Cluck Old Hen | clawhammer banjo song tutorial Freddy Badger 2024-09-22 | Full song: youtu.be/9R2E2lcWoc4?si=WyvBtz6_xIC-b6aS0:00 Intro0:50 Tuning1:46 Slow demonstration2:22 First part, note by note breakdown 5:17 Second part ^8:00 Slow demonstration (again) 9:01 Full speed demonstration10:11 Outro
Country Blues at Dock Boggs’ grave | Freddy Badger & Joseph McCarthy Freddy Badger 2024-09-12 | I had the great privilege today of paying respects and playing a couple songs for Dock Boggs. Listening to his recordings is what inspired me to get my first banjo. I owe a great deal to him and his music; in truth I cannot imagine what my life would look like now if I had not heard his music - that inspiration to pick up a banjo really set the course that my life has taken since.This is a traditional song originally called "Hustling Gamblers." Dock Boggs learned it from a traveling musician named Homer Crawford, added some lyrics of his own, and called it "Country Blues."Joseph McCarthy on fiddle, video by Grace Stormont."I'm pleased to get a chance even to put on all the old songs I've got. I'd love to put them on so that when I'm gone why the young people they can have them in memory of me."-Dock Boggs
Old Man at the Mill/Leatherwing Bat | traditional folk song | old time banjo Freddy Badger 2024-08-29 | This rendition is inspired by the recordings of Clint Howard, Tommy Makem, and Pete Seeger.
June Apple | old time banjo and guitar Freddy Badger 2024-08-24 | In St. Louis with John Fowler and Erik Lundgren.
Lungs | Townes Van Zandt clawhammer banjo cover Freddy Badger 2024-08-22 | With John Fowler and Erik Lundgren in St. Louis.
Maggie May | traditional folk song | two-finger banjo Freddy Badger 2024-08-07 | This is a Liverpool folk song I learned from the recording of Captain Kendall Morse of Maine.
Southern Texas (Texas Rangers) | traditional banjo/Clifton Hicks cover Freddy Badger 2024-07-24 | This is a traditional song which I learned from the recording of Clifton Hicks, who learned it from George Gibson.f A# F A# DVideo Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | @Illegitimate_Scholar Was down in southern Texas where I rejoined to stayI left my kind old parents when their hair was turning greyI joined them dying cowboys, I knew I had to rideI climbed up in the saddle and bid this world goodbyeI saw them Indians coming I heard them give their yellMy feelings at that moment no human tongue can tellI saw their shining rifles, their bullets round me flewThen all my strength had left me, and all my courage tooAnd then I thought of Mother who said in tears to meTo you they are all strangers at home you'd better be.I thought her old and foolish, but then she did not knowMy mind was set on ranging so westward I did go
Shady Grove | Folk Banjo Cover Freddy Badger 2024-07-16 | "Shady Grove" is a traditional American song, dating back at least to the turn of the 20th century in central Appalachia. It is made up of a variety of floating verses, and shares a melody with some versions of the English and American ballad "Matty Groves."Video Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | youtube.com/@UCRH77S0fVLmAZU4xLnAxuvw
What Did You Learn in School Today? - Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger cover, two-finger banjo Freddy Badger 2024-07-04 | Happy Independence Day! On the 4th of July I often remember a quote from Edward Abbey: "A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." Today we commemorate that our forefathers of the 18th century agreed with that sentiment and acted upon it.
Waiting Around to Die (Townes Van Zandt cover) Freddy Badger 2024-06-22 | From Townes Van Zandt's 1969 eponymous album.
Cluck Old Hen | Old Time Folk Banjo Freddy Badger 2024-06-17 | Song lesson: youtu.be/8lbrDT68G3I?si=XBNa_BGlaM07-WSK"Cluck Old Hen" is an Appalachian fiddle and banjo folk tune.Earliest known transcription is from 1886 and it was recorded by John Carson (not Johnny) in 1923.Video Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | @Illegitimate_Scholar
Cold Rain & Snow - right-hand close-up, 3-finger banjo, Obray Ramsey/traditional Freddy Badger 2024-06-10 | e C# F# A# C#Left hand:youtube.com/shorts/ckQJteaZdHI?si=tk76qM5jBm_MfYWeThis is not exactly how Ramsey played it, but my own similar adaption which I think reflects his playing style. Please comment with any questions!
Cold Rain & Snow - left-hand close-up, 3-finger banjo, Obray Ramsey/traditional Freddy Badger 2024-06-10 | e C# F# A# C#Right hand:youtube.com/shorts/cieR_x-g4ns?si=kRAnq5HacSEHcV9sThis is not exactly how Ramsey played it, but my own similar adaption which I think reflects his playing style. Please comment with any questions!
Cluck Old Hen - Appalachian Folk Banjo Freddy Badger 2024-06-07 | "Cluck Old Hen" is an Appalachian fiddle and banjo folk songEarliest known transcription is from 1886 and it was recorded by John Carson (not Johnny) in 1923.
Hills of Mexico | Banjo Cover Freddy Badger 2024-06-05 | Hills of Mexico is a traditional American Folk song. It also goes by the name: "On the Trail of the Buffalo", and "The Buffalo Skinners" The song is about an 1873 Buffalo Hunt. This cover is inspired by the version recorded by Clifton Hicks. This clip is from that song
Hills of Mexico - American Folk Song Banjo Freddy Badger 2024-06-05 | Hills of Mexico is a traditional American Folk song. It also goes by the name: "On the Trail of the Buffalo", and "The Buffalo Skinners" The song is about an 1873 Buffalo Hunt. This cover is inspired by the version recorded by Clifton Hicks.0:00 Start0:17 Song StartVideo Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | youtube.com/@UCRH77S0fVLmAZU4xLnAxuvw
Badger & Nault - House Carpenter (Clarence Ashley/traditional) Freddy Badger 2024-05-31 | "House Carpenter" with Bridget Nault; a traditional song we learned from the recording of Clarence Ashley. Thanks to the Mass Cultural Council, Southbridge Cultural Council, Jacob Edwards Library, and Southbridge Community Television for making this event possible.
Walking Boss - slowed down for students, clawhammer banjo Freddy Badger 2024-05-25 | gDGCD, "Sawmill Tuning" I don't play it exactly the same as Clarence Ashley, but it was his recording that inspired me.
Little Sadie - slowed down for students, clawhammer banjo Freddy Badger 2024-05-25 | gDGCD "Sawmill Tuning" Learned from the recording of Clarence Ashley.
Badger & Nault - John Hardy (Clarence Ashley/traditional) Freddy Badger 2024-05-24 | Join us in person or via Facebook Live at Jacob Edwards Library in Southbridge MA! Thursday May 30, 6:30-7:30pm.fb.me/e/1vM2YMOAD
Freddy Badger - Children of Zion (Rev Gary Davis) Freddy Badger 2024-05-11 | This is an old spiritual; it ain't about what some people call Zion today.f C F G# C
Freddy Badger - Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, I Will Arise (Robert Robinson/Kilby Snow) Freddy Badger 2024-03-31 | Happy Easter!
Cuckoo Bird verse part slowed down for students + full song Freddy Badger 2024-03-25 | Intro riff:youtu.be/43ZqxJWWAYo?si=bCJty1UCrDLTmHEz
Freddy Badger - Shady Grove (traditional/Clarence Ashley/Doc Watson/Wade Ward) Freddy Badger 2024-03-23 | gDGCD
Badger & Nault - Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl/Pogues) Freddy Badger 2024-03-17 | At Tackle Box Brewing Co, Marlborough MA.
Freddy Badger - Rocky Road To Dublin (D.K. Gavan/Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem) Freddy Badger 2024-03-15 | f C F A# C
Freddy Badger - Say Darlin Say Freddy Badger 2024-03-07 | A traditional song I learned from my friend Harper Walker West, who learned it from the recording of Dirk Powell.
Freddy Badger - Hustling Gamblers (Banjo Bill Cornett/traditional) Freddy Badger 2024-03-01 | Learned from the Field Recorders' Collective's "The Lost Recordings of Banjo Bill Cornett" (FRC304), track 10.
Badger & Nault - Garfield & Guiteau (original history song) Freddy Badger 2024-02-25 | At Acoustic Java in Worcester, MA.Bridget Nault wrote this song about the tragically intertwined fates of Charles Guiteau and President James Garfield.---Guiteau was never good at muchTried many things but had no luckTo politics he turned He wrote a speech supporting GrantLess of a speech more of a rantWhen Grant was out he swapped the nameTo Garfield and never paid butPublished itAnd Garfield did winThe day the President moved inGuiteau was there to welcome him And get what he thought dueHe skulked that winter in DCNo boots no coat he stayed for freeSkipping out on lodging And harassing politiciansFor a jobFrom the White House he was bannedHe borrowed 15 for the gunHe knew nothing of firearmsThought it’d look good in a museumHe wrote letters to the PresidentHe had demands that must be metOr the Republicans would come to griefNo one considered in the leastHe'd do itAs Guiteau prepared his planGuiteau worked daily on his aimAnd tried to tour the district jailTo see where he would goAt the Baltimore and Potomac StationOn route to family vacationGarfield he was shot twiceAt point blank range it horrified The massesPatrick Kearny was the young beat copWho jumped to action, the culprit caughtGuiteau exclaimed‘I did the deed for God’Alas the tale does not end hereGarfield survived the first ordealBut doctors poked and prodded himWith filthy hands and infection Spread fastSepsis killed him in two monthsGuiteau of course was charged for itHe tried to claim he wasn’t fitHis trial was a mockery The people of the jury They convicted himGuiteau was gallows boundThe execution day arrivedHe swaggered up the stairs with prideHe shook the executioner's handAnd even read a poem That he wroteIt was the end of Charles Guiteau
Freddy Badger - Catfish Blues (traditional/Skip James) Freddy Badger 2024-02-16 | At Tackle Box Brewing Co Marlborough MA.
Cuckoo lick for banjo students Freddy Badger 2024-02-13 | Part 2:youtu.be/jBFSEhuwXsE?si=jUvv1kk1ldBecinNTraditional/Clarence AshleySawmill Tuning: gDGCD
Freddy Badger - Lexington Massacre (original New England history song) Freddy Badger 2024-02-08 | I wrote this as the first in what I hope to grow into a series of several songs recounting the story of the Revolution in New England, 1775-1776. This one is set to the tune of the traditional Irish ballad "Lovely Willie," which I learned from the recording of Paddy Tunney.The land by the Bay had been growing in rageWhen Major Pitcairn received orders from GageTo lead the king's soldiers to the Middlesex storesAnd destroy rebel weapons prepared for the warThe militias took warning from swift Paul RevereThe regulars were coming, maybe soon to draw nearHow brave they assembled when they heard his voice ringThough no one could tell what the daylight would bringThe veteran John Parker, a Lexington manBeing plagued by consumption looked to make his last standHe called his militia, on the green they would meetWith their guns there to stand and the British to greetThe orders were given: let no bullet flyAnd to only keep watch as the soldiers passed byBut the greatest confusion they ever had seenWhen the ranks of the scarlet came straight for the greenThe first shot was fired, from where none could tellThen on the militia rained hot lead and hellThey dispersed in their shock as the muzzle flash shoneAnd were shot in their backs as they turned to their homesThe soldiers gave three cheers as the town's people grievedThrough the thick clouds of gun smoke round the horror they'd seenOn the green grass of Lexington covered as redAs the coats of the cowards who left our men dead
Little Sadie - two-finger banjo & flat pick guitar (Clarence Ashley/Doc Watson/traditional) Freddy Badger 2024-02-03 | ...
Freddy Badger - The Devil and the Farmers Wife (traditional/Hobart Smith) Freddy Badger 2024-01-26 | Child 278, Roud 160. The storyline of this song is very old and widespread. Similar stories can be found dating back to the sixth century; and there are variations everywhere from India to Britain and Ireland, and from there to America. The song as we know it today seems to date back to the 17th century. It is also commonly known as "The Farmer's Curst Wife" and "The Devil and the Ploughman," among other names.
Freddy Badger - The Pony Express (Jimmy Driftwood cover) Freddy Badger 2024-01-23 | "The Pony Express (I've Got To Carry The Mail)" from Jimmy Driftwood's 1960 album, "The Westward Movement."
Freddy Badger - Duncan (Paul Simon cover) Freddy Badger 2024-01-16 | A Paul Simon song I was inspired to learn by one of my favorite local musicians, Martin Luttrell.
Freddy Badger - Warren Hellmans Banjo (Steve Earle cover) Freddy Badger 2024-01-14 | Steve Earle wrote this for the banjo player Warren Hellman. The lyrics are mostly references to old time banjo tunes.
Freddy Badger - Swannanoa Tunnel (traditional/Bascom Lamar Lunsford/Matt Heckler) Freddy Badger 2024-01-06 | ...
Freddy Badger - What Child Is This (William Dix/traditional) Freddy Badger 2023-12-25 | Written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865. It is set to the traditional English tune, "Greensleeves," which dates back to the 16th century."Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men of good will!"
Frosty Morn/Gulf of Maine/West Virginia Gals two-finger banjo Freddy Badger 2023-12-19 | I first learned this tune from a video of a man named Steve James who called it "West Virginia Gals." The Watson family recorded a very similar song called "Frosty Morn." The variation I like to play is known as "Gulf of Maine."
Dreadful Wind & Rain banjo lesson and performance (traditional/Garcia & Grisman) Freddy Badger 2023-12-07 | 00:00 Intro00:21 Song History00:53 Tuning1:48 Lesson6:50 PerformanceOriginal video:youtu.be/OdRh7k-_vdc?si=WhE9GZ6ythus4lGI
