# What is Your Favorite Banjo Tune **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567 "2020-07-28T02:14:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/1 "2020-07-28T02:14:03Z")
Banjo tune defined: a song with a banjo on it, for oh, at least half the song, or more. I always find it hard to chose an absolute favorite, of anything, but right now this is mine: “Green Mountain Hop”, by the inimitable Don Reno. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GYfaQvzQ410/maxresdefault.jpg "Green Mountain Hop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYfaQvzQ410) It’s joyful. It’s sad. It’s angry. It’s alive, and it’s amazing. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/2 "2020-07-28T02:46:15Z")
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Sunset Road [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uTfe8gVQ4A4/hqdefault.jpg "Béla Fleck and The Flecktones - Sunset Road") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTfe8gVQ4A4) Half Moon Bay https://www.youtube.com/embed/oq_IncNSbgA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLlLPbdXYqkadv5jaygN5E0gh-0C5x_jW4&start=0 Reflections of Lucy https://www.youtube.com/embed/KCksF2kGdBw?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLlLPbdXYqkadv5jaygN5E0gh-0C5x_jW4 Their band has the distinction of having one of the best banjo and harmonica players and for sure the number one best bass player in the world Victor Wooten though he shows off more in his solo pursuits than in these songs. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/3 "2020-07-28T03:08:28Z")
I submit _Rag Pickings_, performed by Fred Van Eps. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/4 "2020-07-28T03:14:16Z")
Journey Of The Sorcerer. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/5 "2020-07-28T03:32:41Z")
My favorite banjo tune is by a one-man project called No One Gets Out Alive; he plays Banjo Slam. Here’s _My Rifle, My Banjo and Me!_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hkcwNNFR3bQ/hqdefault.jpg "No One Gets Out Alive - My Rifle, My Banjo and Me!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkcwNNFR3bQ) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/6 "2020-07-28T03:33:04Z")
That’s a good one. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/7 "2020-07-28T03:33:54Z")
It’s a toss up between _Foggy Mountain Breakdown_ and _Sweet City Woman_. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/8 "2020-07-28T03:34:40Z")
Darling Cora: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ea9GzQ7331w/maxresdefault.jpg "Cedric Watson on gourd banjo "Darlin Cori"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea9GzQ7331w) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/9 "2020-07-28T04:49:11Z")
Banjo tune, huh? Geez, I have so many favorites it’s hard to pick. 😉 When I was about a Junior in high school I bought a 45rpm record of Steve Martins “King Tut”. The B-side had 2 songs [Sally Goodin’ and Hoedown at Alice’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-HIzghX4Ro). Always thought they were decent. Anything by [Stuart Griffin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AODJn-Px9no) is mighty fine as well. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/10 "2020-07-28T05:41:12Z")
Pete Seeger’s “Banjo Medley”. It’s almost meditative like a sitar raga. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DdGcBpMza5M/hqdefault.jpg "Pete Seeger - 110 (live) (Banjo Medley)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdGcBpMza5M) ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/11 "2020-07-28T10:10:08Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3FtfiSelH_c/maxresdefault.jpg "Funky Mountain Fogdown") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FtfiSelH_c) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/12 "2020-07-28T13:40:58Z")
To listen to or to play? 😃 My favorite to play varies from day to day. Lately I’ve been working on Tui’s version of [Smoke Behind the Clouds.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHq5Fs37S2U) Can’t begin to list a favorite bluegrass/oldtime tune. I’ll offer up anything by The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Lucas Poole, Tui, and countless others. So instead of trying to pick on of those, I’ll go in a completely different direction and pick [Blow You Away](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC4hfU4l0Ug) by the Supersuckers. A fun driving tune by the self-proclaimed “greatest rock and roll band”! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/13 "2020-07-28T14:44:14Z")
A few thoughts so far. On Bela Fleck: I first read about him in 1979 or so, when he appeared out of nowhere on the cover of Banjo Newsletter. He’d only been playing a few years, and was already the best in the bluegrass business. I lost track when he went on his unique path, but have occasionally heard his stuff. Great choices there. Not exactly my type of banjo music, but I do appreciate it. Fred van Eps: This is where banjo jokes started. Oh, I think it’s cool, but I can see how others might find it annoying as hell. 🙂 I do like some of his later playing better, like some of his stuff from the 50s. Steve Martin: Without going into details, there are two popular ways of playing the banjo, three-finger picking, and clawhammer (sort of a pluck and strum combination). Martin plays them equally well, and is as good as any banjo player I know. Professional level playing. Love him. Pete Seeger: Second only to Earl Scruggs of _Foggy Mountain Breakdown_ fame in re-popularizing the banjo after the immenssley popular banjo orchestras of the early 1900s. He is playing in the clawhammer, or frailing, style I mentioned. Good stuff. Smoke Behind the Clouds: More clawhammer. I love this style, but have no where near explored it enough. Thanks for posting, this sounds like a good place to re-ignite my interest. Reminds me of the awesome John Hartford/Bob Carlin album, _The Fun of Open Discussion_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/14 "2020-07-28T14:47:16Z")
_The Ballad of Jed Clampett_. 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/15 "2020-07-28T15:01:24Z")
**Dawggy Mountain Breakdown** , a.k.a. the theme to “Car Talk”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oJduc3Lhso0/maxresdefault.jpg "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown (Car Talk theme song)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJduc3Lhso0) (Damn I miss “Car Talk”… 🙁) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/16 "2020-07-28T15:36:31Z")
[Get A Load of This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAj82KGuoeM) – R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders Wow, can he cut loose! ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/17 "2020-07-28T22:26:32Z")
Loved Car Talk, never loved the theme. Now I realize it might be because we only got to hear a bit of it, and it ruined the full effect of the tune. This sounds so much better! ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/18 "2020-07-28T22:33:49Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eMAXuZOw_DY/hqdefault.jpg "Steve Martin - Grandmother's Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMAXuZOw_DY) Be courteous kind, and forgiving, Be gentle and peaceful each day… ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/19 "2020-07-28T23:08:11Z")
Get all excited and go to a yawning festival. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567/20 "2020-07-29T00:06:44Z")
Be oblong and have your knees removed. Everybody! Let 'em hear you outside. See, though, Steve even strums the banjo on a professional level. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-banjo-tune/916567.md?page=2)