View Full Version : Old Folks = Soilder's Joy
Darren
Aug-26-2005, 3:15pm
A banjo playing friend of mine was saying how he is learning Old Folks. He thought that Old Folks is actually another name for Soilder's Joy.
Does anyone know the tune Old Folks?
picksnbits
Aug-26-2005, 4:09pm
I kicked off Soldier's Joy too slow at our local jam. Afterwards they said I had played "Old Folks". I'm not sure if it's a joke or if they really are 2 different tunes. According to my banjo picking friends, if you play it slow it's called Old Folks and if you play it fast it's Soldier's Joy.
Dennis Schubert
Aug-27-2005, 9:28am
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think that Earl Scruggs recorded a banjo-driven version of Soldier's Joy in C and called it "Old Folks" -- so that it could be copyrighted by Stacey-Certain (Lester and Earl's wives' maiden names) to squeeze a few more bucks out of the record label.
JGWoods
Aug-27-2005, 3:48pm
Soldiers Joy aka Kings Head aka Love Somebody aka Payday in the Army, and maybe Old Folks- at least now.
swampstomper
Aug-29-2005, 3:53am
Ironweed's got it right. It was on the Foggy Mountain Banjo album. And I guess dropping the key and making it a primarily b***o song does change it enough to copyright.
Interesting about the Scruggs version.
If you listen to the 3 Pickers CD, they do Soldier's Joy in the key of C. I thought that was unusual, because everywhere else you hear that tune in D. I wonder if that is Earl's favorite key for that tune?
Rob
Moose
Sep-01-2005, 10:00am
I believe that tune(whatever it's "title"..) is also on one of the "live" Flatt & Scruggs albums : Vanderbuilt U., or Carnagie Hall. Whenever my spirits take a dive and I need a pick-me-up, I put either - or both - THOSE CD's in my player - close everything(!) else outta' my sometimes cluttered head - and there I am..., sitt'n front n' center 'bout five rows back..., and let THAT wonderful group "roll my blues away"... Sorry to ramble - I lost it - "for a minute there" - Thanks for the GREAT music.., boys!. Moose http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif