Comedian Steve Martin was born on this day in 1945. Back in the 1970s when he mostly did stand-up, Martin often used props, such as an arrow through the head or a banjo that most of the time just hung from his neck. Or when he did play the instrument, it was just more comic shtick, as when he couldn't even get through the first line of Stephen Foster's "The Old Folks at Home" ("Way down upon the Swanee River..." as, say, Bing Crosby sang it) because he played the wrong melody ("Way down upon the Swan...")
But none of this means Martin couldn't play the banjo, and play it well, if he wanted to. In fact, he's a lifelong aficionado of the instrument, and about ten years ago, finally decided to let everyone know this, putting out a few albums, and playing seriously in front of an audience (albeit with a little comic schmoozing between numbers.) In the following clip, Martin explains why he likes the banjo so much:
Even though you can play anything on it, maybe even Mozart for all I know, the type of music one probably most associates with the banjo these days is bluegrass. And without a doubt, the most recognizable bluegrass composition (thanks to it being the background music of Bonnie and Clyde as well as numerous 1970s rural car chase movies) is "Foggy Mountain Breakdown". In this next clip from 2011, Steve Martin and several others (including James Taylor, that's him in his trademark cap) rehearse Flatt's and Scruggs' famous instrumental for an upcoming celebration of Carnegie Hall's 120th anniversary:
Pretty god, huh? And that's just the rehearsal!
I guess it depends if you spend more time at Carnegie Hall or watching Nick at Nite.
Anyway, it's time to bid Steve Martin adieu:
I wonder if Tommy Newsom ever played bluegrass.
I found him very funny... sometimes... and really annoying at other times. But always talented. I loved him on The Smothers Brothers!
ReplyDeleteMitchell, in addition to the Smother Brothers, Martin also wrote for Sonny and Cher's variety show, and you can see him in some of the sketches.
DeleteI didn't know that! Will have to check it out.
DeleteHappy 73 to Steve Martin!
ReplyDeleteLike Robin Williams and Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, Steve Martin is an acquired taste. I tend to enjoy him in small doses. I best remember Steve's numerous appearances on SNL and his recurring sketch with Dan Aykroyd playing those wild and crazy guys, Czech lounge lizards and would-be pick-up artists the Festrunk Brothers, Yortuk and Georgi.
My dad played the banjo in a banjo band. As a boy I tried playing it a few times, but never caught "banjo fever." Instead I became a drummer in a rock & roll band for a short time.
Enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Kirk!
Shady, Robin Williams is one comic I never quite warmed up to and once said so on this blog, which I got me an acrimonious (and anonymous) comment accusing me of being disrespectful to the recently departed. The Smothers Brothers? I'm a fan. I just wish they did more (or got the chance to do more) after their show was canceled. And I've been a fan of Steve Martin since I was in high school, due in large part to those SNL appearances.
DeleteIt sounds like music runs in your family, Shady.
We agree about Robin Wms. He was always "on," and too zany, too over-the-top for my taste. However I loved his serious acting performances in films like Awakenings.
DeleteSteve Martin is a very multifaceted man! And hey, if you want to hear Bach played on the banjo, search "Bela Fleck classical banjo" on YouTube. He's amazing. I saw him perform his classical repertoire in concert once, many years ago.
ReplyDeleteDebra, I just checked Mr. Fleck out, and you're right, he is amazing.
DeleteI wonder if the New York Philharmonic could play "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" half as well.
He always kept the gray hair once he got it, he's always seemed old and it's amazing to me (even though he's only starting to get real old) he's still doing stuff
ReplyDeleteAdam, Martin's hair turned gray when he was still in his 20s. It happens to some people.
ReplyDelete