Long, long time ago - last century - Kenny Baker & Josh Graves came together to Europe. Met 'em two times - in Cologne, Germany and Koblenz, Germany. Talked a little with these great legends. Told Uncle Josh that my uncle, when he came to America long befo' WW.II, worked for a while with the Dop(y)era Bros. and National String Instruments Corporation (later National Guitars) in the state of California. Later my uncle managed to get me a Dobro selected by John Dopera (Slovakian birth name Ján Dopjera). To call this resonator slide (Hawaiian) guitar 'Dobro' had been a brilliant idea 'cause the combination DO with BRO (DOpyera BROthers) means 'good', too. It's the word 'dobro' in their Slovakian mother tongue. For one and a half decade there had been an annual Dobro festival in the town of Trnava, Slovakia. And for a while there it was the only town worldwide where one could attend a municipal music school which offered a Dobro instrument course.
I got the honor in the mid 1980s to play the banjo with Josh a couple of nights in Seymour Indiana . He was such a nice person, I will always remember it!
Josh daered to be different with his hammer ons and pull offs along with his blues influence. He paved the way for us all. And we ALL knowingly and uknowingly play his licks.
Josh was my uncle. Dad was his older brother. I remember many times that he would come to our house for the weekend to just relax, but would always play the dobro for us. Great times. Mike
Wow! This is some outstanding footage of Uncle Josh I've never seen before, and one of my favorite Josh Graves tunes !!! Thanks so much for posting this great video of someone who is very near and dear to my heart, my idol and hero, Josh Graves! And doesn't Josh play this beautifully?
Sonny Osborne once said that if you want to play the banjo, you should listen to everything that Earl Scruggs played. This is also true of the dobro. If you want to play the dobro, listen to everything Josh played. He basically laid the foundation for the rest of us.
Josh, this is my first time to hear you play the Dobro and first time I've heard that waltz. Really so pretty. Always loved the Dobro, that special sound, and always wished I'd learned to play one.....I could have been as good as you are now! You really are about the best picker I've heard play - and I know my Dobro music!! Probably too old now to try to learn any new tricks but might be fun to try.
Yes , Josh and Brother Oswald were more traditional . I like Jerry Douglas too in the modern era and he could no doubt play any style, but the traditional style is still "resonates". Ohhhh!
