I learned a few chords from friends and listened to records and studied it with a passion until I learned how to make some of the music I was hearing on records. I tell the kids that growing up in New York City, I was amazed to discover this special kind of music known as bluegrass, with exciting instrumentation and great singing, named after the band named for the state of Kentucky. They all know to go: “Oil, that is”, and “Swimming pools…” Scruggs style is in the forefront, people know and like the song. Our program starts on the most common ground bluegrass banjo has with everyone: “The Ballad of Jed Clampett”. Don Rigsby’s incredible tenor and mandolin, and his dignified but approachable manner help him be the right guy to represent bluegrass to its rightful heirs, even if they may know more about Guitar Hero and Dancing With the Stars than they do about the world-famous music that originated in their region. But kids now are exposed to much more than the local culture, and the traditional music that flourished there needs some shoring up. Small towns in Kentucky probably don’t look much different from how they might have looked when Don or Ricky Skaggs or even Bill Monroe was growing up. We went to five schools in three days, and daresay we rekindled some banjo interest in eastern Kentucky! The banjos were prizes for winners of school-wide essay contests on the theme “Why I should win a banjo”, organized and judged by the KCTM. Last fall Don called with a special invitation: Deering Banjos had provided five Goodtime banjos to be given to elementary school kids in the area, and Don wanted me to make the presentations. Don heads the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music, bringing attention and learning to music there in the eastern part of the state, between Lexington and West Virginia.
This article originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Banjo Newsletter, and is also available as an easy-to-print PDF.įor the past several years Joan and I have been invited to perform and teach in Morehead, KY by one of our favorite musicians and people, Don Rigsby.
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