I am so happy that you all like it, it was a special moment long ago. I know this because i was the dancer and worked with Tommy many times. Carol Mallett Rifkin
The fiddle king of North Carolina with Scotland's greatest fiddler , the King of Shetland , Aly Bain !!! Aye lads & lassies , they are both just amazing !!!!
My Pappa and his Father played a lot of square dances all over Illinois and Kentucky during the Great Depression. Pappa played the guitar and Great Granpa played the fiddle. This makes me wish I had "interviewed" him/them on camera. He was definitely a man of great wisdom and "stories". Thanks for posting...
I grew up in western NC, I think I recall this song as being called "baby bumblebee" here. I just remember as a kid we used to sing "I just caught a baby bumblebee, won't my mama be so proud of me." The rest of the lyrics fail me
The series was broadcast in the UK in 1985 in 4 parts.Part 1 was titled "From Appalachia to Nashville",Part 2 was titled "From Shetland to Texas".Part 3 (which I unfortunately missed and have never seen) was titled "Cape Breton and Quebec" and Part 4 was a compilation of different tracks from the Artists featured in the first 3 parts and was called "Good Times Down Home and Back Home".
AFAIK the series has never been made available on VHS or DVD.However the director of the series, Mike Alexander of Pelicula films, is well aware of the interest and is working hard to try to arrange the required copright clearances (no doubt made more difficult as many of the Artists featured have since sadly died).See disussion on mudcat.org (enter Down Home into search box) so there is hope that we may be getting a DVD soon - keep your fingers crossed!
All musicians are great - but Tommy is a true genious. Well, you don´t make old timers like him any more... What a pity. Aly Bain is great player too. Heard him all over, in Scotland (well there´s good music) and even in Finland in Kaustinen, the birth place of good feelin´and music...
Thanks for posting up. Loved your dancing. Brought back memories of my good friends from earlier, particularly Steve Tyler and Tina Hicks, former GGCers. We used to get together every week over at Trev Smith and Jenny Schenk's house (also formerly GGCers) to play music. I used to go to Galax regularly for the Old Fiddler's Convention in August, starting in 1971.
This is Carol (formerly Mallett) Rifkin dancing to Doc Watson and David Holt at merleFest 2010, she will return with them in 2011 . Carol is the same dancer who appeared in the 1985 Aly Bain narrated "Down Home Appalachia to Nashville" with Tommy Jarrell, There is more information at the carolrifkin website
This man is from about 60 mmiles of where I live. There is also another great fiddler from this same area and he has won many awards his name is Benton Flippin. There might be some of his clips on here also. Thanks tho for posting these.
Featuring here one of the most-legendary & best-loved of the "Old Originals" .. Tommy Jarrell. Dear crt, a SERIOUS question : is there ANY possible way that this wonderful 1985 TV Series by Aly Bain can be accessed in its entirety - or, even better, can it be PURCHASED in its entirety ? Reason I ask is because I feel that Aly's 1985 work is an honest-to-god HISTORICAL statement .. TOO RARE & PRECIOUS to lose. I'm reminded of David Hoffman's great 1964 film "Bluegrass Roots" .. available on DVD.
I have posted all the musical clips from Parts 1, 2 and 4 here on You Tube, although I had to remove one of them as I was contacted by the Artist who wanted it removing for copyright reasons.
