John Fahey-Red Pony 1969
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John Fahey is truly an American guitar legend.
His style has been greatly influential and has been described as American Primitive, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the self-taught nature of his art.
Fahey himself borrowed from the folk and blues traditions of America but incorporated classical, Brazilian, Indian and abstract music into his eclectic oeuvre. In 2003, he was ranked 35th in Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
See more John Fahey at www.burnsiderecords.com
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People: You cant headbang to folk music
Fahey: Hold my turtle...
I get the reference!
Wow dude
Can to this
And his cigarette...
@@kalangoalpha5920 why turtle
I saw him later in life at a concert at the U of Washington. He played and played and never said a word. Mesmorizing.
mesmerisin.
Franz Mesmer.
I lived in his childhood home after he was gone from there.
I started playing guitar specifically to learn this tune. It’s taken me about two years, but I can run through this now. No, it doesn’t match fahey’s subtlety or mastery. Nowhere close. But I’m getting there and so can you. If you want to learn rhythm and dissonance and voodoo guitar magic, there’s no better teacher than fahey. Just study this video. Dig into the subtle timing variations, ample ghost notes and his emotive power. It’s all in the video.
@Guy Dude yeah the alternating bass notes with your is the absolute basis of fingerpicking...and while yes as someone who absolutely ADORES Fahey and started playing finger style because of him what his fretting hand done is nothing too crazy or difficult...but what.his right hand does and yes the little subtle nuances he does give him his unique sound...but yeah in terms of true guitar Dynamics players like Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges are waaaay more complicated..but somehow I still prefer Fahey by far
learning Fahey songs improved my skill more than any others did
I have over a decade of experience and I spent about 6 hours learning this song today. I have probably never been so excited but so challenged. Felt like I broke thru to a new level of skill
100th like and proud of it! I will learn the song in kind.
What was the hardest part to learn?
This is one of those performances that I'm happy is archived for future generations to enjoy.
here i am
Brings me back to 2020 lockdown days. spent the entire time learning this song.
Way to go. What tuning is he using? I used to try to play his stuff back in the '70's might try again.
@@MrWeezer55 for this one I think he uses open C#
@@DanKale Thanks! I think I remember reading something he said about how C# was a perfect blues tuning.
People are acting like it was 30 years ago and they now just barely remember it through the fog. No, your government just locked you up for no reason to check your obedience
@@MatthewMcRowan Stop listening to the Russkies. Nobody cares if you 'obey' them or not
I met John Fahey when I was a child and later when I became a young man. His music permanently changed my perspective of creativity.
+Jack Aldrich A friend of mine in South Gate, California actually hired John to perform in his garage for the neighborhood. Mid-70s as I recall.
+Harry Harshimoto
The first time I met John Fahey, he was working in a Horn Oil Gas Station on Central Ave. in Albuquerque, NM. I was 14 years old. My friend and I walked into the station and bought a pack of Marlboros. He was quietly playing his guitar. He sold us the cigarettes and as we were leaving he said something like "Don't you need some matches?" and gave us a book of matches.
Later, when I was 18 years old and had acquired 7 or 8 Tacoma records recorded by my hero the mysterious blues guitarist John Fahey, he played two shows at the Anthropology Lecture Hall at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. I took my girlfriend to the first show. I loved Fahey's music so much that I dropped her at her parent's house and drove back hoping to hear him play again from outside the hall.
As I walked up the rear of the hall. there was a man standing next to a "57 Chevy holding a guitar. It was Fahey as he was preparing to return to the stage to perform the second show! I mustered the courage to walk up to him and blurted out "Big John, I think you are the greatest guitarist ever!" He looked at me and smiled, crushed his cigarette butt in the dirt and said "Well thank you! What's your name?" I said "My name is Jack." He said "Do you want to see the show? Just follow me."
Then he walked in the rear of the hall and I followed behind him. As we walked in he said to the ticket takers, "He's with me." We walked up the center aisle to a standing ovation. John pointed to an empty seat in the third row and I sat there. As he began his set he said into the microphone "I like Albuquerque. It's a nice town. I had a job once at a Horn Oil station years ago pumping gas. I practiced my guitar there a lot back then." Then he began his unbelievably amazing concert and I realized that it was him that sold me those Marlboros years earlier. After the show, the stage was full of fans asking him questions about tuning and writing music, etc. I couldn't thank him or say goodbye because I had to be home by 11. So I left. End of story. .-)
+Jack Aldrich Damn, Jack, that's about the most awesome story I've heard in a long time.
+Jack Aldrich that's pretty damn cool
+Jack Aldrich Fantastic story!
Well, it was February 1971 and I was one of the last draftees. I decide to go see the Capitol in Washington, DC before reporting to basic training at Fort Knox. I stuck my thumb out in Toledo and before long I was somewhere in Pennsylvania where I ran into this kid who was thumbing around, too. I guess he was about 16 and I was just 18 but you know I was old enough to tote so that made me the elder expert in matters of life and love and all other "etceteras".
I don't know the kids name. I suppose I did for a while but, now, all I remember is that he was running away from home because he said his dad was in the CIA and was just kind of crazy. We determined that we might find a place to sleep at the University of Pittsburgh and headed there, directly. From the student union some straight types directed us to a crash pad and on the way this guy with long hair and a beard driving in an old green station wagon picks us up and takes us to the address which turns out to be a vacant lot. So the guy with the long hair and the family wagon says, “Hell, you can crash at my pad," which we agreed was a good idea.
Turns out the hippie guy (whose name has also long been forgotten) was an artist and had a lot of very cool things in his house, among which was his own grave-marker, fully memorializing his life in everlasting stone, sitting right there in the living room in front of the fireplace. Being a hospitable sort of guy, the hippie fella brings out a grocery bag full of pot and we all proceeded to get stoned and for the very first time I listened to “The Dance of Death and other Plantation Favorites” by John Fahey. I have been a fan ever since!
Will Carmichael wonderful story :)
This story just fits in with the music wow
Great writing. What a fine experience
I have a somewhat similar tale. Amazing how his music falls into one's life.
One good reason to check out John Fahey on TH-cam are the stories you can read in the comments.
This one piece has so much going on in it, human drama with a sense of folklore-like mysticism. It has a watery-like flow to it, like the rhythm of a moving river.
It's funny. I can hear the sound of an old train going.
@@RickyBlackwell_X Or a cantering horse.
Right after this clip cuts out, Laura Weber mildly chides John for doing what she goes after her students for; using his thumb to bar the strings at the end of the piece. He replies that he’s not sure how one would otherwise accomplish what he wants to do; bar all the strings, then the top five, then the top four, top three, two and finally just the top string. That’s one of the things I’ve always appreciated about John’s approach. it didn’t matter to him how he achieved the sound he was looking for as long and he found it. Come to think of it, I don’t give a damn about that either. It’s more about where his music goes than how he gets there. There are a lot of guitar players who look down their noses at this sort of thing, open tunings, etc, but by and large I don’t find their recordings anywhere near as interesting or as worthy of repeated listenings
Exactly and it might be easy to play but that doesn't mean it was easy to write. To many people learn "Little wing" and then they get told they play just as good as hendrix now. No lol it doesn't work like that that.
This is a woman who taught beginners to play Puff the Magic Dragon. She wasn’t channeling Holst or working open tunings. So even having him on the show was like inviting a Martian. I’m glad we have this video of the show but she had a pretty pedantic view of what constitutes guitar technique.
As long as it sounds good to someone’s ear
Bro, the essence that he portrays with his music is indescribable almost mistic
It's kind of terrifying. He feels insanely powerful.
mystic, unquestionably..
John Fahey plays like no other. So much emotion and skill, but without all the technical showoffness
There is a really good cover by John fairhurst. Kinda like Hendrix and watchtower he takes this song and just runs with it. I actually kind of like it better.
@@willlauzon3744 I played along with his video once I had the basics down. I started at 75% and then increased the speed. He really does a good version.
@@nancyeaton731 he seems to be using an open tuning, do you happen to know what it is?
@@MsMickeynessdadfad
True, technical prowess is not the point.
I'm afraid I am terribly obsessed with this sound and style. I find it so refreshing and so darn musical. I love it, dearly. I discovered this incredible guitarist by accident. I had a compilation by various artists covering his John's music. But I never bothered to listen to it. I kick myself in the teeth for not knowing of John's music earlier. Absolutely wonderful, bizarre and uniquely American.
You might like Mississippi John Hurt, who also had a similar, heavily syncopated fingerstyle (although he's probably a lot more straight forward)
It's called american primitive guitar, fahey is pretty much the sole inventor of the genre
Been listening to Sligo River Blues and hearing all the heart breaking moments in life and all the sweet moments in life and all the regular, boring days of life in this one, singular song. Loving every note of life. Looked him up and of course, all things loved are touched by Oregon, Salem being the place he laid to rest his life. There must be something of goodness that coalesces on the other of this material world that brings goodness together in this life. There just must be.
Sligo River Blues, written and played by John Fahey has been my most beloved guitar piece since the early ‘70s when I heard it for the first time. It flows along like a river, appearing simple, yet holding a multitude. He always followed his own internal North Star. Just a week ago I heard JF’s contemporary, also a genius, Leo Kottke, still playing like the master he is.
I spent last winter in a on off relationship, always high, listening to this.
this melody will always remind me of those months.
That thumb bar! What an amazing guitar player he was. Truly one of my biggest inspirations.
this song always gives me the chills.
me too !
Me three. In fact, a lot of his songs do. Rekkin' that why I like his music, even the late material.
Raga + Delta Blues + Carter Family + Fahey = fusion genius
I miss John he was such a kind man I wished I would have spent more time with him before he passed away.
I got to meet him once when I was 17, backstage at the old Amazingrace, a listening room in Evanston, IL, July '76. He was soft-spoken and unassuming. He even played a Weissenborn that night.
+Hammerin' Hank Yes, he did...!
If I recall, he used it twice for his more impromptu 'excursions', if you will.
Fahey preferred Martin guitars in his life. His first record "Blind Joe Death" was recorded on a little Martin New Yorker, with big pearl buttons inlaid in the fingerboard. You can really hear the small-body boxy rosewood sound on that record. He is holding a 1928 Martin 0028 on the cover of album #6 and he used a Martin D35 for many years. The Bacon and Day he is playing on this video and the Gibson Recording King he smashed were memorable but Martins were the guitar he played most.
I remember I went to see John in a small cafe in LA in 1969. First time I heard bottlenecking Those were the days!
One of the few videos on youtube that truly deserves 0 dislikes.
So absolutely incredible and inspiring. John and Leo Kottke are 2 of my all time favorite guitarists. I love how Jim O’Rourke became friends with John, and recorded an album with him. Both Jim O’Rourke’s albums, Eureka and Insignificance sound so incredibly inspired by John’s style. John was truly one of the greatest.
He seemed to know something about the guitar and its capabilities, most others never got the essence of. The most idiomatic player I’ve ever come across.
So ahead of his time and yet, still timeless. The man was alien.
It's all in the right hand with Fahey. What a brilliant player.
What a great master was John Fahey!
He’s my absolute acoustic guitarhero
This video is from an old public access tv show called Guitar Guitar and was hosted by Laura Weber. This clip in its full form is a set with 3 or 4 pieces and an interview by Laura who talks to John about all kinds of stuff. (Shes kinda cringy in the interview because I think he is on another level than what she was doing, but its still real fun!) The full set can be found on the dvd "John Fahey In Concert and Interviews 1969 &1996"
Songs have singin. That is why they have been named "songs".
People say his songs are less technical and easy to learn. But It's only when you try to play them yourself that you discover the opposite. There's a lot going on in the background, technique, nuances etc that you didn't realise before. Can't get the same sound as him grrr
I've been learning some of his tunes. Started with Sunflower River Blues. I'm a hybrid picker, so for me, some of it is rather challenging. I've mastered Sunflower and am now working on Some Summer Day, which so far, doesn't feel as difficult. Hybrid picking has always worked for me, but it does present some limitations, particularly if the bass notes are operating independently, so to speak, from the melody. Sligo River Blues, for instance, sounds very simple and repetitive, but I had a heck of a time trying to get that right on my first attempt (gave up, for now).
Songs have singin. That is why they have been named "songs".
What an inspiration. Thanks for the upload. That Bacon and Day is real nice hey!
I've been looking for one for 60 years...
Truly the Godfather of modern alternative acoustic fingerstyle guitar!!
There is a man who truly loves his instrument!!
beautiful recording ...beautiful guitar playing as only John Fahey can...
this is a pleasant diversion from the percussive show-offy tappy bullshit that is modern fingerstyle guitar
I hate that stuff, I want to hear a guitar played in the fashion it was meant to be.
@@tehee- gay and old
@@dolphinenergy3411 why are you here then?
@@tehee- i love john fahey, just the statement "I want to hear a guitar played in the fashion it was meant to be" seems dismissive and like an old man type thing to say.
@@dolphinenergy3411 nope, I just can’t catch on to the tappy slappy beating on the guitar thing.
Heard John Fahey for the first time this week on an old John Peel radio broadcast and was amazed! Then damm me, i pick up this months record collector and there he is again with a box set and dvd from Germany, just had to look on you tube ,was not dissapointed ,Superb.
I first heard him on John Peel's 'Perfumed Garden' radio show. My friend and I were crazy about American music and Peel was the pioneer. This was probably in 1967/8. My folks went on holiday to San Francisco so I asked them to bring back as many of his albums as they could. Still have these original albums today.
Beautiful resolving dissonance. Thank you John Fahey.
Will be a classic forever
a true genius. my all time favourite player.
Bless your soul John Fahey. Thank you for the inspiration.
He made beautiful music.
I love this song so much, it gives me chills
I love your pfp! 💓
Songs have singin. That is why they have been named "songs".
My favorite,love all his work,he changed my whole approach to guitar picking,a hero to all players.
I think the "lady with the legs" is Laura Weber, who hosted Folk Guitar with Laura Weber, a long-running Public Television show that gave guitar instruction and had guest artist on it.
What a towering genius this man was.
Thanks for the post! It has been ages since I have heard this. It may have been in a dream.
1'23 - the weirdest sound i heard a guitar playing. Fantastic!
Came up in my feed today. Great film on 1969 Memphis Blues Festival.. Bukka White , Sleepy John Estes etc . Plus John Fahey
Often wondered why Fahey's music is timeless and always sounds fresh, while after one or two listenings of most any other solo guitarist their compositions are hard-pressed to hold my interest. Many of these guitar players are far better technically than Mr. Fahey, but they seem to be missing something that Fahey's music seem to contain. There just seems to be something deeper in his music.
I've never been able to pin it down. I always hear echoes of the American Civil War, the 1930's Dustbowl and other tragedies from his music
Feeling.
The primal, primordial... that which is within you. I hate to sound pretentious, but that's what sets him apart.
incredible, this is almost experimental as far as an acoustic guitar goes.
0:25 that sounds so SICK!! Wish he had made a song from that rhythm!
Sounds like "asturias" by albeniz
I’m going to try to describe the phenomena of listening to Fahey, that I’ve personally experienced, without sounding cliche. It gets better every time. These songs in which I firstly listen to under the guise and prejudice of all previous guitarists I’ve heard, and which to say this man simply brings out the twang of my soul in a way others don’t. Something about it brings you away the further away from it you listen. Listen critically and you’ll miss the enjoyment… cheers to all
Songs have singin. That is why they have been named "songs".
genius, one of the most dazzlling musicians of XX century
That is a truly amazing piece of music, haunting and inspiring in equal measure! Time to study ;)
Thank you
Here from Wolf Alice; discovered an amazing musician.
Love John Fahey. So sad that he died a pauper. He rocked!!!!!
All fingerstylists deserve a good woman to stand behind them . :)
Just one woman for all of them, you said?
Been a fan of Fahey since 1971 or so. Have 18! of his albums. Have lots of other great music too. Out of all that, this song, which I think he was still calling Wine and Roses when this was recorded, is my favorite. In fact next to the Theme from Pather Panchali by Ravi Shankar and Paul Horn, covered just amazingly fabulously by Fahey in On the Banks of the Owchita, this is my favorite song, as played by Fahey under either title, in any genre. Thanks for putting this up.
+Bufatutu Agonistes
18! is an obscenely large discography!
+Andrew Hooper
I wish I was wealthy enough to purchase 6.4 trillion of anything.
Songs have singin. That is why they have been named "songs".
Nothing makes bones relax more than John Fahey.
Came here from Kottke's Vaseline Machinegun. Glad I dropped in. This is epic.
excellent. A true virtuoso and straight from the heart!
The inlay's on that guitar and the head stock is beautiful
You have abused the apostrophe and substituted a singular verb for a plural one.
The bass sounds menacing, prehistoric, mighty. Fantastic.
***** Around 1:40 when it seeps back in, theres something huge going on there.
***** damn i heard the same thing there...!
YES WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS HERE? WHAT IS HE DOING? Its like the tune takes on these new and insane overtones from out of nowhere.
@@arthurkrems Late reply, but I really think it's just Fahey's attention to dynamics in terms of volume, as well as the tempo getting slightly faster than the first time that section is played. After doing an A:B between them it seems to me that's the only difference. Those eighth-note, low string plucks give me chills every time they come back in.
Sounds like a demon is coming out of the guitar, screeching as it tears its way out. Another interesting moment is at 0:45, where you can hear his guitar gently howling behind the melody. I like to think of it as foreshadowing to the moment at 1:40. This truly is an incredible performance.
How did i first listen to Holst? Fahey mentioning him at the end of this performance
This is so beautiful!
..wow, first listen today and I can’t believe I’ve never checked out John Fahey, definitely a mistake to correct!..amazing performance, the acoustic guitar is awesome and at the end he says casually that he borrowed that intense chord at the end from Holst!..another incredibly important musical master to explore..New York August 16, 2020..trying to stay cool during unsettling times
It's on a DVD: John Fahey - In Concert And Interviews 1969 & 1996. The 1969 TV show is great. But it's a bit sad to see him thirty years later, doing his best playing his old tunes but not really up to it anymore. Life can be rough.
The legend!
His understanding of whatever needs to be understood is understood.
Claro.
Grazie John!...the one and only...
blind joe death
Im just now discovering John Fahey's music. (Always heard the name but never his music.) And its amazing. John Fahey is the REAL guitar peoples music. You have to really love guitar to really appreciate his music. Only now that Im getting more serious about guitar do I come across his music, and I respect his talent.
He's not only a great player, but a great composer. I know this sounds obvious but it's something less recognized in the TH-cam age. Music is becoming more and more about performance and less and less about art and expression.
it shows the level of musicianship here as he says he stole the last bit from Holst The Planets. Imagine asking any of the top 40 musicians of today what/who Holst and the Planets album is ?
i remember Trying to think just what instrument this guy was playing. I was very Stoned
Absolutely wonderful
The tuning played here is C# G# C# E G# C# for those who want it to sound like this version. I play it all the time.
Drop C#
No, it's not a dropped tuning it's an open-tuning, D♭ Minor.
DTELOT G It's in open D minor (DADFAD)
Jacob Gee F# would be the major third, not the minor third.
uglyawesome you're right, I could have sworn I saw on a really really old tablature site (sometime in the 90s) where they said for this and that one song something rose he uses DADF#AD because if you used DADFAD it sounds slightly off
Only just discovered this, this is really nice, thx
How could anyone dislike this song
Go back and put into the comment the punctuation's markin.
Also, songs have singin. That is why they have been named "songs".
The old strings adds to the menacing tone. Gotta love it :)
+scaredypicker
They're probably not old, but thick as fuck. Hence the muddled tone.
X Lightcameradeath Yeah they could just be a high gauge. Good point!
It is due to the construction of the bracing inside the guitar. It's ladder braced, not "X" braced. And as pointed out, they are most likely heavy gauge strings. Most likely "Black Diamond" strings. At that time they were rather crudely made and very hard on the fingers but nothing else sounded like them.
@@gilbertsatchell6866 The guitar is a Bacon & Day Señorita and is X-Braced. They are voiced more like old Gibsons rather than something like a Martin, which contributes to the tone. I’m guessing it’s a tape recording and all the compression that’s been involved add to it’s vintage sound.
@@waatchyourhead hAVINg a high action and thick strings on a guitar like this will give it this sound ime
Wow, crazy that this was in '69!
He was recording his playing like this in 1959 on Takoma Records.
the guitar is like screwed to his ribs... so much notes, so little movement... is hypnotic
This is from Laura Weber's Guitar Workshop, and the whole video is amazing. I highly recommend it. It's hilarious when John tries to explain his art to her, and she has a very difficult time wrapping her teeth around it all lol.
Yeah, when he mentions he stole the final barred chord from Holst’s The Planets, she had an uncomfortable little chuckle. Not sure if she didn’t know the piece, or if she was still appalled at watching his left-hand thumb usage, which she hated but I thought was genius.
HOLST. Fat finger typo!
she wanted the D for sure
this would be awesome as a movie soundtrack
There are some people out there that believe that this is better than anything that Lil Wayne has ever done on a guitar. I find that hard to believe.
LOL!
this is from a TV program. if you can find the whole thing, it is a well spent half hour.
mindsearrecords where can i find it? :o
xxxxxxxkkxssqs i am not sure. from time to time, you can find it on TH-cam. the show was called Guitar, Guitar. it was an instructional guitar show that was on public TV in SF in 1969. it is also on the DVD available at Amazon.
i like you. thanks a million.
JF is fast becoming one of my favorite acoustic artist...a lot of his "voodoo" (to quote another comment) is derived from the various alternative tunings...it's interesting and inspiring...I'm having a good time with it...JF has become my muse.
To answer the question about what type of guitar he is playing: it is a Bacon and Day Senorita made around 1935.
He is playing some 12 strings right here, isn't he ? .... I'm I goin' crazy ?
I count six. And that guitar sounds crap, to be honest.
@@unabonger777 While your comment is somewhat true it's the "crap" that makes it all come together, it's what makes the song sound so incredibly authentic, almost banjo like, extremely primitive.
Sorry, a prewar D18 wouldn't hold a candle to this B&D in this setting.
The master from which we all spring …
Cosmic
I've started exploring the sorts of ways Fahey approached the guitar. Makes for an interesting experience.
Originator of old American guitar music
John is the only man who could write a song about his woman having a nervous breakdown at a fair. Vanguard was an amazing label.
which song is that? this one?
is that what this song is about??
Beautifully "primitive" - a true guitar virtuoso. Thanks for the load. Peace…..
Fantastic. John was brilliant. I get freaked when I hear him doing ALL of the parts of Layla at once...and that isn't even my favorite song by him. It is just so incredibly impossible. Thanks for having this here. I am glad some remember him...and his contributions that are still around.
Beautiful guitar.
beautiful.
He made this look so effortless.
That is what Masters do.
" I stole that last quote from Holst"
I knew I liked him. I've never heard of John Fahey until this evening watching the documentary MEMPHIS '69 : The 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival. The song he played there had such a nice melody. Now he's gone and mentioned my favourite classical composer :)
He was a treasure!
this moves my spirit
the best ever, its as simple as that
i ride to work on my bike humming his songs, like a monk.