Topic: Kirk McGee Video

[bnemerov]

My filmmaker friend Blaine Dunlap has posted outtake footage at Vimeo




This is an interview and music by one of Uncle Dave's musicians in the 20s & 30s.
Raw footage from the PBS Uncle Dave doc....1st minute of set-up included.

not pre-war blues exactly, but great stuff.....Cleoma, frankie, ??, might like it.

best,
bruce

hope the hyperlink-thingy worked.

[Johnm]

Thanks for posting the clip of Kirk McGee, Bruce. He recorded one of the most interesting versions of "Salty Dog" I ever heard, with Sid Harkreader on fiddle, I think, very spooky.
All best,
Johnm

[bnemerov]

Hey John,
Yep, that late-1920s minorish version is cool and Fiddlin' Sid draws the most astringent tone from the violin. But I think it's brother Sam doing the singing & guitar.

Kirk bailed out on the music business after having played with Macon for a few years in the early 1920s, if I recollect. He came back to it in the 1930s with Arthur Smith, but again, just for a year or two.

Best,
Bruce

[Johnm]

Hi Bruce,
The English re-issue I heard had Kirk as the guitarist, and I remember it impressed me because I never had known him to play guitar.  It's nothing like as exciting as Sam's playing from the same period, certainly serviceable, but with that interesting harmony, as you noted.  Maybe the record had it wrong--anybody have the Tony Russell book?  I'm curious.
All best,
Johnm

[bnemerov]

I'm curious too, John.
I was hoping you had the Russell discog.
I can get to one later this week, unless someone posts sooner.
I'm basing the Sam possibility based on aural evidence....voice sounds like Sam to me (based on a bad dub of a ragged-out 78).
best,
bruce

[Mr.OMuck]

Love this video. Thanks for posting.

[banjochris]

Hi Bruce,
The English re-issue I heard had Kirk as the guitarist, and I remember it impressed me because I never had known him to play guitar.  It's nothing like as exciting as Sam's playing from the same period, certainly serviceable, but with that interesting harmony, as you noted.  Maybe the record had it wrong--anybody have the Tony Russell book?  I'm curious.
All best,
Johnm

I always assumed that it was Sam on guitar and Kirk on fiddle on that tune, with Sam on vocals, same as on Salt Lake City Blues. That tune and most of their others were recorded at the same sessions as Uncle Dave's Fruit Jar Drinker records in May 1927, IIRC. Fiddlin' Sid wasn't there -- the personnel on the Macon records is Sam on guitar, Uncle Dave banjo, Kirk and Mazy Todd on fiddles, Kirk on occasional mandolin. It's Todd I believe who plays fiddle on Charming Bill, where the banjo at least to my ears is by Kirk; I can't remember on Old Master's Runaway if there are two fiddles or not, but the banjo on that track sounds like it could be Uncle Dave.
Chris

[eric]

Salty Dog Blues Vocalion 5150 has Kirk McGee, fiddle and vocal, Sam McGee, guitar according to Tony Russell's discography.  Two takes, same personnel. 

[frankie]

thanks for posting this, bruce - it's wonderful!

[Slack]

Thanks for posting Bruce - a very good interview!

[bnemerov]

Thanks for that Elder H.
I trust the Hillbilly discography. Tony and Charles Wolfe and Bob Pinson (and several others) worked very hard for over a decade on it and, through Pinson who worked at the Country Music Foundation, had access to a lot of record co. session sheets.
 Charles is the off camera voice leading the interview with Kirk.
But, gee, the fiddling doesn't sound like Kirk...I always thought he got a bigger, fuller tone than that.
Maybe the Master was sped up
Glad you all are digging Kirk, He was a good one.
bruce

[unezrider]

hello friend,
very cool! i really enjoyed that. i absolutely love all things uncle dave. thanks!
chris

[eric]

Maybe the Master was sped up

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Thanks for clearing up the mystery personnel on "Salty Dog", Eric.  It is such a great cut.  I love that interview with Kirk.  When I saw those guys play with Arthur Smith, they had so much fun--and the music was terrific, too, which didn't hurt!  I loved hearing Arthur Smith sing "House of David Blues".  What a great number.  I was thirteen years old at the time and even then knew it was really special to see them and Maybelle Carter.  Mike Seeger put the show together, and he did so much over the years to honor older musicians and see that they continued to have opportunities to perform.  There are so many people we never would have heard, apart from recordings, had it not been for his efforts.
All best,
Johnm

[bnemerov]

John,
Amen!

[Stuart]

Hi Bruce: Thanks for putting this up. It's great. From what I can gather, the original was part of a program that aired on PBS in 1981 with the title, "The Uncle Dave Macon Program." Was the program ever made available to the general public in VHS or DVD format? If not, does Blaine have any plans to make it available in the future, because I'd surely love to watch it--and I bet that I'm not the only one.

[bnemerov]

Hi Stuart,
Blaine has been busy restoring the camera-original videotapes of his work (as well as that of others).
He has restored and digitized the UDM documentary as well as the posted Kirk interview which wasn't included in the finished PBS show (time constraints).
I've e-mailed him about your query and will post his reply when I get one.

No commercial copies have been available in the 30 years (yikes!) since broadcast. John Hartford told me it was his favorite music doc of all time; he had a VHS copy he'd taped off the TV broadcast.

best,
bruce

[banjochris]

I used to have a copy I taped off a PBS showing in the mid-'90s. Of course I lent it to someone who moved far away. 

[bnemerov]

I talked with Blaine and he has no plans to commercially issue the Uncle Dave movie.
He has followed the discussion here and is impressed, I think, with the high level of Weeniedom.

He seems willing to burn a few DVDs for interested folks. though I expect he'll need to cover his time and costs. But that's between you all. He's permitted me to post his e-mail.  Blaine Dunlap: nolavid@gmail.com

And while we're on the subject of Uncle Dave, the Rutherford County Historical Society published a dandy biography (by Charles Wolfe). If you can't afford the Bear Family box set, which has Charles' writings included, this book at $5 (+ $3 postage) is great. Go to the website and scroll down to item #35.

http://rutherfordtnhistory.org/Publications.htm

  best,
bruce

[DanceGypsy]

What an amazing little interview excerpt!  I am loving this!  Just sent an email to Blaine, glad to hear that he is willing to make the full documentary available.

[uncle bud]

The Uncle Dave doc has turned up on Folkstreams.net. Just finished watching, it's great. Aside from the wonderful music and interviews, the humour the filmmakers bring to it is charming. Something you don't see much in contemporary music documentaries. It also has more footage from the Grand Ole Opry flick I hadn't seen - Uncle Dave the movie star.

http://www.folkstreams.net/film,324

(Some technical glitches in the stream)

[banjochris]

Glad this is available for people to see! UB, the Grand Ole Opry movie is included on DVD with the Bear Family Uncle Dave set. There's not nearly enough Uncle Dave in the movie, but he steals every scene he's in. The studio would have done a lot better to jettison the movie "hillbillies" and just make a movie around him.
Chris