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The New Christy Minstrels & Gene Clark-1963-Part lll

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Uploaded by on Jun 16, 2008

AWESOME song!

"The Muddy Road To Freedom" (The Drinkin' Gourd).

Watch for Gene's solo at 1:09

You can hear Barry McGuire growling under everybody else. :-)

Cool the way the tune modulates to major key near the end; VERY MUCH like "I knew I'd want you".

In what is probably the biggest irony of my life; my Dad's brother was Randy Sparks' best friend, up until the day he died in the late '90's.

Randy begged uncle Walt to stop smoking, which he didn't, and he succumbed to lung cancer.

I NEVER met my uncle, but I'm told that Randy was in our house around 1965 playing Guitar; I would have been only 4 years old then, and have no memory of this.

Before the Christys became famous, Randy told Dad that he was going to buy him a Rolls Royce when he bcame "Rich & Famous"!

The Rolls never materialised. :-)

I wouldn't make The Byrds/Christys connection until YEARS after I started playing.

Gene left The Minstrels shortly after this, after hearing "She Loves You" on a restaurant jukebox, and headed to California...

Part 1:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=97q9rPktuGo&feature=PlayList&p=E68E78A4...

Part 2:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TbXpvLL2N1o&feature=PlayList&p=E68E78A4...

Part 3:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kdwogBp7tas&feature=PlayList&p=E68E78A4...

Part 4:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Bhr5E726E&feature=PlayList&p=E68E78A4...

Part 5:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=u5kpzlHr3iA&feature=PlayList&p=E68E78A4...

Join us at the Byrds Yahoo! group:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/byrdmaniaxlist/

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  • What an amazing performance and video. Thank you so much for posting. This really shows the young peoples of the times role in the civil rights movement I think. Great job. Always loved the NCM but being around 10 at the time didn't get to see too much of their performances. There was no YouTube or cable at the time. You might have been lucky to see them do a song or 2 on TV or hear a song on the radio if you hit it right. We are so spoiled now-just do a search on computer and theres your fave.

  • you might want to consult your Folk history anthology before making a statement like this - Judy Henske had NOTHING to do with the New Christy Minstrels & was NEVER in this group, the girl in this film at 0.50 is Gayle Caldwell who had just replaced Peggy Connelly as lead female vocalist for NCM at this time in 1963. Gayle Caldwell, who was in the NCM for four LPs, recently passed away in April '09, so lets show a little respect for a major player of this folk vocal emsemble shall we......

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  • For years, I used this song in my English classes -- students who had never heard it always fell in love.

  • @HEARTHEANGELSVOICES the Internet knows.

    Today they are at something called "Carrollwood Cultural Center"

    ..anyone know what ever happened to Red McConnachie? tehe

  • @1deyoung I'm fairly certain the "The Muddy Road To Freedom" speech preceding the actual song dispels any notion that this was simply singing a good song. It was bold and brave for it's time but anyone that didn't quickly follow Charlton Heston's political route is simply delusional. He saw what that movement was turning into and quickly distanced himself from it.

  • brill

  • DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD CHRISTY MINSTRELS? OR ARE THE NEW CHRISTY MINSTRELS NOW THE OLD CHRISTY MINSTRELS?

  • Too bad the audio is so poor; this is one of the Minstrels' premier efforts.

  • Thank you for this video. Later generations don't know how radical and dangerous this seemed to the establishment of the time. Believe it our not, this was rather courageous for a mass-appeal aggregation. 2011 is light years away from the early 1960s - or, sadly, maybe it isn't in too many ways....

    (It's hard to accept that Gene Clark and Gayle caldwell are no longer alive.)

  • a song like that deserves a certain amount of reverance regardless the color of the individual(s) singing it

  • @kybkwrm Gene Clark - Art Podell - Barry Kane - Gayle Caldwell - Barry McGuire - Jackie Miller - Larry Ramos - Nick Woods - Clarence Treat. Clark, Caldwell and Woods have all died. Kane left show biz long ago for the business world. The others still occasionally tour with Randy Sparks, McGuire occasionally works solo.

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