He had great talent. But other country artists didn’t like him because they thought they were less redneck and higher up than him. Or because Nashville didn’t want his mountain redneck ways. But I loved him and so many others did too
Tripp Miller you are 💯 percent right . Jimmy was one of a kind. Like John Wayne. I bet the Duke liked bluegrass. Bluegrass is music for true American men .
Thank you for posting all of these. I think we should have a crowd funding deal to get this on Netflix and on DVD ... thank you so much for filming this documentary.
@10:45 this is really ironic, and true. My father was a working musician for 27 years and every Sunday night (In bars/beer joints) they played a gospel set. He always said that those set always got a deep emotional and positive reaction. Even when some bar owners told him to cut out the gospel songs he didn't and the crowds got bigger...not just on Sunday either...
The difference between northern and southern bluegrass bands?--northern bluegrass does not always have a fiddle in the band--just a mandolin. But on the other hand, they don't play any gospel songs either. Take your pick(ers)
My dad is 90 now. He played Bluegrass out on weekends: hog roasts, Legion, VFW. ETC. He always ended the night with 2 Gospels. I grew up on Bluegrass & love it! Only 1 other band member still living. My dad turned my old room into his music room...instead of pickin' (arthritis) he records his cassettes onto CD's. I asked him to please put some in the bank in a safety deposit box....priceless to me ! There were folks in our rural community with the same last name as yours...any Bluegrass pickin' relatives in Central Illinois/ western Indiana area?
This is the “grande ol’ oprey” out by the highway by this point?? In that whole era they degraded themselves totally even WITHOUT snubbing The King of Bluegrass!?
The way he treated that fiddle player was wrong just showing off for the camera. That guy saying hes better then lester flatt or bobby osborne. Is a joke
AGREED ! While I certainly appreciate Martin's talent and I really enjoyed this video, his ego seemed to get in the way often. I seen a older interview with Bobby Osborne recently and he spoke of Martin scolding him about how to correctly play the banjo while they were band mates. Needless to say, Bobby did not appreciate it and left the band. I certainly don't know many better than Bobby on the banjo but I think it speaks to Martin's ego and wanting full control .
Martin and presumably the people making this documentary know the initial ban on him being on the Opry was started by Bill Monroe who was incensed about Martin's fairly public affair with Monroe's daughter Melissa, while Martin was married and was augmented by what became became public abusive treatment of Martin's wife and children, and the increasing drunken and abusive an angry behavior Martin used at his own shows, as well as the fact that in guest appearances on the Opry Martin became so outrageous and insulting and nasty that he had to be physically dragged offstage. Martin's music was great but in personal life he was out of control, abusive, and could not restrain his philandring. Not to say others who perform on the Opry do not have such problems offstage, but Martin could not restrain himself to keep his off stage problems offstage and brought them on stage.
He didn't philander any more than Monroe did whilst married or otherwise. That was a power play by Monroe who was a pouty, stubborn and vengeful genius, but often treated people like crap
Life could be hard for anyone who got on Bill Monroe's bad side! Bill could hold grudges for decades, and made his enemies wish that they had never been born 😉
WWVA LIVEs! Screw Nashville...I Dod the Coffee Drinking Night Hawk...How's about Gene Hooper? I tuned in to listen to them dogs. Nobody plays "the" music anymore.
well, i have to say that i thought i liked jimmy martin until i watched this, had no idea he was such a smart a$$ control freak untill now, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the way the fiddle player was playing, but if he head done it the way jimmy wanted then it would have been out of time, if i had been the fiddle player i would have told him to get a fiddle and play it himself, think i'll go delete all my jimmy martin mp3s now, no longer a fan, :(
I will agree with you to a certain extent. Jimmy was an arrogant ass hole but on the other hand, he was the greatest of all time. I'm a Jimmy Martin fan, always was and always will be
I guess you missed the part when the musicians all praised him for being able to show them all the little nuances that made them better players. That's why the fiddler did not get upset. He very likely appreciated the guidance and felt honored to be playing with Jimmy...And I don't believe Jimmy was trying to be arrogant. He was genuinely trying to help the guy...Say what you will about him as a person. I did not know him, but his knowledge of the music itself cannot be questioned. There is good reason many folks call him "king" or "the greatest". Its not a simple thing to do.
I know exactly what he was saying to the fiddler.. he was telling him to stop elongating the note, so the momentum of the song would just keep building… he didn’t want that long legato note, he wanted the melody to keep dancing. I get it… you guys, this is what a professional bandleader does. He’s not trying to be mean, he is trying to get it RIGHT. He knows what he wants to hear & how the parts are placed. Professional musicians understand this and know it’s part of the job to take direction from the lead man. You’ll hear stories like this about all these old legends, they all trained their musicians to play their music RIGHT. That’s just how it is.
