Nothing like country music today, this is pure and authentic singing ballads from old times about realistic life events some stem from England & Scotland such as Pretty Polly. This is music at its best.
I can't express my feeling with words. I'm just regular Central European guy, knowing America only from movies, pictures and music, but this guy and the tunes he plays literally drill my soul. It must be some kind of the universal spirit of music which works over the borders and geographical zones.
I cant put into words what I have just seen,,,, the roots,, I have just saw, why I love guitars, and make them sound so sweet. The roots of music as I know it, I just saw riffs that were copied by many bands,,, its just cool
Had Roscoe's record in my collection as a teenager many years ago, Such precise claw-hammer. A remarkable and unique musician, moved to create where he found himself and with what he had. "High lonesome" it is. May be bluegrass, but certainly blues, and with no self-consciousness or assumed affect. It’s all his own.
That first sone he's playing a 2-finger up-picking method, so hard to do. perfect playing and I love how he changes his tuning for each song likes it nothing.
He feels the Melody in his heart and pours it on you through his hands! This is truly Majestic and at 7:33 he lets you see in his soul with his powerful voice.
Thanks for posting these wonderful videos. We saw/heard Roscoe Holcomb a few times in the 60s and 70s, he was a powerfully wonderful singer. i love seeing Mike Seeger too.
@@MENFUSSMIKE we tried to find Leatherwood one time. There was nothing left of the town. However, the interior furnishings of the old Leatherwood diner was saved and has been installed on the third floor of the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, KY
@@mountainjustice wow. Theres probably less left now. Its all in the dirt and rocks. Kind of like when i went to see Karen Daltons old place in Summerville Colorado awhile back after the fire. Time just takes over it I reckon. I still will go drink some whiskey at Roscos grave someday...if the creek dont rise
Senegal is the home of the akonting, the ancestor of the banjo. Look up and listen to Sana Ndiaye play his akonting and see if these two aren't spiritual brothers.
I think this music that Roscoe sings embodied a part of America that was found deep in the traditions of White rural America. But Roscoe also acknowledges the black tradition that is just as deep of America music found in the South. He's a fantastic musician. His voice isn't the greatest but he does his best with what god gave him.
"Play you wonna them ol' farkin' tunes. One we used tah daynce after a lot." Then he proceeds to play a song that's about to make me buy a banjo. Gotta learn it.
He's gone now I'm Shure were losing are American artist of treasure they sing ballads some are hundreds of years old watch modern days CLIFFTTON Hick's BANJO
It's so interesting that these strained harmonies and scales evolved independently in these regions so far apart. It's music that sounds close to the earth, with one foot in the spiritual realm. I'm Scotch-Irish too (in spite of the name) And there's also a lot of commonality between Celtic music (from which Appalachian music emerged) and the music of India.
@@karlmahlmann they didn’t evolve differently, they’re from the same ancient musical tradition of the first indo-Europeans who migrated out of the steppe into Eurasia. Celtic and Sanskrit are both indo-European languages, and Celtic and northern British musical traditions stayed relatively untouched for a long time, before they were brought over and carried on by scotch-Irish and northern British settlers, who Roscoe was the descendent of. Listen to bagpipes and it sounds just like some classical Indian Carnatic music. It’s all connected. Peace ✌🏻
i agree with most of what you said, but not today's country music is bad, try a listen to alt-country music (old 97's, blitzen trapper, langhorne slim)
I think he's using more of a two-fingered technique, notice he has a thumb pick, clawhammer usually isn't played with a thumb pick, also he is picking 'up' with his forefinger, clawhammer usually has a down strike with the top of the finger
marlinmando He does play up-picking on the first, but it’s overhand / down-stroke (aka, clawhammer) on the 2nd song. You’re right about “usually” no thumb pick, but it’s for sure clawhammer.
Every Human can sing the blues in hard times, even if they are one legged, blind and Siamese. In the words of a later blues star, "Damn right I got the blues".
Hi Wasa, I don't mean to insult your music preference, it's just that I see the whole industry through rather jaundiced eyes. Everything is big money, even the guys professing to be separate from it. I guess that's why for the past three months I've been sitting in a shack in the Amazon jungle and not at Disneyland. Peace.
This isn't folk music. That was played by communist marxist. And I don't care that his records are in the Smithsonian Folkways Collection. This is BLUEGRASS. JOHN HENRY ISN'T BLUEGRASS, get me?
You're actually wrong, Roland. Bluesgrass is one of the few forms of music that can be traced back to one man, one place, and one time, in Bill Monroe. This is Old-Time Mountain Music. Bluegrass takes many of it's aspects from this music, but this is not bluegrass. If you doubt my credentials, I'm not only from the same regions as Roscoe, but I'm also the Artistic Director for a school that exclusively teaches this kind of music.
Kevin Howard Hit the nail on the head this Old Time Appalachian Folk Music or Mountain Music..Now a days usually just called Old Time..NOT Bluegrass..I also hail from the region Pike County Ky/Mingo County WV my dad knew Roscoe back then..
Ambient recording is still done for some folk music by some engineers today, actually. It just makes sense for acoustic music... the room as a resonator.
Country music today is just pop with a southern accent.
👏🏾👏🏾 too triw
*true
8 years later and you're even more correct as they continue to dismantle white culture
@@TheBigMclargehuge Uhh, wtf does that mean??? Somebody stop you from burning a cross??? Just curious.
@@johntipton6797 So you're implying that white culture as a whole is KKK? This isn't johnny rebel.
Nothing like country music today, this is pure and authentic singing ballads from old times about realistic life events some stem from England & Scotland such as Pretty Polly. This is music at its best.
Nothing gets me excited like clawhammer banjo playing. I think it's the prettiest sound on earth.
Lydia Johnson Holcomb’s got this weird clawhammer thumb/upstrum two-finger combo
Yep. It's soooo damned good.
Nothing makes me feel dumber than grabbing my old kay taking off the picks and trying to frail
@@chrisdow6627 It's funny you say that because everytime I try to put the picks on and roll (I'm a claw hammer guy) I feel stupid myself.
@@kylejacobritter Very perceptive. It's definitely unique and awesome. I try to emulate it sometimes. Not quite there yet lol.
I know nothing about this man other than this video, but I can tell you already he's a legend w/out further research.
Jegodin do yourself a favor and type “cohen high lonely sound” into RUclips and watch what comes up
Amazing the style is old and genuine
There's also a great CD or two. High Atmosphere (compilation with a bunch of other musicians of that era, banjo, ballads, and more)
He influenced Eric Clapton and Bob dylan, so yea
He's voice is so beautiful and soulful theres a good reason why they called him the lonesome voice of Kentucky
I can't express my feeling with words. I'm just regular Central European guy, knowing America only from movies, pictures and music, but this guy and the tunes he plays literally drill my soul. It must be some kind of the universal spirit of music which works over the borders and geographical zones.
Roscoe was a rare breed of musicians of just boundless soul that made timeless music that can resonate with any age or creed
I cant put into words what I have just seen,,,, the roots,, I have just saw, why I love guitars, and make them sound so sweet. The roots of music as I know it, I just saw riffs that were copied by many bands,,, its just cool
don't I think I've ever heard anything better than Roscoe singing Little Birdie.
I reckon you havent
Had Roscoe's record in my collection as a teenager many years ago, Such precise claw-hammer. A remarkable and unique musician, moved to create where he found himself and with what he had. "High lonesome" it is. May be bluegrass, but certainly blues, and with no self-consciousness or assumed affect. It’s all his own.
Love how he cant wait to play,while the interviewer talks to him:)"how about playing us a good b.."and he started playing xD
I do believe this is what you call "Hootin' Annie" music, my Old Grandpa loved this stuff.
Priceless voice, priceless video.
20 seconds in and I am sold.
JC, the voice this guy has. No words.
That first sone he's playing a 2-finger up-picking method, so hard to do. perfect playing and I love how he changes his tuning for each song likes it nothing.
He feels the Melody in his heart and pours it on you through his hands! This is truly Majestic and at 7:33 he lets you see in his soul with his powerful voice.
Rosco reminds me of "Uncle Dave" Macon from the old Grand old Opry radio shows. They made lots of this old-time music.
The good side of RUclips starts: 0:35
Thanks for posting these wonderful videos. We saw/heard Roscoe Holcomb a few times in the 60s and 70s, he was a powerfully wonderful singer. i love seeing Mike Seeger too.
I am in awe of Roscoe Holcomb's super human manual dexterity.
Ele é bom demais, diferenciado e estilo próprio, gostei demais. maneco - Porto Alegre-RS - Brasil.
The interviewer is the late Mike Seeger. An amazing musician, himself. This music rocks!!!
Good to hear this is Mike Seeger. I was wondering who was interviewing Roscoe Holcomb so nicely.
Graveyard blues is so awesome.
I can't comprehend how five people didn't like this.
+Kevin Howard They were looking for Beyonce or Justin Beber
10 now
It is boggling. Even if you don't care for what you hear, one can feel his SOUL just being squeezed out of every pluck and syllable.
Classical musicians...
Maybe one day they will see the err of their ways
Thank you so much for posting this!
Show this the aliens please lol
perfect- wat a sound- check out blind willie Johnson too for another unique voice and awesome slide guitar playin-
Blind Willie sounds like a mountain
My old man knew roscoe from back home in east Kentucky
You from the east to?
mmm this is exactly what I want to listen to pretty much all the time
Go Roscoe Go! Love this video and thanks for sharing it.
What happened America???? You've lost your way!!
America will never be the same rip america
Not where I'm from... You must watch the media too much. Nothing's changed around the part I grew up in
😬 Oct 2020
Another proof that Yamaha from those years sounds fantastic in the right hands ...
Cool he is using the two finger method with really good tempo!
like hearing 300 years into the past
I once drove way back in the KY woods to visit his grave. It wasn't easy to find but I'm glad I went.
Where is it? Thanks from Kentucky
Its been on my list for quite awhile. I will get there someday
@@mountainjusticeLeatherwood
@@MENFUSSMIKE we tried to find Leatherwood one time. There was nothing left of the town. However, the interior furnishings of the old Leatherwood diner was saved and has been installed on the third floor of the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, KY
@@mountainjustice wow. Theres probably less left now. Its all in the dirt and rocks. Kind of like when i went to see Karen Daltons old place in Summerville Colorado awhile back after the fire. Time just takes over it I reckon. I still will go drink some whiskey at Roscos grave someday...if the creek dont rise
Senegal is the home of the akonting, the ancestor of the banjo. Look up and listen to Sana Ndiaye play his akonting and see if these two aren't spiritual brothers.
he tunes all those strings, faster than most people can tune one string
Ooh, that's the high lonesome sound. That voice is o-riginal.
That mess up was definitely on purpose to add to his mystique and to throw off pattern seekers. (thought the guy sitting at home in the future.)
And goddamn the way he can just tune a banjo and guitar without worrying.
So simple so beautiful
Little birdy is just a great song and this guy does the greatest version
I need to get a banjo
we all do. it's time to move back to the mountains, set up that rusty still...
yep
Did you get one? I started at 70 and now play for money.
@@robkunkel8833 Hey that's great. I'm 37 and I been playing a year. I hope you're still with it. Thank you and have a great day.
Bought one cuz of this video.....been a few months
I think this music that Roscoe sings embodied a part of America that was found deep in the traditions of White rural America. But Roscoe also acknowledges the black tradition that is just as deep of America music found in the South. He's a fantastic musician. His voice isn't the greatest but he does his best with what god gave him.
Wildmanfan I would argue his voice is fantastic
Rosvoe got that style....
You mean Garth Brooks? I totally agree.
Beautiful
this is great stuff don't play it if you don't,roscoe holcomb
If someone tried to get this sound nowadays, some producer would produce the truth and soul from it. Reverb, chorusing and auto tuning etc.
"Play you wonna them ol' farkin' tunes. One we used tah daynce after a lot." Then he proceeds to play a song that's about to make me buy a banjo. Gotta learn it.
Josh B It might be hard to catch if you don’t speak the accent but he said frolicking..
@@ZachVance108he sounds like my grandma bro
First song. Now I know where the guys of kings of leon get all there songs from.
Roscoe rules!
his hand is...fast. nice music!
man that claw-hammer is cray
R.i.p. Roscoe holcomb
That's some seriously fast frailing going on at 5 minutes in!
couldnt agree more, no-one does it like Roscoe or the original Carter Family.
But its the same as RnB they just dont get it these days
Lorrrrddd that man could tune a rake
I didn't know William Burroughs played banjo.
😅😅😅😅
He's gone now I'm Shure were losing are American artist of treasure they sing ballads some are hundreds of years old watch modern days CLIFFTTON Hick's BANJO
Amen Brother! Just found rosco tonite but i got a new banjo?guitar hero!
so good
Great stuff!
I love this. It sounds eastern to me, like the music of India.
Karl Mahlmann This sounds odd but, Im scotch irish. My girlfriend of many years is Indian. We hear the same thing.
Karl Mahlmann This sounds odd but, Im scotch irish. My girlfriend is Indian. We hear the same thing.
It's so interesting that these strained harmonies and scales evolved independently in these regions so far apart. It's music that sounds close to the earth, with one foot in the spiritual realm. I'm Scotch-Irish too (in spite of the name) And there's also a lot of commonality between Celtic music (from which Appalachian music emerged) and the music of India.
Yeah... Eastern Kentucky...
@@karlmahlmann they didn’t evolve differently, they’re from the same ancient musical tradition of the first indo-Europeans who migrated out of the steppe into Eurasia. Celtic and Sanskrit are both indo-European languages, and Celtic and northern British musical traditions stayed relatively untouched for a long time, before they were brought over and carried on by scotch-Irish and northern British settlers, who Roscoe was the descendent of. Listen to bagpipes and it sounds just like some classical Indian Carnatic music. It’s all connected. Peace ✌🏻
High lonesome sound
In a heartbeat
he hates him some rockin roll. I'll tell you waht.
This man had more talent than ten Mileys...take notice all this is the real thing..
Amazing.
@TheLeaver1234
2nd tune is
i agree with most of what you said, but not today's country music is bad, try a listen to alt-country music (old 97's, blitzen trapper, langhorne slim)
The good side of RUclips ✨
Is that a claw hammer style of playing, there?
I think he's using more of a two-fingered technique, notice he has a thumb pick, clawhammer usually isn't played with a thumb pick, also he is picking 'up' with his forefinger, clawhammer usually has a down strike with the top of the finger
marlinmando He does play up-picking on the first, but it’s overhand / down-stroke (aka, clawhammer) on the 2nd song. You’re right about “usually” no thumb pick, but it’s for sure clawhammer.
you gotta know those stains on the skin is blood,,, amazing... Just. Plain. Amazing..
What’s that first song he plays?
does anyone know the name of the first tune he plays?
+True Neutral That's the traditional tune called "Little Birdie".
No queria que se lo llevara el cachuo al kentucky
@TheLeaver1234
GASP how could you not ?? ;)
7:35 Who said white men can't sing the Blues?
Nobody... Ever...
That was a rhetorical question.
they can appropriate it for sure
Every Human can sing the blues in hard times, even if they are one legged, blind and Siamese. In the words of a later blues star, "Damn right I got the blues".
Ryan Peterson turd
💪🏼🤟🏼
WHAT A VOICE....AMERINDIAN INFLUENCES ALSO...
Hi Wasa, I don't mean to insult your music preference, it's just that I see the whole industry through rather jaundiced eyes. Everything is big money, even the guys professing to be separate from it. I guess that's why for the past three months I've been sitting in a shack in the Amazon jungle and not at Disneyland. Peace.
What’s he tuned to for hook and line?
Some kind of Double note tuning
what's the first song called?
Little Birdie
I believe he may not be with us anymore This film was in 60s
No shit Sherlock
You don't say...
Little Birdie
I don't think he means punk like an arrogant person, but the musicial genre.
Singular.
the man is humble beyond belief, not a major punk attribute the last time I checked. no offense to punk, just sayin'.
Great bluegrass!
Jim Akin Not bluegrass. Appalachian folk music more like.
This isn't folk music. That was played by communist marxist. And I don't care that his records are in the Smithsonian Folkways Collection. This is BLUEGRASS. JOHN HENRY ISN'T BLUEGRASS, get me?
You're actually wrong, Roland. Bluesgrass is one of the few forms of music that can be traced back to one man, one place, and one time, in Bill Monroe. This is Old-Time Mountain Music. Bluegrass takes many of it's aspects from this music, but this is not bluegrass. If you doubt my credentials, I'm not only from the same regions as Roscoe, but I'm also the Artistic Director for a school that exclusively teaches this kind of music.
Kevin Howard Hit the nail on the head this Old Time Appalachian Folk Music or Mountain Music..Now a days usually just called Old Time..NOT Bluegrass..I also hail from the region Pike County Ky/Mingo County WV my dad knew Roscoe back then..
You goddamnd RIGHT !!!
Ambient recording is still done for some folk music by some engineers today, actually. It just makes sense for acoustic music... the room as a resonator.
Is he chewing tobacco
Yeeeeeeeeoooow
Back when people took time to learn a craft. This type of practice and craftsmanship ethic no longer exists in America.
Well, the last sentence isn’t completely true, the old talent is still out there. But is very difficult to find and is rare now.
SUBLIME
Rebel music
Unquestionably influenced by Jason and the Scorchers...nah, couldn't be. Historical revisionism going on here me thinks.
I kinda thought so toO