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Irving Lerner, Willard Van DykeTo Hear Your Banjo Play (1947)

Presents the origin of the banjo, the development of southern folk music and its influence upon Americans. Pete Seeger plays his banjo and narrates the story.


This movie is part of the collection: A/V Geeks

Director: Irving Lerner, Willard Van Dyke
Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Keywords: American folk music

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: babysprite - - March 23, 2009
Subject: This is a treasure.
This is a treasure, both historically and musically. I will show this to my nieces and nephews and ask them to show this to their own children. It is a parr of our musical heritage and I thank my parents for introducing me to it when I was a small child.

Reviewer: beebopbeedoobi - - November 17, 2008
Subject: This is really special
I don't think anyone could not enjoy watching this. Its strange that we have a'hankering' for past ages and i supose folk music is all about a feeling of belonging but, just the quality of film, time and sensitivity of filmwork and then the music. Its really fine.

Reviewer: miguelburihan - - December 19, 2007
Subject: do Brasil
Sempre gostei de folk music, mas este video esta demais de bom, PARABÉNS

Reviewer: pixielady - - August 6, 2007
Subject: Thank you. Pete Seeger.
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.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - January 29, 2006
Subject: I Feel like Harry Smith Now.
Very nice overview of Folk music at the time, hosted by acclaimed banjoer Pete Seeger. Although I¡¯m not much of a folk music nut, I can imagine people who are just going crazy over this, because this has some fantastic music and types of music in the folk rendition. I wonder though, who this was made for. The reason I ask this, is I wonder if this was made for the younger kids to keep them from all that swing music and from hanging out in the soda shops all day listening to the jukebox. The kids here look awfully square (and they¡¯ve got the dance to prove it) But get over that though, and you¡¯re in Folk Music heaven.

Reviewer: vrteach - - September 11, 2005
Subject: Wonderfull...Thanks
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.

Reviewer: foxhunt - - August 13, 2005
Subject: A Slice of Folk History.
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.

Reviewer: akb - - May 17, 2005
Subject: i'm a sucker for good banjo playing ...
... and this video did me well. A chronicle of the folk revival from some of its legends, Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Alan Lomax.