To Hear Your Banjo Play (1947)

★★★★★ · A Slice of Folk History. · foxhunt · 2005-08-13

What a unique picture of America this shows. Captured on black and white film of how music was, before the refinement through comercialisation got its sticky fingers involved and removed the very raw edge that made it music of the people for the people. Although some of it is stagemanaged (and there is nothing wrong with that)clips of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, Step Dancing and Square Dancing make this a wonderful slice of Folk History in America.

★★★★★ · Wonderfull...Thanks · vrteach · 2005-09-11

Just watched the mpeg2 version, and it is great. Fine views of the "back to the simpler past" movement of American folk music before, just before, it was discovered by the main stream. It gives a glimpse into what the hootenannies were really like in the folk underground in New York of the 1950s before the big media companies took over the name.

★★★★★ · Thank you. Pete Seeger. · pixielady · 2007-08-06

This man's voice and spirit has made him a legend and the minstrel of the the 20th century. Wherever you hear his banjo and guitar picking you hear joy, truth and history.

★★★★★ · A Nurturing NAtional Treasue-Pete Seeger · uncledizzy · 2009-10-22

I sent this film to my brother and sister-in-law as a birth gift for their twin grandchildren. Per my niece, it was the VERY FIRST MUSIC they heard after being born, which I consider possibly the greatest musical start to life possible! What better than to hear Pete Seeger, American folk music and the banjo on your first day on earth! Happy life, Anya and Teo!

★★★★★ · Great Music! · Pleonic · 2010-02-07

It's always good to hear Pete Seeger! Other than the paucity of black performers who, after all, invented banjos and were one of the main fountainheads for this music, I thought this was a marvelous film. It captures some of the old ways of backwoods people that are fast disappearing.