Bluegrass Roots - These Folks Started It All

To get the entire movie go to http://www.createspace.com/204609 It was back in 1964. New York City filmmaker, David Hoffman, age 22, was headed down with his new 16mm hand held camera (weight 49 lbs!) to spend three weeks driving the backcountry around Madison County, North Carolina, in the center of Appalachia, with the 82 year old founder of the pioneer Asheville Mountain Music and Dance Festival, Bascom Lamar Lunsford.

The resulting film, "Bluegrass Roots" lets you hear and experience the hard scrabbling, dirt road real people sounds that dominated the back country of the southern mountains 40 years ago. It presents a string of the most extraordinary singers, players and dancers the BlueGrass Mountains had to offer. Many later became famous. Some were never heard from again. Most of the songs are classics, including Lunsford's own tune, "Mountain Dew."

When this film aired on Public Television in 1965, TV Guide gave it a full-page positive review, because Americans had never seen a documentary on the roots of Bluegrass and Country music. Today, the dirt roads and the moonshine counties are largely modernized, and Bluegrass Roots, stands as a record of a uniquely talented group of people at a time just before the coming of television, changed them.
www.thehoffmancollection.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bluegrass
• 1964 Music
• Mountain Folk History
• Banjo
• david hoffman
• great
• bluegrass
• fiddle playing
• lost john the fiddling man
• country music
• Bill McElreath
• clog dancing
• mountain dancer
• square dance
• Mountain music
• Appalachia
• Appalachian music
• Bascom Lamar Lunsford
• Obray Ramsey
• mountain dew
• five string banjo
• fiddle
• North Carolina
• early bluegrass
• traditional bluegrass
• documentary
• film
• TV

[corinaconniff]

David thanks for this film on Bascom Lamar Lusnford. One of the best films ever made about mountain music and dancing. I Met you before, my wife Corina and I had dinner with you and your wife at La Bruschetta you gave me your film "sing sing thanksgiving. anyway I am looking for a song from the Bascom Lamar Lunsford documentary it was and man and woman in their 30' to 40's singing a duet on the farm. can you post it here? Ona

[allinaday]

Hello again Ona: The best way to get the song would be to buy the DVD. Touch the hotlink Below the screen on this YouTube page and it will take you to the correct page on my website where you can get the DVD. Thank you for asking. And for the compliment.

David Hoffman – filmmaker

[MachuPicchuTours]

A+++

Thanks for sharing!

Saludos from Machu Picchu, Peru!

[allinaday]

@MachuPicchuTours - Thank you for your thoughts from so far away. I have always wanted to go where you are. What do you do there? Are you a musician? A video maker?

David Hoffman -- filmmaker

[MiamiReviews]

@allinaday

im not sure how the system works--for instance it says David Hoffman--as if it were the person that made the films talking.. but it says allinaday--but then if you click on allinaday it sends you somewhere else where the persons name is "Porter"...

[allinaday]

@MiamiReviews I am not sure what you are finding but I am the YouTube channel, Allinaday. I am also David Hoffman, the documentary filmmaker of this and several hundred other documentaries that I present on my channel. Thank you for your query.

David Hoffman -- filmmaker

[allinaday]

That is the world that I saw when I filmed this. A beautiful world of families where music was as relevant as food and sleep. An extraordinary society that was just plain fun and touching to be around. You are lucky you had your youth as you did.

David Hoffman -- filmmaker

[ilililhy]

This is the music i grew up as a kid playing with my folks,well everybody knew how to play something in the family.this was just normal everyday life for me,i thought everyone in america played this kind of music growing up.

[MrWill99313]

FANTASTIC!!!!

[LKathyRunkle]

Wow. How cool is this?

[mike54101527]

They weren't know for their good looks! lol

[markstar777]

great stuff

[killasplooge]

has anyone mentioned the name of this song? i looked through the comments but didnt see anything. i'm in love with this.

[kevycon]

I love this! Thank you for sharing!

[Tthorpe456]

This just reminds me of my family picnic singing sessions on the farm. I took it all for granted then, but I was lucky to have such talented aunts and uncles and a mom and dad that loved making music!

[BLUEMOONGRASS]

luv this video..I have written a new HIGH LONESOME traditional bluegrass song and is up now at bluemoongrass..HILLS OF KENTUCKY..harlan county...bout the Kentucky coal miners of Harlan kentucky...check it out..live demo onely.

[dermbsch]

I've looked around the internet, and can't find this song! Here is my transcription of the lyrics and chords:

[G]Can you see the holy city from where you stand?

[G]Saints and the angels see [A]how they [D]land

and your [G]burdens are lifted, your soul set free

won't you come over and [D]dance by [G]me?

[G]Dance, Lee Ann (?), [C]dance with [G]me

with our friends and loved ones we can [A]hear and [D]see

and your [G]burdens are lifted, your soul set free

won't you come over [D]dance with [G]me?

[TheMeljude51]

"bluegrass" is derived from many different genres of music; irish celtic, appalachian folk(like these people), even delta blues (look up Bluegrass Stomp by Bill Monroe) Let us not forget the Carter family for which was Bill Monroe's roots, but also let us not forget Bill Monroe himself , the father of bluegrass. without his decisions bluegrass wouldnt be bluegrass.