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Bumped into this while surfing the web and thought I would share. Presumably Norman Blake is playing the Griffith Loar here. (As an aside, I have no affiliation with this YouTube channel, but there are some pretty cool unreleased TutTaylor recordings of Norman Blake and others that have been transferred to digital, in case folks are interested.)https://youtu.be/oWgEldvgIh4
“Presumably Norman Blake is playing the Griffith Loar here.”
I probably should have written: “Possibly, Norman Blake is playing the Griffith Loar here.” I really have no way of knowing. And, if the picture associated with the video is of the same Jam session, it looks like an F headstock on the kitchen table.
That said, pretty cool regardless. The play a few Monroe tunes, including Muleskinner Blues around the 5 minute mark and Roanoke around 8 minutes in.
Cheers.
What a great session. Thanks so much for posting this. I'll be listening to it many times again. It was fun hearing different takes on tunes and songs that they later recorded (e.g., "Late Last Night when My Willie Came Home"). By the way, there's some fine mandolin playing here. Four musicians (John Hartford, Norman Blake, Tut Taylor, and Vasser Clements) were mandolin players, so it's hard to know who's playing, though process of elimination can narrow it down at times. According to the person who posted the video on the YouTube page, "Randy Scruggs joins in on bass about half way." He also played bass on the album. I can't find any association with him and mandolin playing. Sadly, Norman's the only one of these highly-skilled musicians still around.
If anyone isn't familiar with "Aereo-plain," it's a great album, though "Boogie" wears thin by the third hearing.
Very nice. Glad to see someone is still posting Tut's recordings. Sort of wonder if the mandolin is the one Norman used with Johnny Cash?
On a slightly different topic, does anyone know if the video from the Areoplane Band reunion has ever been commercially released?
Looking at the picture in the OP, the guy with the banjo looks suspiciously like Sam Bush (with long hair) to me. Anybody know for sure?
Len B.
Clearwater, FL
The guy with the banjo is John Hartford, Sam Bush is somewhat younger than all those dudes, Sam does play on a lot of John Hartford recordings (and everyone else in BG in the late 70s on through today)
Aeroplane was recorded 1971, Sam was was about 19 or 20 and working locally in Bowling Green, he joined the Bluegrass Alliance around that time, so I'm pretty sure that's not Sam.
On the Aeroplane record I am pretty sure Norman is playing mandolin on "way up on the hill" - one of the coolest non Monroe styles IMHO.
We introduced the track "Steam Powered Areoplane" into the local jam scene a few years ago ( folks had to learn the B minor chord) and it is still played quite regularly.
Tut Taylor also had a Loar, and played it on some of the Aeroplane recordings. That Loar ended up in the hands of the late Hershel Sizemore.
Definitely John Hartford in the photo. Way back when, he was a regular on the "Glen Campbell Show". A friend told me her parents were fans, but they felt that John Hartford "has gotten a little strange lately." Yeah, well so did a great many of us!
Thanks for the ID of John Hartford. I should have known better but Hartford without a hat? That's what threw me off.
Len B.
Clearwater, FL