Re: Goodbye Bob, Hello Woody

[Joel Fritz <jfritz666@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Steve Shaw wrote:
> 
>> I wondered whether he was something of a prophet without honour in his 
>> own country, or whether we simply we don't discuss him because his 
>> harp-playing wasn't of the first water.
>>
>> Steve Shaw
>>
>>
>>
> <<<Guthrie played harmonica and mandolin better than guitar.  There's 
> some harmonica tunes on his Library of Congress recordings that are 
> surprisingly good.  He also had a pretty full sound playing in a rack.  
> He was Bob Dylan's harmonica inspiration.
> 
> Joel Fritz>>>
> 
> I treasure those LoC recordings, as well as the Columbia River songs and 
> the Dustbowl Ballads, among many others.  I always think of his harp as 
> being far more "integral" to his style than with other singers (such as 
> some recently mentioned) who use it - hard to dissociate him from his 
> harmonica.
> 
> I read somewhere once that he played the harp upside down but have never 
> been able to back this snippet up.
> 
> I have one track of him playing fiddle (it's enough!) so it isn't too 
> surprising that he also played the mandolin, though I wasn't aware of 
> that.  Do you know of any tracks that feature this?
> 
> Steve
> 
> 

He played mandolin on a lot of his duets with Cisco Houston. They were 
going for a Blue Sky Boys or Monroe Bros sound.  I have a Stinson lp 
that I got in high school with tunes like "The Danville Girl" and "More 
Pretty Gals than One."  The record is on transparent red vinyl, which is 
pretty cool in itself.

I'm sure those recordings have been reissued somewhere.


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