"Once I had an Old Banjo" - My Visit with Frank and Mary Hamilton

The things that's keeping me up tonight is that I had the evening to get into some of the stuff that Frank gave me; ideas, skills, tools, recordings.

One of the tangible gifts he gave me is a CD of banjo recordings that he found important, inspirational, educational, musical and all of the above.

The CD was created after a long night talking about the sound of the banjo.  Frank was listing album after album by artist after artist that I should listen to. I started to get al little overwhelmed and I said, "I've found over the years that if someone gives me 100 things to listen to I don't listen to any of it, but if they give me just a few, I really get into it."

Frank took it as a challenge and he made me a CD of tunes he wanted to share with me. I'm just listening to it for the first time tonight. What is it about the banjo? What is it about a some singing a song and playing a banjo?

The one I'm listening to over and over is "Once I Had an Old Banjo" by Fleming Brown.

Once I had an old banjo

It was strung with twine

Only song that I could play

Trouble on my Mind

That makes me so sad.

Which makes me so happy that I play so much music.  But sometimes I get sad when I play music.  But at least I have music to fall back on.  And so it goes.

Here's a list of the songs on the CD.

1. Cindy - Pete Seeger
2. Oh! Liza, Poor Gal - Pete Seeger
3. Blue Skys - Pete Seeger
4. Once I had an Old Banjo - Fleming Brown
5. Cuckoo - Flemming Brown
6. Rakes of Mallow - Billy Faier
7. Green Corn - Billy Faier
8. Croation Tune - Billy Faier
9. Spanish Fandango - Billy Faier
10. Three Jolly Rogues - Billy Faier
11. The Sky - Derroll Adams
12. John Henry - George Pegram
13. Unreconstructed Rebel - Fleming Brown
14. Bowling Green - Cousin Emmy with the New Lost City Ramblers
15. Cuckoo - Erik Darling
16. Fight On - Weavers with Erik Darling
17. I'm On My Way - Erik Darling
18. London Bridge - Peggy Seeger
19. Love Call Me Home - Peggy Seeger
20. Portland Town - Derroll Adams
21. Sing About These Hard Times - Peggy Seeger
22. Wedding Dress - Peggy Seeger

There you go.  Maybe we'll get some of these going.  If not, I'm very glad to have these recordings and to have gotten them from someone like Frank.