SJL Says:
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 @4:44:43 PM

Judy,

This is great news. I can't wait to hear it.

Steve

PyrPups Says:
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 @5:23:15 PM

Sweeps me back in time and produces "goosebumps"  Thanks Judy!  I can't wait to have a copy in my possession!

Kerry

DHutchens Says:
Thursday, November 15, 2007 @2:17:31 PM

Its so good to hear Bobby's voice again.

I first met Bobby Thompson in the fall of 66 at a little country schoolhouse show with Jim and Jesse.

This is the answer to  a question from the BG-L back in 95;

 I loved the Lynn Anderson Rocky Top that Bobby did, Somewhere in the HEE HAW vaults it lies today.  I saw him do it with her
on the show at least once.

Bobby played the dickens out of that.  His main thing by the late 60's
was to do rhythm guitar work on sessions and would double on banjo when
it was needed.
He had worked his way into with the Nashville session circle that did
recording with McCoy, Edington etc. At the time they recorded much of
what you
heard come out of Nashville on major labels. He perfected some of
chromatic stuff like the Hee Haw theme after working with those guys.
Once when we had lunch he got to talking about being ask to play
the rhythm on the beat, behind the beat and in front of the beat and that
had helped him to understand the interworkings of music better and thus
allowed his banjo adventures.

He played some mighty good stuff before the session era began but if you
listen to the live recording with Jim & Jesse he played much harder.  He
used to do things like Casey Jones, New Camptown Races, Sugar Foot Rag
and would tear them up but no one paid any attention to them at the
time.  I remember the first time I ever seen him live with Jim and Jesse
he played Sugar Foot Rag and me being a green kid I requested that he
play Earls Breakdown on the 2nd set.  Years later I told him the story
and he said that it happened every night.  He would work and work on
these neat tunes and then someone would come up and ask for Foggy
Mountain Breakdown or something like it.
  After he got into the studio he had a very very stable rhythm section
and allowed him the freedom to experiment and most of the time had a
towel
stuffed into the back of the banjo to tone it down.
He recorded some stuff with Johnny Cash, a tune "Any old wind that Blows"
comes to mind where he did some of the most tasteful banjo on a medium
song that I ever heard. Rock Solid.



Once in 77 or 78 I was down at Durham visiting a friend at Sugar Hill
Records and ask Barry Poss why didn't he do a Bobby Thompson banjo
album.  He said "hey man I'd love to, but I don't know him"  I told him
that I would make an introduction.
I called Bobby later that week and ask him about if he would be
interested and Bobby being Bobby said "no one even knows who I am"  He
was very laid back and had no desire to do much of anything at the time.
The session work was taking its toll on him.  He once told me that he
dreaded to get up each morning because he knew he had sessions after
session booked all day long.  He was pretty burnt out but after talking
to him about 30 or 40 minutes he said "well after I get some things
settled at home he would like to do it"
Sugar Hill was in its infancy at the time and when I mentioned the name
he said "ya, I got that Rice and Skaggs tape and thats good"  He said
have Barry to call him and come by and see him the next time he was in
town(Nashville)  I called Barry and asked when he was going to Nashville
again and he said he didn't have any plans soon but after I told him what
Bobby had said he called him and went to Nashville that week.
After he met with Bobby he had to go through the same story of "no one
even knows who I am" but after a while they decided that after things
settled that they would begin working on it.  Sadly it never happened.
So I am so glad to

John Les North Wales Bluegrass Says:
Thursday, January 3, 2008 @3:41:57 PM

'Thank you again ....................for the wonderful memory'

John Les North Wales Bluegrass