Friday, June 8, 2012

Friday Night Music

Like many American families in the early 1960s my family enjoyed the folk music craze. We were weekly watchers of Hootenanny. One group that appeared on that show and several others was the Chad Mitchell Trio.

In their early days they were accompanied by a guitar and banjo virtuoso by the name of James Joseph McGuinn.

You know him better as Roger.



In the 1940s there was an Air Corp/Air Force pilot named Henry "Dutch" Deutschendorf. He and his wife had a son in 1943. That son became a musician. In or about 1965, the younger Deutschendorf replaced Chad Mitchell in what became the Mitchell Trio. Some of the group's albums show the name Deutschendorf as composing some of the songs.

One of the albums had one of the best recordings I ever heard. The young Deutshendorf sang the song and played on it. That song was a Pete Seeger Composition called "Bells of Rhymney." I could not find the Mitchell Trio version of the song on YouTube, but I did find a later video by Detschendorf.

By the way, young Deutschendorf had adopted the stage name of John Denver, which is how he was billed on the Mitchell Trio albums. I think you have heard of him. But have you ever heard him play like this? If you like good folk music, and you like a good song, and you like good guitar playing, then you will like this video.



You can't help but admire the musicianship of McGuinn and Denver.

5 comments:

  1. I'm a big fan of "young Deutschendorf" he had the voice of an angel.

    My favourite has always been "Annie's Song" when they divorced I was verklempt...how could he write and sing that song about her and then divorce???

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  2. Wow, that video is something else! Talent coming out the ying yang on young John's playing and singing.

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  3. My granddaughter and I just watched these and enjoyed them very much! Thank you Fay!

    I'm a huge John Denver fan. I agree with you that "Annie's Song" is very beautiful; it's depressing that their divorce was so wildly violent and sad.

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    Replies
    1. It was the husband wot posted them LR, not me, LOL!

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  4. Oopsie! My apologies Matt! Thanks so much for this post!

    /slinking away...

    :)

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