Thirty years later there were lots of kids (and adults) who could play like that, but not in 1975. Mark inspired a whole generation to take fiddling to new horizons. Quite a feat for a 13 year old.
Awesome performance. Brought back some great memories! I love the white finish and all the autographing on your fiddle. I've been playing guitar and piano for about 45 years, but always wanted a fiddle. Finally got my first one for Christmas 2017, and learning to play at 53-years-old. So much fun!
Wow, that was pretty cool. I ended with Mark's Waltz today, the last piece of the 22 for the new recording and book IV. I wrote the waltz when I was 13. It will be interesting I think to author a book series like this and basically having 13 year-olds learn one piece from the author who wrote it at their age. It was very poignant to play it after all of these years indeed. Joe Smart played great on the guitar accompaniment. Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars by the way was a hit with our engineer today, he just loved it. Not the Twinkle that is the Alphabet song, but a very big song from the 1870s that was the theme of a major hit show on Broadway here back then. Fiddlers played it in every genre. It was written as a Schottische vocal song, and quickly became a hit instrumental, in much the same ways that the hit jazz songs later become instrumentals for jazz musicians. And the irony - you just can't make this stuff up can you! ;#} Best 13-year old fiddler, Mark O'Connor plays "Tom and Jerry" on the Porter Wagoner Show (1975)
I lived down the street from him on 51st. Ave. W. And in 10th grade English class, the quietest kid in class. Must've really loved studying English as well.
Wow! Love this!! Not sure where the Porter Wagner show was filmed from but we saw him all dressed in white at the old Opryland Park about that time. Early to mid 1970’s. He entertained us in the cafeteria and will never forget. Now wish would have seen you!! Thank you for sharing this n bringing back such pleasant memories.
Mark if I'm not mistaken, I believe I was there when you gave this fiddle to the Hall of Fame a number of years ago, I recall something like that, memories getting a little foggy. The best to you.
Dear Mark, I'm originally from Edmonds and rode with the BIKEFACTORY crew... Just wanted to say how proud I am of your path, and hope you're still skateboarding!
SUCH A GIFT! I first heard and saw you when you joined The Dregs. I became a big fan then and still regard you as one of my favorite musicians. Thanks for the cool footage!
@@anabelle3179 Tom and Jerry is a great fiddle tunes,have you been to any fiddle contest? You should gives you great experience and life lasting friendships
Mark O'Connor......You are such a talent and I have been a fan for many years. I lost track of you for awhile as I was out of the music business. We never met, but I think I've heard just about everything I can find on utube and THIS has to be such a fond memory for you. Thank you for downloading this for all the World to Hear! Best wishes, Linda Freeman Entertainment Director At Doc Severinsens in the 1980's,
Saw Mark in (1978 or 79?) in Calgary when he showed up at a local fiddle contest and took home most of that Canadian cash prize. I got some decent photos too. I think he was on some kind of contest circuit chasing prize money and probably making a good dollar. Anyway, it was not too many years after this video was made. Porter's band did a decent back-up job although Mark might have preferred that steel player to back off a little. Ha! G.P.
This was Mark's first 'Grand Masters' win...he won several more. Eventually they enacted a new rule stating the winner could not compete the following year.
The Huffington Post created a large feature on Mark O'Connor's 40 years as a recording artist. They wrote: "A 13 year-old Mark O'Connor wins the biggest fiddle contest in the world -- The Grand Master Fiddler's Contest, Nashville 1975. Also pictured is Mark's most significant teacher and the legendary Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson who created most of the Texas and Contest fiddling repertoire heard today. Mark won an unprecedented 1st place prize as the youngest open champion ever. He competed against all ages, both amateur and professional, and in one of the strongest fields ever seen in a fiddle contest before or since. Fiddling greats who lost to Mark that day included James "Texas Shorty" Chancellor, Terry Morris, Dale Morris, Sam Bush, Lewis Franklin, Larry Franklin, Vernon Solomon, Norman Solomon, J.T. Perkins and even his own his teacher Benny Thomasson. To prove to the fiddling world that it wasn't a fluke, Mark came back to the Grand Master's to win 1st place two more times and 2nd place another two times, all while still in his teens. Mark's record still stands as the most dominant fiddle contest record arguably in history, many of his contest records still stand 30 - 40 years later." -Huffington Post 6/9/13 www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/09/mark-oconnor-violinist-and-former-child-prodigy-celebrate-40-years-of-music_n_2697256.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003#slide=2544284 Buy Mark's new DVD+CD at midnight tonight at Amazon, B&N or iTunes. The release date is 6/11/13. Best 13-year old fiddler, Mark O'Connor plays "Tom and Jerry" on the Porter Wagoner Show (1975)
It's cool that you and Sam Bush ended up playing together all those years later with Tony Rice and Bela Fleck. My favorite bluegrass concert of all time, even though I wasn't born yet.
I was watching an old Beavis and Butthead episode and they played a Mark O’Conner video w/Johnny Cash and Travis Tritt, “Devil came back to Georgia.” The video was terrible but the fiddle playing was awesome. What a flashback though, good memories.🎶
I wonder how much time it took him to get to this level. There is something special about this person that few have. Practice will not get anyone to this level. It has to be in the genes somewhere.
This is 2 years B4 Mark O'Connor won the telluride flat picker championship. And if I'm not mistaken he took champion two years consecutively He only 13 here but his hands were a bit. Bigger when he was 15 Those are the best. Innovation years 4 practicing while the hands are still in formation that. Arc of fluxuation going on. Simultaneously in the background but mZ
It's funny, if I had not known in advance that this was Mark O'Connor I would have guessed it anyway. His mannerisms and his style are the same today as when he was 13. He also plays a pretty mean mandolin. He is head and shoulders above the rest.
you are mistaken. Mark O'Connor was born Aug. 5 1961. The date posted with this video is correct. I had a good friend who was teaching Mark guitar lessons in '73 when Mark was 11. No way he was on To Tell The Truth in 1970
At fiddle camp 2 years ago I got instruction from Barbara Lamb. She was a great teacher. She said her claim to fame was that she started to teach fiddle at the age of eleven and that Mark was her first student at age 7. Is this true? and did she build a fire under him. Fiddling is where it's at Check out Carson Peters 9-year-old fiddler hopes to go pro Jim
MARK O'CONNER IS AN EXCELLENT FIDDLE PLAYER AND ALSO VIOLIN. HE AND MY COUSIN HAVE PLAYED, WHAT THEY CALLED "JAM SESSIONS" A LONG, LONG TIME AGO WHEN I WAS LIKE 7! LOL MARK O'CONNER AND RANDY HOWARD, JAMMIN' TOGETHER IN MILLEDGEVILLE, GA! 1983-85 LOL I AM 37, BUT SO DO REMEMBER THOSE EVENINGS!
Listening again, Jan 2022. Your violin looks thicker than regular ones. Is it? It may only be my eyes, but it also looks wider. Could you please let me know? Thanks.
Join me and my guests Dale Morris Jr. Patrice Jackson, Alex DePue and David Wallace as we talk about music competition and contests. Is it healthy for kids, does it make a difference? In this video clip, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Right before I stepped on stage to perform on this national television show, (one of the awards for winning the Grand Master Fiddle Championships in 1975), my mother told me that if things go well, and I get a lot of attention that the family could move to Nashville without our dad and live on the money that comes in from music. When i realized that Porter Wagoner's house band was not only missing chord changes, bass lines, but they decided that loud steel guitar chimes played through my entire tune and in my range was a good idea, somehow I saw my young life in music crumble as I played. The fact that I was able to play this well under that kind of pressure obviously made for one of the top high-pressure contest players of my era. It somehow worked for me, but are competitions for everyone. Let's discuss at 4:15 to 5:15 today at the Berklee Performance Center! Best 13-year old fiddler, Mark O'Connor plays "Tom and Jerry" on the Porter Wagoner Show (1975)
Mark is the STAR being featured. The steel player is simply laying back and not getting in Mark's way, just throwing in a few accents (chimes) here and there, well in the background. If I were in Mark's place, I certainly would not appreciate the steel player, or any other band member for that matter, drowning me out.
Like, because they're about to cut to another camera angle, or to cue the sound man that they're changing angles or going to another shot or another scene altogether, something like that. Just a guess. Looks like that.
GREAT GREAT! wow! i don't know if i have to stop to play violin or...maybe ask for the partiture! :-) may somebody give me the partiture he played!? thanks!
I'm jealous of your instrument in this video. Do you still have it? I have loved white violins since the Barbara Mandrill show (remember that?). I play violin, btw. I've tried fiddling, too, but that's definitely harder than playing symphony pieces. 🙂
That is a mute but it doesn't effect the sound of the instrument until it is placed on the bridge, so although the mute is on the instrument the instrument is not muted during the performance.
Amazing for a 13-yo! Looks like there is such a thing as talent. The fly in the ointment here is the steel player who trampled Mark's playing with his distracting and interfering backup. You'd think a pro would know better.
Thirty years later there were lots of kids (and adults) who could play like that, but not in 1975. Mark inspired a whole generation to take fiddling to new horizons. Quite a feat for a 13 year old.
Contest fiddling is a great start for kids. Mark was smart enough to progress. His improvisation is pure genius.
So, you basically hit the ground fiddling as soon as your hands could grip a fiddle. Love your music, man, ever since I was a kid. Keep rocking!
Awesome performance. Brought back some great memories! I love the white finish and all the autographing on your fiddle. I've been playing guitar and piano for about 45 years, but always wanted a fiddle. Finally got my first one for Christmas 2017, and learning to play at 53-years-old. So much fun!
Wow, that was pretty cool. I ended with Mark's Waltz today, the last piece of the 22 for the new recording and book IV. I wrote the waltz when I was 13. It will be interesting I think to author a book series like this and basically having 13 year-olds learn one piece from the author who wrote it at their age. It was very poignant to play it after all of these years indeed. Joe Smart played great on the guitar accompaniment. Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars by the way was a hit with our engineer today, he just loved it. Not the Twinkle that is the Alphabet song, but a very big song from the 1870s that was the theme of a major hit show on Broadway here back then. Fiddlers played it in every genre. It was written as a Schottische vocal song, and quickly became a hit instrumental, in much the same ways that the hit jazz songs later become instrumentals for jazz musicians. And the irony - you just can't make this stuff up can you! ;#}
Best 13-year old fiddler, Mark O'Connor plays "Tom and Jerry" on the Porter Wagoner Show (1975)
I lived down the street from him on 51st. Ave. W. And in 10th grade English class, the quietest kid in class. Must've really loved studying English as well.
The hosts's hair is freaking awesome.
The US is a strange country
He was obviously a Prodigy, a once in a generation player, look at him now he is exceptional
Your ability to focus on the tune in spite of the pedal steel player reveals why you became a champion!
Hello Glenn
💕💕🥰
Now that's hilarious!
Thumbs up for this young man. He is great. Thanks Mark !!!! Rosa
Wow! Love this!!
Not sure where the Porter Wagner show was filmed from but we saw him all dressed in white at the old Opryland Park about that time. Early to mid 1970’s. He entertained us in the cafeteria and will never forget. Now wish would have seen you!!
Thank you for sharing this n bringing back such pleasant memories.
Greatest fiddle player I ever saw. I'm no expert but all his work does is impress me.
How can 51 ignorant people dislike a 13 yr old genius who later became a great session player, concert virtuoso and great teacher?
Mark if I'm not mistaken, I believe I was there when you gave this fiddle to the Hall of Fame a number of years ago, I recall something like that, memories getting a little foggy. The best to you.
🙏🙏🌹💕💕💕
Dear Mark,
I'm originally from Edmonds and rode with the BIKEFACTORY crew...
Just wanted to say how proud I am of your path, and hope you're still skateboarding!
The playing is awesome! Also cool is that kids can see that even Marc O'Connor was once shy.
March 2022- listening today. I love it. Way to go Mark.
Is that what they call a Virginia reel?
I think so😉 is this your favorite tune?
A great performance, and a sign of greater things to come in a stellar career.
That is talent personified, right there.
Thanks for this nice footage Mark.
SUCH A GIFT! I first heard and saw you when you joined The Dregs. I became a big fan then and still regard you as one of my favorite musicians. Thanks for the cool footage!
I'm an amateur fiddler and have seen Mark at concerts, but to think that he played like this at 13 makes me want to cry. I'll never even get close.
Yes! I feel you. I'm 14, and playing tom and Jerry and love it but wish I was this good!
@@anabelle3179 Tom and Jerry is a great fiddle tunes,have you been to any fiddle contest? You should gives you great experience and life lasting friendships
Loved this man back then, LOVE him now!
Wow! Talk about a musical genius - at just 13 years of age, too! AMAZING, Mark! Thank you for sharing this! God bless, Charlie (Bro. Charles)
Hi
Mark O'Connor......You are such a talent and I have been a fan for many years. I lost track of you for awhile as I was out of the music business. We never met, but I think I've heard just about everything I can find on utube and THIS has to be such a fond memory for you. Thank you for downloading this for all the World to Hear! Best wishes, Linda Freeman Entertainment Director At Doc Severinsens in the 1980's,
You've had an amazing life blessed with such talent enhanced by much hard work.
Wow!That's just great,focused or what at such a young age!
Outstanding 👏 They should do a documentary on Mark’s career ❤
Seeing Mark and Porter (before the perm) is excellent. It's also cool to see the old Opryland USA outdoor stage where I saw many a show growing up.
what a child was yesterday , today is a master: A big master. Regards from Santiago of Chile.
Some very precious moment that not many people didn't find out
Thanks for posting it Mark
Great player and a tall 13 year old back then. A Champion for sure.
Mighty fine quality video from that long ago. What a treasure. And that was some great fiddle playing!
Ohhhhh so young!!!!
electrifying! sent a shiver down my spine - and you know why? watching something majestic that can't be explained :-)
Hello John
Thanks Mark great performance. And thanks for "Poema para Carlita" Best regards from Mexico.
I wished I could have seen that! I am from Commerce, GA. He's my hero!!!!
🙏🌹🌹💕
Saw Mark in (1978 or 79?) in Calgary when he showed up at a local fiddle contest and took home most of that Canadian cash prize. I got some decent photos too. I think he was on some kind of contest circuit chasing prize money and probably making a good dollar. Anyway, it was not too many years after this video was made. Porter's band did a decent back-up job although Mark might have preferred that steel player to back off a little. Ha!
G.P.
This was Mark's first 'Grand Masters' win...he won several more. Eventually they enacted a new rule stating the winner could not compete the following year.
The Huffington Post created a large feature on Mark O'Connor's 40 years as a recording artist. They wrote:
"A 13 year-old Mark O'Connor wins the biggest fiddle contest in the world -- The Grand Master Fiddler's Contest, Nashville 1975. Also pictured is Mark's most significant teacher and the legendary Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson who created most of the Texas and Contest fiddling repertoire heard today. Mark won an unprecedented 1st place prize as the youngest open champion ever. He competed against all ages, both amateur and professional, and in one of the strongest fields ever seen in a fiddle contest before or since. Fiddling greats who lost to Mark that day included James "Texas Shorty" Chancellor, Terry Morris, Dale Morris, Sam Bush, Lewis Franklin, Larry Franklin, Vernon Solomon, Norman Solomon, J.T. Perkins and even his own his teacher Benny Thomasson. To prove to the fiddling world that it wasn't a fluke, Mark came back to the Grand Master's to win 1st place two more times and 2nd place another two times, all while still in his teens. Mark's record still stands as the most dominant fiddle contest record arguably in history, many of his contest records still stand 30 - 40 years later." -Huffington Post 6/9/13
www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/09/mark-oconnor-violinist-and-former-child-prodigy-celebrate-40-years-of-music_n_2697256.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003#slide=2544284
Buy Mark's new DVD+CD at midnight tonight at Amazon, B&N or iTunes. The release date is 6/11/13.
Best 13-year old fiddler, Mark O'Connor plays "Tom and Jerry" on the Porter Wagoner Show (1975)
It's cool that you and Sam Bush ended up playing together all those years later with Tony Rice and Bela Fleck. My favorite bluegrass concert of all time, even though I wasn't born yet.
I was watching an old Beavis and Butthead episode and they played a Mark O’Conner video w/Johnny Cash and Travis Tritt, “Devil came back to Georgia.” The video was terrible but the fiddle playing was awesome. What a flashback though, good memories.🎶
I wonder how much time it took him to get to this level. There is something special about this person that few have. Practice will not get anyone to this level. It has to be in the genes somewhere.
Hello
Born to do what he is DOING...from then until now...
Hello Susan
This is 2 years B4 Mark O'Connor won the telluride flat picker championship. And if I'm not mistaken he took champion two years consecutively
He only 13 here but his hands were a bit. Bigger when he was 15
Those are the best. Innovation years 4 practicing while the hands are still in formation that. Arc of fluxuation going on. Simultaneously in the background but mZ
All those Signatures!!! Wonder who's names on that Fiddle? I bet some goodens! :) this is amazing!
He'll be pretty good when he grows up, wont he?
Dave C Now that's funny!!
Ridge roberts is the next and best !
He's grown amd married with kids and many awards.
It's funny, if I had not known in advance that this was Mark O'Connor I would have guessed it anyway. His mannerisms and his style are the same today as when he was 13. He also plays a pretty mean mandolin. He is head and shoulders above the rest.
Hello Bob
one of the worlds best and still is,
Your one of my favorite fiddlers. Did you ever get a chance to meet the a fiddle hero of mine named graham Townsend?
Porter Wagnoer Show what?!! Man all the things you have got to do just playing that Awesome Violin/Fidlle! 13 that's awesome!
🙏🙏🙏🌹💕
you are mistaken. Mark O'Connor was born Aug. 5 1961. The date posted with this video is correct. I had a good friend who was teaching Mark guitar lessons in '73 when Mark was 11. No way he was on To Tell The Truth in 1970
how is it that a 1975 public television show look so modern and HD and professional?
At fiddle camp 2 years ago I got instruction from Barbara Lamb. She was a great teacher. She said her claim to fame was that she started to teach fiddle at the age of eleven and that Mark was her first student at age 7. Is this true? and did she build a fire under him. Fiddling is where it's at Check out Carson Peters 9-year-old fiddler hopes to go pro
Jim
Pull the frickin' plug on that steel player.
Didn't notice how bad it was until you pointed it out, lmao
Love your fiddle. I am sure you still have it. You really are very good.
🙏🙏💕🌹💕🌹
No one better in this world!
MARK O'CONNER IS AN EXCELLENT FIDDLE PLAYER AND ALSO VIOLIN. HE AND MY COUSIN HAVE PLAYED, WHAT THEY CALLED "JAM SESSIONS" A LONG, LONG TIME AGO WHEN I WAS LIKE 7! LOL MARK O'CONNER AND RANDY HOWARD, JAMMIN' TOGETHER IN MILLEDGEVILLE, GA! 1983-85 LOL I AM 37, BUT SO DO REMEMBER THOSE EVENINGS!
🙏🙏💕💕🌹
That is the best fiddling that you will ever hear any we're but that damn Steel backing you sucks for air omg.....
Maybe I am sick, but I was so mesmerized by the fiddle playing a bomb could have gone off and I might not have noticed it.
Mark is very good.
hero,,,i remember seeing this,,,way back in the day,,,labette county kansas had electricity
FANTASTIC !!!!!!!!!
This had to have been about 1970. I first saw Mark O'Connor on "To Tell the Truth" with my great aunt the same year and he was the same age.
Just as ridiculous now as then. Great stuff!
Listening again, Jan 2022. Your violin looks thicker than regular ones. Is it? It may only be my eyes, but it also looks wider. Could you please let me know? Thanks.
Excellent!
That's simply amazing.
Join me and my guests Dale Morris Jr. Patrice Jackson, Alex DePue and David Wallace as we talk about music competition and contests. Is it healthy for kids, does it make a difference?
In this video clip, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Right before I stepped on stage to perform on this national television show, (one of the awards for winning the Grand Master Fiddle Championships in 1975), my mother told me that if things go well, and I get a lot of attention that the family could move to Nashville without our dad and live on the money that comes in from music. When i realized that Porter Wagoner's house band was not only missing chord changes, bass lines, but they decided that loud steel guitar chimes played through my entire tune and in my range was a good idea, somehow I saw my young life in music crumble as I played. The fact that I was able to play this well under that kind of pressure obviously made for one of the top high-pressure contest players of my era. It somehow worked for me, but are competitions for everyone. Let's discuss at 4:15 to 5:15 today at the Berklee Performance Center!
Best 13-year old fiddler, Mark O'Connor plays "Tom and Jerry" on the Porter Wagoner Show (1975)
great Mark!
Hi Mark, I'm Mariví Yubero from Spain, from La Aventura americana RADIO. Who had signed the fiddle for you?
Talent from God, we all must embrace his blessings such as this.
Mark is the STAR being featured. The steel player is simply laying back and not getting in Mark's way, just throwing in a few accents (chimes) here and there, well in the background. If I were in Mark's place, I certainly would not appreciate the steel player, or any other band member for that matter, drowning me out.
Looks like the AD or somebody on the TV crew signaling that the number is about to end.
He plays guitar just as good
Awesome!
Like, because they're about to cut to another camera angle, or to cue the sound man that they're changing angles or going to another shot or another scene altogether, something like that. Just a guess. Looks like that.
1:44 That guitar player sure has some impressively fast chord changes...
jmr1068204 every fiddle tune ever
Do you still have that fiddle?
GREAT GREAT!
wow! i don't know if i have to stop to play violin or...maybe ask for the partiture! :-)
may somebody give me the partiture he played!?
thanks!
I'm jealous of your instrument in this video. Do you still have it? I have loved white violins since the Barbara Mandrill show (remember that?). I play violin, btw. I've tried fiddling, too, but that's definitely harder than playing symphony pieces. 🙂
Isn't that "Carl" from "The Waling Dead"?
Hahaha thats what I was thinking
Does this log cabin still exist? Where is/was it located?
"Cowboy" leisure suits - ah, the memories of when country was "authentic".
On another note, look up Mark O'Connor playing mandocello.
How awesome! I can't believe you were only 13...
Hi
Mark, I think I recognize the setting. Isn't that stage part of what used to be Opryland before it closed?
Is that a mute behind the bridge? The amplified fiddle tone is real good. If that is a mute, is that helpful in recording over a microphone?
That is a mute but it doesn't effect the sound of the instrument until it is placed on the bridge, so although the mute is on the instrument the instrument is not muted during the performance.
Mark .. in this awesome clip .. is that fiddle the one which Benny Thomasson gave you ..
He has talked about this. Yes, that is the one
I've heard he has an unusual bow grip with his thumb under the frog. Did he even back then? I can't tell from the video.
Endo Alley yes seems so,I've tries replicating it,I can get a better sound and control with it .
what is that steel player doing?? it sure ain't working
😂😂🤣 Sends a “shiver” down your spine, for sure!
You're probably right, although I know I saw him when I said I did. He does look taller than I remember so maybe he was younger than I remember?
Hi
Very clean fingers.
The man with the big hair is Porter wagoner
The guy in the blue suit is amazing. That hair...
Man, that Porter and his 250 dollar hair -do really knocked me out.
I am speechless
Was Jimmy Saville there?
I has grown up and is still the best
Porter Wagner?! that's Awesome!
Amazing for a 13-yo! Looks like there is such a thing as talent. The fly in the ointment here is the steel player who trampled Mark's playing with his distracting and interfering backup. You'd think a pro would know better.
I agree with you completely.
where is the awesome button?
That's Hairl Hensley, the announcer, asking the crowd for applause.
That’s one tall 13 year old!