1963. My father threw me out of the house near Los Angles, and I started hitchhiking across country. I was twenty. I got stuck in Missouri. Couldn't get a ride to save my life. So I splurged and bought a ticket on the Burlington Quincey. (No Amtrack then). And we went through Rock Island Illinois. Had a lunch in the dining car for $4!!! Lunch for four dollars in 1963, The average lunch then was 75 cents.
This was an insightful look at the impact of skiffle as a music genre freeing up a generation of musical talent to explore the story of Leadbelly and his 'modification' of songs he heard while recording for the archive was also fantastic
Stumbled upon this early morning of Jan 1, 2023, when I heard of "Skiffle music..." while lying in bed listening to audiobook of Matt Brennan's history of drum kit, "Kick It". Wanted to look up Skiffle on youtube and boy was I in for a surprising treat. Listened to all of it in one sitting. What a New Year's gift!!
Billy make much of the term 'Trad Jazz' as though it was used in the States to describe the jazz sounds coming out of New Orleans as heard by Ken Colyer. Americans referred to this as Dixieland or New Orleans Jazz but back in the UK as these sounds got going, there had to be a distinction made between the 'Modern Jazz' sounds - Miles Davis/MJQ/Monk/Parker/Gillespie, that had got established 'in the best circles' and the reborn traditional New Orleans sounds. A jazz club was either a Trad Jazz Club or a Modern Jazz Club and devotees of one wouldn't be seen dead in the other. Trad Jazz was primarily a very British term.
Wonderful to see this, thank you! I was at the Rock Island Line anniversary concert in London and was lucky to see Billy, Peter, Van, and so many others celebrate Lonnie, the song, and skiffle. And the train kept rolling with Billy's book and this TV special. Grateful to be able to watch it now from the States.
I live in Moscow and at the time when the BBC aired this documentary, I was doing a series of music lectures at a guitar shop here that had a big screen and speakers. I had talked about skiffle to the mostly Russian audience. They knew nothing about skiffle or Leadbelly, they thought Where did you sleep last night was a Nirvana song. And I wanted to show this significant documentary to the Russians..Here its all Metallica and Rammstein. I did lectures on Detroit, Motown and MC5, really tried to open them up to the roots of everything. Had an argument about advertising so I dont do the lectures anymore. I have been waiting so long to see this documentary.. Again massive thank you.
@@jock77stuff Good on you for trying to educate them. Surely a curious mind would go on the net and find out? That's why I put these things up - I don't make a penny from it, I'm just a music fan. This program was special to me as help out at the Church Hall (where the Quarrymen and Billy filmed) for Beatle open days. That's the very hall where McCartney 'auditioned' for Lennon. I played there two days before this was filmed. Billy signed his name under mine in the guest book :-)
Cheers king size music . It’s a strange coincidence or not, but I have been on a Billy Bragg binge recently. My dads band played Irish and working mens clubs around North Manchester in the 60’s. His and his friends parents were from Ireland. He was a Rocker .
@@KingsizeMusicOfficial yeah he said it wasn’t very cool to be Irish in England at the time. I think that’s why they started Irish clubs and pubs because they weren’t welcome at English ones. He said he had to fight or beat people up a lot for saying your mams Irish or calling them bog trotters which is like the N word. He’s quite down on the Irish. He says I’ve got the daft Irish genes. That’s an insult. I think because his family poor immigrants. He is embarrassed by it. He said he was glad when the Muslims started blowing things up as it took the heat off them. I have no prejudice myself. I don’t know your story but I’m a Republican. Or I would like an independent Ireland. My dad is Protestant. My mum is from Manchester and me and my dad not got on for years. But we do now. So the second tune I learnt on mandolin is Danny Boy . Which is as you know the other team. I think he knows I know what I’m doing. My mum bless her is completely oblivious.
@@Oooo-bi7bi I don't really do the whole religion thing...I think it's great for those who get something out of it, I just see it causing division a lot of the time. We can be good people without it. Got some Irish in me from a few generations ago...cant beat a good jig!
@@KingsizeMusicOfficial I’m a second generation atheist. No my dad just racist. But yeah English people dna is mainly northern Spanish. Irish people because not only did people come from the north,. They came from the south so we have African dna. I didn’t realise how culturally different my upbringing until I lived with my girlfriend from Newry South Armagh. My dad and family were different than when I went to friends houses. But I was born here but I think it’s a strong way and it passes down.no im like yourself religion ok for others. I’m a socialist that’s y religion
We might not have Queen if it weren't for this piece of history. Rock Island Line, Brian May, had said publicly many, many times how it was this song that pushed him towards the guitar.
This special has made me even more angrier over Stan Freberg's cynical send up of Donnegan's version. Freberg missed the whole point and prevented the skiffle craze from reaching America. I have always believed that had the skiffle craze reached America, we in America would have had the Beatles a lot more sooner.......
