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The Banjo Artistry of Johnny Ford

by Johnny Ford

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Remastered from a vinyl transfer.
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      $7 USD  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 3 Johnny Ford releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Live and well…again, The Entertainers - at the Fish Market, and The Banjo Artistry of Johnny Ford. , and , .

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1.
Chicago Medley 05:12
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2.
Tea for Two 02:33
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3.
12th Street Rag 02:21
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4.
More 03:07
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5.
Italian Medley 05:15
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6.
Fiddler on the Roof 08:10
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7.
Oklahoma Medley 04:11
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about

Perhaps once or twice in a century, mankind produces a musician whose prodigious talent, fused to an instrument, transcends superlatives as “excellent” or “outstanding.” Such an artist is Johnny Ford. Making his first public appearance playing banjo at age thirteen, he has since enjoyed the professional association of other entertainers like Nipsy Russel, David Frye, Henny Youngman, etc. Johnny has worked for Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan and has been feature soloist in front of 101 Strings. He has played the major night clubs from the Catskills to Miami Beach and throughout the Midwest and Mexico. In 1974, his career was interrupted by a tumor which took the vision of his right eye. So the eyepatch is real, but no less so than the exceptional performer who wears it. Currently Johnny is on the staff of the Flint Institute of Music as Artist-in-Residence for 1975-76.

Johnny’s banjo mirrors the artist’s soul, clearly reflecting moods of gaiety, roguishness, sensuousness, and sadness that dwell within the man. The oneness of artist and instrument, so apparent to all observers, creates a mood both intimate and exciting—surprising to those who think of banjo as a jazz or country sound. His performances are marked by a charisma that at once captivates and enthralls all listeners.

Some say the banjo is Arabic in origin, and this may well be since the Arabs were purveyors of slaves. And it was slaves who first introduced the banjo into the plantations of the South and subsequently the rest of America. Tribal Music soon gave way to spirituals and then to ballads. In post-Revolutionary times, it’s popularity flourished and it spread west with the pilgrims. Soon steel strings were added, then a fifth string, and true country music was born.

Played in the standard fashion, the banjo is a beautiful and distinctive sound. What has not been recognized, however, is its versatility— and it took a Johnny Ford to make it, at the artist’s will, sound like a classical guitar, a balaika, or a mandolin, and to perceive its possibilities as a serious instrument fitting to express itself in symphonics. It is thought that here, perhaps, is the greatest banjoist who ever lived.

— Bill Lamb

The sound wouldn’t happen without the enthusiastic support of the talented twosome backing Johnny.

credits

released November 5, 1976

Photography: Larry Daly
Cover Design: Peggy Hering
Engineer: Bill Lamb

Remastered by Jake Dempsey at Summit Sound.

Personnel:
Johnny Ford, banjo
Darrell Bronson, tuba
Sid Mitchell Jr., keyboard.

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Johnny Ford Burlington, New Jersey

1940-2003

This page serves as a tribute to the late Johnny Ford. Referred to as "The World's Best Banjoist." These are all the collected recordings here for you, the fans.

The albums have been remastered from vinyl transfers as we don't have access to the old masters.

Enjoy! ... more

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