Friday, June 01, 2007

Bluegrass on Letterman

I'll get back to my Hawaii trip report soon. Please allow me a short detour.


I gave up watching regular TV a long time ago. Most of it was crap anyway. Sometimes, though, you get something like this. Wow. I’m speechless.

Here is the link if the video doesn't work. I've never embedded anything before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMTVV5Lwaw&mode=related&search=

Here is what I think I know from the video:

1st banjo -Earl Scruggs – perhaps the greatest banjo player ever and one half of the duo Flatt and Scruggs

2nd banjo -Steve Martin – yes, THAT Steve Martin

Acoustic Guitar -Randy Scruggs

1st Electric Guitar solo -Vince Gill

2nd guitar solo -Albert Lee

Mandolin -Marty Stuart

Harmonica -Gary Scruggs

Not sure about the rest, but I think it's Glen Duncan on fiddle, and I don't know about Dobro. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.

You all may not appreciate this as much as me. At least I know Daddy will like it.

4 comments:

Daddy said...

Steve Martin can slay.
He plays clawhammer style as well.

Earl Scruggs is God.
I used to joke that when he wasn't picking banjo he travelled to metronome factories to calibrate them. Truly sick man.

Anonymous said...

I love Steve Martin. This was a great video. Thanks for sharing!

John G. Hartness said...

That is Jerry Douglas (of Allison Kraus & Union Station with Jerry Douglas) on dobro, widely considered the finest dobro player working today. Most of that lineup is off Earl's album Earl Scruggs and friends which includes guest appearances by all those folks plus Melissa Etheridge, Elton John and Billy Bob Thornton, to name a few. And for a truly religous experience, track 11 includes Earl with Don Henley and Johnny Cash. I highly recommend it.

Come to NC for Merlefest to see Earl play live with Doc Watson, Jerry, Sam Bush and a ton of other folks every spring. Bring a change of shorts.

Matt Silverthorn said...

Holy crap. I could sit and listen to them riff for hours. That's freaking awesome.