@doctordonuthin I sure hope so.
All of these Old Folks from the 50's are long gone now, but although they were without the Luxuries of the outside world even at that time, they didn't know it. They were happy. Most living over a Hill or Holler from each other, but the word got out after Winter & they would meet up to play in someone's barn & they would eat, dance, & drink. This Film Producer found out just how poor they looked to him, as even his Host were getting on in Age & were having trouble with where Lost John lived. It comes with age, but did you see how quickly that driver... through directions from that Youngster brought back exactly where to go & what turns & roads he spoke of immediately. Recall!! Even the wife stated that to her husband that I don't believe you ever brought me over here to Johns. He said Noooo, I never did. But instantly they knew each other. Make No mistake word traveled when someone was in trouble or someone in a family passed, within a 5-10 mile radius. And you didn't just go into the Hills & Hollers to cause trouble. Most thought them Dumb. But make No Mistake, within a few words & them being Cordial to you, word would be out & passed along within the day. These people could read you like a book. They were the Ultimate at surviving and all before getting Older in life were Buckboard Strong. In older age, You didn't push them Oldtimers as they were still very dangerous. It was best if you were to get lost in those mountains to be Friendly & certainly Not ask the Wrong Questions. These people are all gone now, but think of hard these Folks Parents & Grandparents were who came before them. Most of these in the Mid 50's living in the tiny Homes in Hollers & Hills that were passed down to them. Any normal (what we called normal say from a city), wouldn't have lasted a Year in the Mountains. They lived there lives like we all should, & that's to enjoy each & every day you have on this earth. We are now fighting Covid here in 2020 but worse, although Technology & Advancement is Great, how often and everyday are you stressed from the rush of always seeming behind. Not enough hours in a 24 hr day. Simply exhausted from the Rush of life in a day that we've created ourselves. I love my simple life. I make a point Not to get involved in to many things or projects in my life. I have learned not to be on FB, Intsta, etc, & 3 years ago got rid of Cable Tv. I bought a simple Antenna, & get about 20 channels & get local News. I now watch the morning News & then turn off that Tube, that I used to have access to 500 channels or so too. I go for walks & get out in nature more to see the Beauty as I did as a Child. Hit a few parks & enjoy fawn & fauna. You will find less is more, & more is less, & for certain, much more healthy for your body & mind! Merry Christmas to All and I pray these Vaccines are the Miracle we all need right now, so that 2021 will be a New Year of healing. God Bless Everyone 🙏🎄💕
@@jimroushing7534 well said
If they lived today, they'd have just as low energy and heavy hearts as everyone else.
I've had the privilege of knowing down to earth people like this you wouldn't think much of them when you first met them but its amazing what these folks know and can do
Their faces, especially the banjo player's, radiate warmth only seen from those that have been through and a lot, but always smiled. You can see it from the grooves on their skin.
You got that right ! These folks radiate happiness,they will enjoy and be grateful. Thank you your all the best .
I just now watching this finally understand the meaning behind "Just a pickin' and a grinnin'!" The reverent smile on Lost John's face when he plays like everyone else just dissapears except for him, God, and that glorious fiddle! 🎻
Had to come back and watch lost jhon again wish they were so much more
I'm a delivery driver in Virginia, and I have to say, that child gave better directions than anyone I've ever asked in that region.
Does GPS give you trouble?
Haha... Man there is a region between VA and West VA.. Where the roads don't have names that show up on GPS.. Or your phone and GPS lose signal... Like when you get past Buffalo Gap headed west over the Blue Ridge Mountains.. God's Country
@@oljimeagle Here in PA, we got more roads than names.
@@Ohnyet I love that tri-state area.. (Maryland, Delaware,Pennsylvania)Lived in Fair Hill Md. and Id drive over into PA and let myself get lost in the country. Any place where there are more horses than people is a good place to be.That whole area is something special in the spring and early summer.
Machete Yo *x* keep her lit sir🤠
Such a sweet time, I remember going to my granny's house in Buckhorn Ky in the 60's and my Aunt Edna playing the mandolin and my Uncle JC on the guitar and my Grandpa Floyd on the fiddle playing bluegrass music while I helped granny string beans, even then as a nine yr old child, I knew that moment in time was very special.
The soulful momentum that I feel ❤️. This is music. Music has evolved. However, it should still be called music in it's fine unique soulful sound. This kinda music makes me cry and happy at the same times. You still talk about life, real life situations, still talks about love. But it sounds soulful. It's not boast. That's why it's soulful. I would love to just go up and stay with the mountain people because I don't see poverty. I just see amazing free spirited people who doesnt boast. Music makes them happy. Work hard and thank the Lord. I mean what more can you ask. Nobody should be seeking out to change these people's reality to be like the outside world. The outside world needs to go up and see what life is really about. You can find happiness in the little things. Money isn't the happy ending.
I watch your films often Mr. Hoffman and I greatly enjoy your work. I'm 35 and I love these glimpses into the world of yesterday. What struck me most about this video is how amazing it is to see people that have no formal education, living in extreme poverty, and, in some cases, who may also be afflicted with some type of mental impairment or deficiency, but are able to intuitively pick up on music with little difficulty; most of them self taught and learned strictly from playing by ear. This phenomena goes to highlight just how complex our brains are. Thank you for yet another thought provoking piece of film history. ~Steve from Ohio
Damn these folks can play! Bascom playing his song in 1965 sounded just as good as it did in 1927.
Thank you for this great video David...I was born and raised in a country a very long way from where this was filmed but the culture, lifestyle and kindness was very similar. I well remember working in the fields alongside my Grandpa and Daddy and having my Grandma and Mom bringing us a bite to eat and some cold tea around midday, every day...it was a 5 mile walk from the house. We didn't have much and needed even less...I was born with nothing and still have more than half of that left...I'm a little over 73 years old now. I really would love to visit with folk like Lost John, set a while and just listen.
People nowadays talk about poverty and discrimination yet have no idea what real poverty and discrimination actually is. People just have no clue how poor these folks actually are. Salt of the earth.
When misery comes knocking it's not any less miserable just because it doesn't look the same as it once did.
If you're stuck day in and out wondering whether you should put off rent or food this week, that doesn't make it any more or less terrible because you have a toilet with running water instead of an outhouse.
Isn't that the point of these little videos? To show that you can empathize with others, regardless of if they're familiar to you or not?
@@werewolf4358 no. The point of the videos is the music
@@nikkijo9999 I think that's a rather simplistic approach to this. If it were *just* about the music, why would more than half the video be introducing the lives of the people who made it? It would make much more sense to just say "yeah, I went to such and such area at this period of time and here's the music I found."
But instead of that, we're really introduced to these people. Told about their lives, their problems and somewhat about how they deal with it all. To me, that's setting the viewer up for a good old fashioned dose of connection with strangers.
@@werewolf4358 the man that made the fill said that it was about th music
They were poor in the true meaning, because they worked as hard as work gets and still didnt have enough to eat. Nowadays you get a check while sitting on your ass, and inventing every reason in the world for you're disadvantaged. Get off your ass. There are many jos. Btw, I am as liberal as they come with the exception of my strong belief in the 2nd Amendment. Cheers all!
Thank you for filming this treasure. Thank you for the compassionate introduction. That was a lesson in itself; a lesson in non-judgement and a lesson in appreciating the light we each hold inside.
I am a native mountain folk, now living away from the mountains of my birth. I just wanted to give you a sincere thanks, this made me smile deeply. I am only 25, but this, even today, sounds and feels so much like home that I nearly cry seeing and hearing it.
Some how the Lord keeps bringing me back here and I love it more each time
These are my kind of people. I'm from the hills of Tennessee. Sweet kind God fearing people, but that being said, we don't take no bs from anyone. A lotta Love but tough as nails.
Unfortunately with non of the grit and quiet strength these people had. Too soft these days
@@jcp012000 Not everyone. The deep country and mountain people, now those are some people that's not to be messed with. 😏
@@randyboring9089 where did you go instead and what happened in life that you are not happy with, if you dont mind sharing more? And what town in Tennessee? I've been driving through tennesse lots over last year going to ohio for medical appointments. Nice state. As a teenager I traveled a few times to Dunlap area down from Chattanooga for canoeing on the Sequatchie river.
@@randyboring9089 oh okay. My dad and my brothers are in Washington state. My step mothers family was first to homestead on vashon island in Puget sound seattle/tacoma. I'll have to look up turtle town tennessee, interesting.
These are fine people, they humble me with their decency and goodness.
As a child, I remember folks like this in the backwoods and swamps of Florida. Somehow, people aren't as epic niwadays.
this is so heartwarming. I’m in NC right now, a fiddler obsessed with these old players. despite of everything, he’s happy, they’re happy, because they’re living how life should be lived, with raw feeling inspired by the scenery and experiences they have. this is so amazing you have these. made me tear up a bit oddly, I hope Lost John had a great rest of his life. Wish there was more footage, hes crazy good. I just can’t explain how thankful for this footage. Especially the ending of this video. Wow. INCREDIBLE
Respect to you Mr Hoffman capturing a piece of history that everyone should see.
That music is really something special. I've been around mountain people who would welcome you into their home and treat you like family even if they'd only just met you.
I need to see more of this. This is fantastic - just one of my most favourite styles of music. Deep, and filled with sadness and joy, and most of all community - a tremendous culture to make the tribulations of a hard life bearable.
I am from the mountains of North Georgia. And this is my kind of music. We grew up poor. But every Friday night we would clean out the living room and bring in the folding chair for all the boy to play old blue grass. I truly miss those days
The look on his face as he plays. He's not just feeling it....he's living the music.
This reminds me of the music and playing of my Grandmother’s family. She was the oldest of 13 children, born in 1898 in rural Louisiana, about 60 miles south of Shreveport, on the Red River. My great Grandfather was a champion fiddler, winning the state fair fiddling contest. All of my grandmother’s siblings and she played either the fiddle, the guitar, or mandolin, and in the 1920’s and 30’s it was all the entertainment they had. I have most of their instruments, and am amazed they were able to play on such instruments , primitive by comparison to the first guitars I had in 1964. Family gatherings, when I was young, we’re a view into a different time, when music was acoustic, played from memory. I remember being completely in awe, that without any prompting or practice my great aunts and uncles could pickup an instrument, not having played together in years, but able to pickup and play like it had been planned or practiced, simply joining in and accompanying each other. It is no wonder they music has always been so meaningful to me.
Truly amazing to watch this film and witness the pure joy, the happiness that people who had absolutely nothing of any monetary value, derive from playing music. Wow. So incredible. Lost John, so much kindness and dignity, shared by the others in this film. What a lesson for the self absorbed, selfie loving, deeply shallow influencer social media star driven generations.
Mr. Hoffman, I can't express how wonderful it is that you share these kinds of clips with us. I hope these kinds of good folks and their music never die out.
I wish that I'd been able to meet Lost John. He was not only a great fiddler but he was able to step back and enjoy listening to another fiddlier without finding fault.
That is what matters in life a kind heart giving and caring. It's not about the clothes you wear or the size of your house and the car you drive. It's about neighborly love. It's what Jesus would want
Thank you . I shared your video with a friend that was in the music industry that would appreciate your video
I live in that area. It's a burning rage I get when I hear or see how these people have been portrayed through the years. These people are good people and it makes me glad to see others see it for just that
@@Diana-wg1tm your beautiful
Respect!!!!
David, doing some research on mountain music and came across your film. An absolute gem of recorded history. No sound balance or production just genuine people doing fine music. I am glad you shared this!
Love the music and talk reminds me of my childhood in ky
A true moment in American, musical history, this video captures forgotten smiles from the past that reminded me of the simple things in life. Heart felt moment in time. Thank you
The best fiddle player I ever heard was an old fella from the east coast who came to Ontario for a wedding I attended. He was amazing and the drunker he got the better he played. I sat there for several hours just watching him and a group of people play music at this wedding.
What was his name?
@@bethym3269onmywayhome I don't remember, that was 40 years ago, and at my age I can't remember what I did 40 minutes ago. LOL
@@superrodder2002 dang! I hear ya on the memory....well, it reminds me of my family, both from Ontario where it all started and my youth too. The Davey crew from Northern NY. 💕
I love how he puts the fiddle right over his heart when he plays. He truly plays from the heart!
I will never forget the first time my grand daughter heard bluegrass music(she s married now with two children ),We were at a theme park and as she was a kid we were going from one ride to another when she heard a small band playing bluegrass and it stopped her in her tracks and she said,Grandma lets sit here and listen for awhile...I wish I could describe the awesome look on her face as she listened...It was one of those beautiful moments in your life you never forget...,
A beautiful reflection and remembrance, Lavonne. I can remember dancing around my bedroom when at 16, I heard the music on my radio from the grand ole Opry. Pure joy.
David Hoffman filmmaker
There were a few old people like that in the Ozarks of Arkansas when I first moved here. They’d have “singings”: at a church or wherever they felt like it. I met a couple who were married when he was 15 and she was 13. Had been married over 70 years. The man said the only time he ever left the county was when he tried to join the Army. He was rejected. And some didn’t have many branches on their family tree. They weren’t ashamed of it either. I saw a wonderful old mandolin player. His daughter had to practically hold him up. And I wonder why most bass players were women. I love Ozarks folk culture. Pure music from pure hearts. ❤️
Also intrigued by Lost John's manner of holding his fiddle, playing from his heart.
That's how a working man holds a fiddle. After a lifetime of manual labor, the shoulders don't like to be forced into the unnatural position a violin player uses. Just a couple minutes on the shoulder is enough to make both hands tingle and burn for the rest of the week. I can appreciate the love he puts in every note.
Lost John has an inexplicable sweet beauty to him which comes across, unspoilt, in this remarkable footage. His fiddle-playing is simply from another world.
This is just what I needed to feed my soul today, hillbilly and Cajun roots
If the devil went down to Georgia.
God went to ole lost johns .
Beautiful clip
This is the music I gew up listening to. We lived in Northern Virginia, but my Dad loved bluegrass....he played the Dobro. When I hear it, it takes me back...a house full of people, a cookout and my Dad and his friends playing music. What alot of people don't or can't appreciate is had the Sotch/Irish had not brought their music here...the African Americans not brought their music, we'd not have the music we have today. Nashville is the home of country music but Bristol, TN/VA is the birthplace of country music.
I grew up with all my family getting together every Friday and Saturday night playing Bluegrass and us kids would run around in the yard until we fell asleep. We would sleep wherever we fell. The good old days!
Love this music. My Dad, God Rest his soul. We are from Notherneaster Okla. Rose, Okla. 10 miles from Cherokee County. Talequah My Daddy could play all of these instruments fiddle, banjos, guitar. Just this good. Loved this brought back sweet memories.❤️😪❤️😪❤️😪❤️❤️
I heard an Appalachian in a documentary say "We didnt know we were poor until the government came in and told us"
I've been poor, and i was a lot happier then, than i am now in my gold cage.
I was raised in Wilkes county, grew up clogging in the 2000s. I moved halfway across the world to Asia, and I haven’t been home in 3 years thanks to covid. Thank you for these videos, when the homesickness gets too strong I come back to them. I moved to get out of the generational poverty and all that it comes with, and how constrained I felt growing up in a place where I was the black sheep. No matter all of this, the mountains will always be home. Thinking about picking up the banjo so I can connect to my roots from thousands of miles away
My pastor is from Wilkes county.
Beautiful country up there
What a beautiful life you’ve lived. God bless you for capturing this amazing culture that is almost lost.
Its nice to see the entire group as ONE, great family spirit, respect one another and plentiful of joy! Thanks for sharing!
I just love this channel, he shines as a documentarian with real humanism and compassion.
Thank you Allison.
Thank you for collecting this treasure and sharing it with us!!! I love this music.
How Mr. Lunsford listens to the music so very concentrated and later takes the fiddel and plays. I can imagine why this hard working people trust him and give them their music. He seems to be one of them. Thanks for showing this.
Those great people know what life is really about.
Such gifted musicians and down to earth people. Thanks for this film and introducing us to Lost John. I liked the mule at the end.
This is real music! Thankyou Bascom Lamar Lunsford and his wife Freda for all they did to preserve real mountain music!
I about fell out of my chair when you said Bascam Lamar Lunsford's name. One of my all-time favorite musicians - Swannanoa Tunnel is one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard
That lady on the autoharp! Dang!! Her fingers are FLYING
@@GeeBee135 thank you, I am!
Don be
She had cp
How cool, Wonderhussy was here too!! Big fan Girl!!!
My grandmother had one of those!
It's a pity all the music that's been lost over the years because no one thought to record it or if they did they didn't save it. Blessed are those that remember the ones that came before.
There is so much here. I want to know happened to Ernest Crawford and how he got killed. I bet the boys who gave directions could tell a story or two. And the mountain boys who "get to the rough edges of the world." I can't thank you enough David for preserving those times.
Mr. Hoffman... you have lived such a rich and interesting life
They may be poor but good God we are all the more richer because of them! Thank you!!
"no prejudice against him"... my favorite quote of this great documentary.
I'm from Asheville and this was pure watching this God bless 🙏 you for catching all of on film 🎥 for everyone to see that you don't have to rich to enjoy good music
Wow what a day to be having with these awesome musicians I can only imagine what it must have been like to being there they day
The lady has a nice acoustic with a cutaway ...was waitin for her to rip out a solo,maybe do sum tapping...these are wonderful content people.
Makes you smile, and cry at the same time
Me too. Ethereal
I'm so grateful this music lives on today, all over the world❤❤❤
Love these folks ... pure true artists.
Beautiful and perfectly electrifying. Thanks so much for this.
People knew how to entertain themselves back then. I think we need to get back to that again.
4 minutes in and the storytelling alone is worth the watch. Looking forward to the rest. Edit: holy crap the music is amazing
Just over the mountain from Asheville, in Northeast Tennessee, Storytelling is art. There's a degree program at ETSU and next door in Tennessee's oldest town Jonesborough they host an annual National Storytelling Festival.
We need more people like you 👍🏴🇬🇧👍
Tears in my eyes to see people share so much in love for eachother in harmony
I’ve lost control of my foot...it’s tappin its heart out.
Lol