The Folksmen on Letterman

[klarebear7211]

the guy on the far right, at 0:30, christopher guest, who directs all these movies, also wrote this and every song in a mighty wind. props to mr guest for his limitless creativity!

[jraykc]

Funny at the end when Letterman laughs at Harry Shearer when he looks at him.

[Gaffapediahus]

Spinal Tap as old :)

[bwaygirl07]

Is the bass player wearing sandals with socks like he was in the movie?

[thebaseballdoc2]

definitely a nod to The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem with the sweaters.

[prorobo]

Hahahahahahahaha this makes me so happy it's frightening. Though as usual Letterman's typical audience is too stupid to appreciate the comedy of the song as well as its greatness.

[Gunfighter1b]

These 3 have had a better music career by accident than a lot of other people have had on purpose. They've outlived a lot of people and you can be sure that they'll be around long after Beiber and GaGa are just memories in the "Where are they now file."

[Nervejunktion]

@Gunfighter1b

you are so correct.

[khybor]

I don't remember the character's name but isn't the bass player supposed to be a blond folks singer?

[amosjess]

That shore is some fahn pickin'!!! (muffled sidesplit laugh)...

[CokeMachineGlo]

I'm so jealous of the supremely talented. They're all really good character actors & they can all sing & play really well. Oh and they can all write great stuff as well.

[kuagra3035]

They also write all the music for their films. There's awsome talent on stage there. 

[krusty0007]

These 3 can make you laugh so hard your sides hurt..

The next thing is..you're clapping and singing a song along with them!!

Amazing talent!!!!!!

[strawberryrhubarbs]

say... those guys look like Spinal Tap. hmm...

[pumpkinheadedmf]

This is the best thing about these actors. They don't just pretend to do it well, they can ACTUALLY do it.

[dmnarc]

is Guest supposed to be like Peter Yarrow?

[pretorious700]

love the sweaters

[Mojosbigstick]

So funny! An excellent film, that always makes me want to listen to The Spinners again,

[LukeKellylives]

They look like The Clancy Brothers with those sweaters.

[MordecaiKart64]

love the sweaters lol

[Fretkillr]

A Martin 000-28? Love this movie and performers.

[topangapan]

I love this... but get a laugh from the banjo experts who obviously don't know anything about the history of the banjo. Next time: look it up. And remember "A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing."

[csxtrainwreck]

WEEEELLLllllll.......

<3<3<3<3

[RetroGuy5000]

cant beleive i saw them at wembely before spinal tap lmao class

[raginbullfrog]

They are Spinal Tap lmfao.

[RetroGuy5000]

yea i do know lmbo

[Slicey]

that banjo looks huge

[notvalidcharacters]

Prolly a Pete Seeger type with extra-long neck.

[DrummerBoy922]

That's what it is. Pete designed the long neck banjo in the late 50s and once Vega began producing it, it became the workhorse banjo of nearly every folk group.

[evelau]

I thought so too. The neck is definitely longer than my banjo's.

[monkeysnail]

harry shearer!

[cphershon]

They are channeling the Irish Rovers. Remember the Unicorn song?

[cremesupreme]

i see a little nigel trying to come out during the banjo solo lol

[hoz49]

That "Billy goat vibrato" Guest uses cracks me up.

[matrags]

w--ell...lol.

[Ladyeglantine]

I heard Christopher Guest say in an interview that "The Folksmen" opened for "Spinal Tap" when they were on tour. "The Folksmen" apparently got booed off the stage...

[JunebugMusic]

If you watch the straight-to-video "Return of Spinal Tap" live show, it starts with the Folksmen in a room being told that they won't be going on. So these characters existed back in 1991.

[topdeck55]

They did this song on Saturday Night Live on November 3rd 1984.

[ErisRising]

I'm glad to see that someone else remembers this. I recorded that episode but lost the tape, and now no one believes me.

[merv1618]

I knew they existed in the eighties, but on SNL? I guess two were in the cast at the time, do yo have the link?

[topdeck55]

Plug in this imdb link: tt0694468

[yutuubfreak]

thats funny considoring their spinal tap

[tsrubio12]

spinal tap got old

[tommyrock69]

I just love how these guys make fun of the pretension in popular music. It is spot on.

Guest IS Peter Yarrow

[kandikidzora]

is it just me but these guys KICK ASS!!! when i was in high school, i was in a traveling choir and the year the movie came out, we did all the songs from the movie! thats got to say something!

[npspec34]

"Like watching a chimp jerk off in a cage."

hst

from old joe's place.

[xhyio]

They should perform Big Bottom as The Folksmen.

[picklerammer]

Classic...

[rachaelsarobot]

AH! the bass player is principal skinner from the simpsons! haha

[dicksatan]

And Flanders and Smithers.

[rachaelsarobot]

he does a ton of the voices. he's mr burns and otto too.

[atlwildguy]

Best thing about the folksmen is that the same 3 guys were Spinal Tap LOL

[mikeyfazed]

When Guest wobbles his head and goes "We-e-e-e-elllll...." I seriously laugh every time.

Also the part about the nurse on duty if you don't feel right.

[Gunfighter1b]

Me and my g/f were watching the movie, and at the end when Harry Shear was in the dress, she laughed so hard that she spit soda out of her nose. That was totally unexpected!

[ellenranit]

i love this movieeee :-D

[thegorn68]

Just look for the busted neon sign that reads "Ea A  oe's".

It was really funny listening to the audio preview before I posted this comment. LOL!

[berkeleyhome]

Chris Guest is a genius,,,and his cast is also...I would love to be part of tha ensemble....

[akyriel]

".... and a smelly old blanket that a Navajo wove..." hahahahahahahah

[OldManAP]

Oh, and I love hearing these guys sing...Mike McKean is a heckuva singer, and so is Harry Shearer...and Chris Guest is no slouch either, and the little warble he puts on the word "Well" (as in "Well, there's a puppy in the parlor, etc., etc.") is not only funny, but just flat out too cool, as well.

[OldManAP]

I really like all of these guys as both musicians and actors...especially Harry Shearer!!!

[theeasybeats]

saw this 3 times before I got the joke

[mediamadman747]

Great stuff.

Unfortunately, after "Waiting for Guffman," each Guest film gets progressively 'weaker.'

Maybe the novelty's wearing off, or maybe they're just not as well written.

(8^(

[softshoes]

There are not "written", they had an outline on the direction the story would go and it was totally improvised. The dialog of course, not the music. Each movie is great in it's own right when you just take into account what's being satirized. Not a slam as we each have our own sense of what's funny.

[deelee74]

I heard that For Your Consideration did have a script. And I couldn't sit through it.

[evelau]

I heard that the plot and situations were scripted but that the dialogues were improvised.

I quite liked it, but definitely not as good as A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman and Best In Show.

[kassemir]

That's how Christopher Guest always does it, they make an outline of the plot and situations, but all the dialogue is improvised.

[clebo99]

Yes.....All of Chris Guests' movies are like that.....Opened it up for others like Larry David and a few other HBO comedy shows.

[saucyjenkins]

for your consideration was pretty weak, but I love all of the others

[Stillwater100]

I love the Glen Yarbrough warble that Christopher Guest throws in his singing in this movie, and I especially love that they came out in character. I just can't believe they didn't perform the Skeletons of Quinto. :p

[gypsylor]

"...I often stop and think about a place I've never seen..." FLOORS me!

[guitarist81]

It took me a long while to figure out that the three were Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest.

[sambones718]

omg, is that michael mckean?

[InfamousDominion]

Yes! Strong three guys here and three guys in spinal tap. Coincidence? Hmm.

[vincentfromia]

I know this sounds like I'm hogging this thread, but one other thing. To do satire you have to believe what you're doing (watch Guest's interview with the awful Charlie Rose). As soon as you begin to believe and act like you're funny, you are sunk. That and the musicianship is the true genius of A Mighty Wind and Spinal Tap. BTW The NMSS remind me more of The Young Americans.

[vincentfromia]

Responding to akagulug: The Folksmen were supposedly based primarily on The Kingston Trio, but, to all reports, they never took themselves that seriously. Glenn Yarbrough was mentioned in a previous post, but, with Lou Gottlieb as a member, those guys wouldn't have either. Even the New Christy Minstrels who were lampooned mightily by the New Main Street Singers took their music seriously, but not themselves. It was the Dylan, Collins

and Baez types who seemed to be impressed with themselves

[vincentfromia]

Responding to PerryPlanet's post: re the music. Yes, I find myself listening to this stuff over and over. It is very well done. The two tunes that Mitch and Mickey sang could have been hits during the folk era and I'm not convinced that some of the others wouldn't have been either. They're all very good tunes and performed well and with fun, sometimes, beautiful harmonies.

[akagulug]

Can anyone please name for me the 4 or 5 of the very bland, cliche'd, generic and innocuous folk groups of whom The Folksmen are an almagamation?

[PerryPlanet]

This music is so addictive, I think it is physically impossible to not start taping your feet and clapping along as you listen to this song. I LOVE IT!!!

[michaelav08]

I don't think there are 3 more talented guys.

[gamer025]

@michaelav08

I think you're right. Great musicians, great actors, great comedians. What can't these guys do?

[unclej87]

wow they do it much faster in the movie, this one sounds a little more improv, its awesome

[averynb1218]

Christopher Guest is a genius. Amazing that only twenty years before they wore leather and chains as Spinal Tap.

[NyeTunes]

"A Mighty Wind" was actually bookended by Spinal Tap projects... there was their 2000 reunion tour, and the 2007 Live 8 performance.

[bluesbrojake]

Guest sounds just like Glenn Yarbrough

[cnedwick]

pure genius.

[Mummerlife]

there's is no better way to put it!!!

[cas226]

I saw this live at the 930 Club in DC..the whole ensemble toured. It is in my top 5 shows ever. Just a blast.

[AlexandriaM]

Best ever.

[thegorn68]

"Ea A oe s"

[Darmesis]

Funny, funny stuff (and pretty entertaining, too).

[alphabeets]

True talent. Great!

[monsider]

note the sweaters ... so very Clancy Brothers !

[Nightfall95]

yes! i noticed that too, Christopher Guest has a very Tommy Makem way of singing/playing. Good to know there are still some ppl out there who know the Clancy Brothers, great classic Irish music.

[ledwatch]

I love the fact (and so did Chris guest apparently)that they opened for Spinal Tap and got boooed off

[alexbt]

They ARE Spinal Tap

[Veggieman87]

I love how they're really playing the instruments. That adds to the awesomeness of these three.

[DavidCKendall]

They are the holy trinity of funny! Check out each of these guys singular bios...New CD by Harry Shearer "Songs:Pointed and pointless" (features: "Corn Wine") OMG LOL!..Harry also does at least 4 voices on the Simpsons.."Mighty Wind" ..freakin' brilliant!!

[sirReginaldFartsalot]

Harry does no less than 21 voices on the Simpsons..

[darun1]

Watch this then check out Spinal Tap--Entertaining

[pants362]

I love how the e a oh's line bombed with the live audience. Makes it even funnier.

[Flatlegs]

It didn't bomb you dickhead, the audience just didn't get a prompt.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUAA­AAAAAAAAAAH

[kirk2425]

too true!! that is pretty great lol

[rigelnigel]

That's just awesome!

[berkeleyhome]

weeeelllllll...

[TenaciousJD]

Ea a oes lol - great film

[bbman715888]

such a great movie

[Esau2507]

estos cabrones pueden tocar lo que sea son geniales