My mother saw Leo on some afternoon TV talk show, and was impressed that he was wearing a buttondown shirt and the right kind of tennis shoes. I was becoming enthralled by the Grateful Dead at the time, so the armadillo album appeared next to the turntable.
He is playing a nylon (or gut) string guitar here. First time I have seen him play a "classical" guitar. Great performance! Leo is the man. Love him so much.
Interesting, the nylon strung guitar. I saw this clip on TV back in the 70s and never expected to see it again but I didn't notice the guitar he used. I remembered it well enough from the one hearing to play my own take on it. Then I started playing on nylon strings and much later I recorded it for my youtube channel. I think Leo suffered with finger troubles resulting from his "muscular" type of picking. Later he softened his approach to focus more on tone production.
I guess he used to use fingerpicks but he was in a car crash and suffered from tendon damage so he started playing more classical style fingerpicking not sure if thats true or not
+ operafan+ Derek: I can remember reading, years and years ago, that Leo did indeed have muscle/tendon issues due to his aggressive attack on guitar. He had to back off playing for a period and then consulted Ben Verdery(classical whizz kid) for a better way to play. That's the period when his whole sound changed and this video seems to be from that period. I believe it was in the late 80's or early 90's.
One of the first songs that I was able to figure out on my own. It doesn’t have complex chords or a difficult picking pattern, but to play it fluidly like Leo is another matter.
Years ago I tried to play it, too. I just wanted to be able play a tune that sounded so beautiful. But after a while I realized I could never replicate its beauty no matter much I practiced it.
always been one of my favorite, and I believe one of his most underrated tunes. it reminds me of visiting grandma's house as a little kid for some reason
this isnt an original song by leo, ive heard him say that this is his favorite technique of taking a beautiful simple melody and crashing it into the ground, which leads me to believe its not an original piece
Dreamwell ... And I am no one, going nowhere, doing nothing... But, this is one of my favourite songs that Leo plays. I've heard him say that he was inspired to write it in memory his grandma, who taught him to fish... go figure...
theres lots of great guitarists but leo kottke took it to another level in a time where there was no you tube so you could see what other guitarists were doing.yet he took folk, blues,and classical and shredded his way to the top of the class.and funny and humble to boot.the best in my opinion ever.
Many thanks telloscooby. I listened to all three of your recommendations and he has an amazing technique. Playing as fast as he does on a 6 string would be difficult enough but playing on a 12 string with its additional tension and closer string spacing is simply breathtaking. Thanks for the heads-up. I must spend some more time searching out some more of his music as you suggested.
A lovely rarity! I was at one of his shows recently where someone yelled out for him to play this, but he said he can't stand playing it anymore because of the "bridge thing" and he can't find a way around it. What a shame. Enjoy it here.
This song is like a trademark to Leo; I notice that on this vid he's playing a nylon string guitar, or a classical, rather than steel string folk guitar, which I believe he recorded; I like it either way, but in the 70s when he was at his pinnacle, you'd never see Leo playing a nylon string guitar. Yes?
I have always wanted to play with leo at least the experience of it what a guitar player especially the 12 string hope to see him again while life last
+jgazebo78 Manners and freedom from unnecessary, unhelpful condescension can be nice studies as well. Or, perhaps a more refined sense of comedic timing is what's yearning to be understood . Ah, yes... Life is filled with so many lessons... so many mysteries!
+Joseph Simpson Nope, just trying to help those that didn't pay attention in English class. Maybe I can help you too, since it appears you had to edit your post.
+jgazebo78 Heh... Double space after a full stop much? *in extremely bad at grammar voice* Duhhh I'm jgazebo78, and, I love to go hogwild ,on that spacebar because, I'm a dimwit a-doi doi
Hi..He doesn't compose them like that anymore...I read somewhere many years ago he gets more inquiries re The Fisherman than any other of his tunes...I really think in the future his composing skills will be really recognised ..IMO Oddball will survive to be a classic.and no doubt there will be many others.HK
lol, thanks to TH-cam I now finally see, after 32 yrs of punishing my fingers on a steel string flattop trying to last out this tune, that this beautiful version is via a nylon string guitar ;) Doh!
Yes, no doubt a nylon guitar in this video, and I like it a lot! ... hadda pull out Leo's 6 and 12 String Guitar LP I'd bought back in the '70's, and put it on the ol' turntable just to make sure I'd heard 'right' back then ;)
@sevlow47 I expect he means the musical "bridge" that joins the refrain to the other bits of the tune, Can't see anything wrong with it myself. Sounds good to me!
wow! super nice. and yeah, dang, that is a nylon. A 1st, other than that clip in H&A vid when he does a moment of William Powwel. At first i thought this was from the 77 Rock PAlaste concert, but it is not. Was this entire show filmed? Leo at his best thanks.Rob
I could be wrong (I've just turned 65 years old and I've started to experience some difficulties to tell right from wrong as far as my memories are concerned), but, could this tune have been the subject of some tabs in Guitar Player Mag many, many years ago? Cheers from Spain and sorry for my English... I never get the opportunity to practice enough not to talk this broken English of me. Sorry.
Here's a tab that helped me learn this song: docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cs.bu.edu%2Ffac%2Fsnyder%2FTablatureWeb%2FFisherman%2C%2520The.pdf
@methodinsane Is the 6 and 12 String Guitar version not played on a steel string? I swear I can hear fingerpicks, and unmuted steel strings at some points during the song.
This is not a song because there is no singing. Rather it's a lovely catchy instrumental and technically a pretty difficult one to play judging by the fast fingering and picking that's happening. I have to admit that today was the first time I'd heard this piece and indeed although I'd heard the name this is also the first time I've heard any of his music. I'm now curious to hear some more and would welcome any suggestions.
The Crow River Waltz/Jesu joy of Man's desiring/Jack Fig medley (all on you tube) from his album 'The Best' which I bought when I was 16 is very very very good. Good Luck!
Sh1mna ... Yeah. ALL of that. But my suggestion would be to listen to his 1st record, 6 and 12 string guitars. I've heard it hundreds of times. It's a classic that's nearly 50yrs old now, still selling, and it gives me goose bumps every time I listen to it...
@bornwithawoodenleg It could be, I only have this version on my collection CD (The Best of Chyrsalis Years), I actually thought this was the only version... oops! I don't think I have 6+12 String Guitar (I know it's a sin isn't it?.
He is the reincarnation of Robert Johnson; each time he re-sells his soul to 'Scratch' and again becomes an astonishingly good musician. Except his life always ends in misery and self-destruction. Witness the time he has already served for drugs and homicide, his dalliance with Charles Manson and close friendship with O.J and Michael Jackson. Now he's a 'person of interest' in Jackson's demise Too bad, so much talent...
I have been listening to Leo Kottke for about 40 years, and he still amazes me.........
In concert his intro to this song was once, "I'm gonna take a lovely simple melody and drive into the ground." Awesome song!
He says that in the “My Feet Are Smiling” version!
Leo's my favorite acoustic guitarist. hands down, bar none.
john fahey
It's been decades since I first heard this song from Mr. Kottke, and while I've gotten older, it hasn't.
Started playing guitar because of this song. What a gift to see it here! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
this song gets more beautiful every time i hear it.
A great tune which is seldom part of his repertoire ! I will always love 'The Fisherman' , it was the first Kottke tune I heard.
One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Thank you Leo.
My mother saw Leo on some afternoon TV talk show, and was impressed that he was wearing a buttondown shirt and the right kind of tennis shoes. I was becoming enthralled by the Grateful Dead at the time, so the armadillo album appeared next to the turntable.
My dad took me to a Kottke concert at Vanderbilt in the early 70's when I was 7 years old. To this day, I don't know why but I enjoy his music now.
2010tucker has
you just told us why ;)
He is playing a nylon (or gut) string guitar here. First time I have seen him play a "classical" guitar.
Great performance!
Leo is the man. Love him so much.
Interesting, the nylon strung guitar. I saw this clip on TV back in the 70s and never expected to see it again but I didn't notice the guitar he used. I remembered it well enough from the one hearing to play my own take on it. Then I started playing on nylon strings and much later I recorded it for my youtube channel. I think Leo suffered with finger troubles resulting from his "muscular" type of picking. Later he softened his approach to focus more on tone production.
I guess he used to use fingerpicks but he was in a car crash and suffered from tendon damage so he started playing more classical style fingerpicking not sure if thats true or not
+ operafan+ Derek: I can remember reading, years and years ago, that Leo did indeed have muscle/tendon issues due to his aggressive attack on guitar. He had to back off playing for a period and then consulted Ben Verdery(classical whizz kid) for a better way to play. That's the period when his whole sound changed and this video seems to be from that period. I believe it was in the late 80's or early 90's.
I just noticed this vid is from '77, Guess it was even longer ago than I thought!
Me too.
It hasn't gotten old... beautiful. Such talent...
my favorite kottke tune....still haven't got this one down...i should practice more...
Simple, beautiful, standard tuning melody, set on fire.
There's a radiant innocence and deep connection to the natural world within this simple melody.
I saw him in 1974 in Sedalia Missouri I was 16 years old
12-string guitar
I remember all Mr Little’s songs from when I was a small child.
They’re beautiful still.
So effortless. He always makes me want to continue my learning. Amazing.
A great instrumental.I love this music!
Beautiful, gentle flow. It is interesting to him on a nylon string guitar for a change, too.
Thanks so much, Leo. You were practically my only swerve from classic rock and roll in fifty years. And it was GRRRREEEEAAAAAT.
A smooth guitar player with lots of giddy up
Please post all the early Kottke you can get your hands on. He was priceless back then.
My all time fav...such precision and soul!
still can't get over the sophistication of his playing even with a free-standing hand
Seen Leo at the Fremantle ( WA. Aust.) Seamans/Fishermen's Union/Hall in late '80s early 90s... awesome skills Leo 🎸🎤🏆
One of the first songs that I was able to figure out on my own. It doesn’t have complex chords or a difficult picking pattern, but to play it fluidly like Leo is another matter.
Years ago I tried to play it, too. I just wanted to be able play a tune that sounded so beautiful. But after a while I realized I could never replicate its beauty no matter much I practiced it.
It is impossible for me to be sad while listening to him.
always been one of my favorite, and I believe one of his most underrated tunes. it reminds me of visiting grandma's house as a little kid for some reason
strangely enough I think he wrote this song about his grandmother
this isnt an original song by leo, ive heard him say that this is his favorite technique of taking a beautiful simple melody and crashing it into the ground, which leads me to believe its not an original piece
one of my favorites as well, cant get enough of fingerpicking
Nothing comes from nowhere.
Dreamwell ... And I am no one, going nowhere, doing nothing...
But, this is one of my favourite songs that Leo plays. I've heard him say that he was inspired to write it in memory his grandma, who taught him to fish... go figure...
Merci leo depuis longtemps te pour le reste emotions!!!
Beautiful. Perfect.
theres lots of great guitarists but leo kottke took it to another level in a time where there was no you tube so you could see what other guitarists were doing.yet he took folk, blues,and classical and shredded his way to the top of the class.and funny and humble to boot.the best in my opinion ever.
Tears to my eyes. Oh Leo.
jplir, thanks so much for posting this.
Many thanks telloscooby. I listened to all three of your recommendations and he has an amazing technique. Playing as fast as he does on a 6 string would be difficult enough but playing on a 12 string with its additional tension and closer string spacing is simply breathtaking. Thanks for the heads-up. I must spend some more time searching out some more of his music as you suggested.
definitely my favorite Leo Kottke song. thanks oldman1911a1 for the finding it for me
Leo Kottke the fisherman incredible
so beautiful .....
A lovely rarity! I was at one of his shows recently where someone yelled out for him to play this, but he said he can't stand playing it anymore because of the "bridge thing" and he can't find a way around it. What a shame. Enjoy it here.
Probably my favourite or at least up there Leo Kittke tunes. Beautiful, great to have the video.
gives me chills every time, this song
Utter Mastery!!!
Fantastic
This is my all-time favorite Kottke tune
Never gets old.
I dare you to try and listen to this song without feeling nostalgic. Great tune. One of his best.
Leo Rocks Period!!!!
This song is like a trademark to Leo; I notice that on this vid he's playing a nylon string guitar, or a classical, rather than steel string folk guitar, which I believe he recorded; I like it either way, but in the 70s when he was at his pinnacle, you'd never see Leo playing a nylon string guitar. Yes?
Leo kottke is a national treasure
International.
beautiful
I have always wanted to play with leo at least the experience of it what a guitar player especially the 12 string hope to see him again while life last
Ronnie blanton I agree, but you need to learn how to use commas.
+Ronnie blanton --Forget the commas, just use a pick.
+jgazebo78 Manners and freedom from unnecessary, unhelpful condescension can be nice studies as well. Or, perhaps a more refined sense of comedic timing is what's yearning to be understood . Ah, yes... Life is filled with so many lessons... so many mysteries!
+Joseph Simpson Nope, just trying to help those that didn't pay attention in English class. Maybe I can help you too, since it appears you had to edit your post.
+jgazebo78 Heh... Double space after a full stop much?
*in extremely bad at grammar voice* Duhhh I'm jgazebo78, and, I love to go hogwild ,on that spacebar because, I'm a dimwit a-doi doi
wow the sound quality on this is awesome
Sweet, nice to hear it played on a nylon strung guitar,much more mellow.
This is a wonderful clip.
fantastic! Thanks!
Now that was maybe the best I have heard from Leo...very nice...but then I like to fish...)
Hi..He doesn't compose them like that anymore...I read somewhere many years ago he gets more inquiries re The Fisherman than any other of his tunes...I really think in the future his composing skills will be really recognised ..IMO Oddball will survive to be a classic.and no doubt there will be many others.HK
Impossible to be sad while listening to him.
wonderful
Jack Fig, Vaseline Machine Gun, Driving ot the year Nail plus a lot more. just keep looking around
This is one of my favorite Kottke tunes! Pretty, sweet and melodic. Leo is AWESOME!
Touching...
Great !
one of my all time favourite tunes
lol, thanks to TH-cam I now finally see, after 32 yrs of punishing my fingers on a steel string flattop trying to last out this tune, that this beautiful version is via a nylon string guitar ;) Doh!
@saxonfield3
He'll be in joliet, IL on January 29th, 2010
LK playing a gut strung 6 string! Now that's some rare stuff folks.
yep..its a killer..after all this time.
I will learn this song
my facial expression trying to play this song is like im having 8 simultaneous strokes meanwhile leo looks like hes wondering whats for dinner
Yes, no doubt a nylon guitar in this video, and I like it a lot! ... hadda pull out Leo's 6 and 12 String Guitar LP I'd bought back in the '70's, and put it on the ol' turntable just to make sure I'd heard 'right' back then ;)
@sevlow47 I expect he means the musical "bridge" that joins the refrain to the other bits of the tune, Can't see anything wrong with it myself. Sounds good to me!
First time I've ever seen him use a nylon string guitar.
Leo on a gut-string guitar. Nice!
The Master.
Leoooooo!
Besides being a wonderful guitarist Leo is funny as hell in oncert. A real dry wit.
i knew his beautiful sisters
😍👍❤️
wow! super nice.
and yeah, dang, that is a nylon.
A 1st, other than that clip in H&A vid when he does a moment of William Powwel.
At first i thought this was from the 77 Rock PAlaste concert, but it is not. Was this entire show filmed?
Leo at his best
thanks.Rob
Pulchritudinous :)
just got my rocks off
@modelleg : I concur!
Cannot believe this is only 2:47 long. :o
Isn't this the one on the Chrysalis compilation album?!?!? Sweet!!!!
...Do you also have "Up Tempo?"
A lot of music coming out of 1st position; only the briefest of forays higher. See? Don't need all those frets!
@lmlm11 nice. I love leo, but look up "for my father", (andy mckee) it's pretty good stuff
I could be wrong (I've just turned 65 years old and I've started to experience some difficulties to tell right from wrong as far as my memories are concerned), but, could this tune have been the subject of some tabs in Guitar Player Mag many, many years ago? Cheers from Spain and sorry for my English... I never get the opportunity to practice enough not to talk this broken English of me. Sorry.
Here's a tab that helped me learn this song:
docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cs.bu.edu%2Ffac%2Fsnyder%2FTablatureWeb%2FFisherman%2C%2520The.pdf
@methodinsane Is the 6 and 12 String Guitar version not played on a steel string? I swear I can hear fingerpicks, and unmuted steel strings at some points during the song.
This is not a song because there is no singing. Rather it's a lovely catchy instrumental and technically a pretty difficult one to play judging by the fast fingering and picking that's happening. I have to admit that today was the first time I'd heard this piece and indeed although I'd heard the name this is also the first time I've heard any of his music. I'm now curious to hear some more and would welcome any suggestions.
The Crow River Waltz/Jesu joy of Man's desiring/Jack Fig medley (all on you tube) from his album 'The Best' which I bought when I was 16 is very very very good. Good Luck!
Sh1mna ... Yeah. ALL of that. But my suggestion would be to listen to his 1st record, 6 and 12 string guitars. I've heard it hundreds of times. It's a classic that's nearly 50yrs old now, still selling, and it gives me goose bumps every time I listen to it...
@bornwithawoodenleg It could be, I only have this version on my collection CD (The Best of Chyrsalis Years), I actually thought this was the only version... oops! I don't think I have 6+12 String Guitar (I know it's a sin isn't it?.
I'm inclined to think its the repetitive part starting at 0:46.
@lmlm11 me too!!!!
This song takes a lot of "hand stamina".
@011heinz Could you not hear it?
Really
still don't understand justin bieber and miley cyrus
Leo is hard to play, if you are also an acoustic player, but this one is fairly easy.
Yeah. You didn't know?
He is the reincarnation of Robert Johnson; each time he re-sells his soul to 'Scratch' and again becomes an astonishingly good musician. Except his life always ends in misery and self-destruction. Witness the time he has already served for drugs and homicide, his dalliance with Charles Manson and close friendship with O.J and Michael Jackson. Now he's a 'person of interest' in Jackson's demise
Too bad, so much talent...
emotional wreck