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Thread: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

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    Default Pete Seeger on the mandolin



    ‘Rye Straw’(or ‘Joke on the Puppy’) with the New Lost City Ramblers on Pete’s ‘Rainbow Quest’ TV show….mandolin piece starts at 46.58.

    Can anyone identify the mandolin? A blonde Gibson F5 maybe? The show was from a series broadcast from 1965-66.

    Pete

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    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

    Thanks. Pete was certainly no slouch on the mandolin. (The tune you named is followed by "Ragtime Annie.")

    If you don't get a response to your question, you might try re-posting under "General Discussions" where you'll find more luthiers and other experts on instruments.

    See also this thread with Pete playing a different mandolin:

    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...ng-on-Mandolin
    Last edited by Ranald; Feb-04-2023 at 10:23am.
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  4. #3

    Default Re: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Mando Mafia View Post
    [Can anyone identify the mandolin? A blonde Gibson F5 maybe? The show was from a series broadcast from 1965-66. Pete
    What else was there for mandolins back then? Gotta be a Gibson F-5 (custom order perhaps with the blond finish).

    Len B.
    Clearwater, FL

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    Default Re: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by lenf12 View Post
    What else was there for mandolins back then? Gotta be a Gibson F-5 (custom order perhaps with the blond finish).

    Len B.
    Clearwater, FL
    Thanks, Len….makes sense. I remember hearing at one time that Mike Seeger had a Loar F5 and gave it to David McLaughlin, which David still has…what an amazing gift!

    Pete

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    Default Re: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

    That's probably Mike Seeger's mandolin.

    There are a couple of pictures floating around of Mike playing a natural top Gibson F-5 with various folks, including one with Alice Gerrard.
    From the clearest picture, it appears to be a fern model made in the twenties or early thirties. Somebody else will have to chase down the picture if they want to attach it.

    Mike had quite a few instruments pass through his hands over the years, including several mandolins.
    Last edited by rcc56; Apr-23-2023 at 4:14pm.

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    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

    Mike Seeger had a blonde 1925 (I'm pretty sure) F-5. The finish had been stripped and re-done, thus the "blonde" color. I saw it once, but I didn't really pay much attention to it so I certainly can't recognize it in a photo or video, but I have to assume that this might be that mandolin.

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  10. #7
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    Default Re: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

    Seems to be a logical conclusion.
    After all, how many script logo/dot inlay blonde Gibson F-5's existed in 1965 when this show was produced?

    Pete Seeger gave us a wonderful gift when he made the Rainbow Quest series. I'm glad it has survived.

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    Registered User Jim Yates's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pete Seeger on the mandolin

    Pete started to play the banjo, but when he saw that Mike was playing a banjo, I believe that he just grabbed Mike's F5.
    Jim Yates

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