Sprout Wings and Fly

Some of the most important music in US history originated in the southeastern part of the country, and Les Blank's "Sprout Wings and Fly" makes that clear. This focus on old-time fiddler Tommy Jarrell shows just how much the people in the south love to sing and dance. Watching the documentary, one almost feels like dancing.

It's just good to know that Blank spent his career making docs about these sorts of topics, bringing out attention to these lesser-known things. A doc that he made in addition to this was "My Old Fiddle", released many years later.

I also recommend Maggie Greenwald's "Songcatcher", about a similar topic.

I love this film. When I watched it, I simply couldn't believe that bluegrass was that enjoyable. This film, set in the North Carolina Appalachians, honors the fiddle playing an 82-year-old Tommy Jarrel and the time honored tradition of whiskey and folk music. Filled to the brim with stories, small towns, good friends, and did any one say bluegrass?, "Sprout Wings and Fly" is a reminisce of heritage that stretches living memory back to the Civil War. But these aren't from the minds of the immobile. These people are full of energy, enough to start dancing at the drop of a tune and who won't stop until the last one's done. Of course a little drinking can't hurt to keep the music going too; and if you listen carefully, you'll even learn the true secret behind good alcohol. This film covers everything that is good and right with these people. They have a vigor for life and a lineage that forms the roots of America's culture. With music, family, and some drink to keep things kicking, what more could you want?

Scott, the reason that you like this music is not because it's bluegrass, it's because it's Old-Time Music. Old-Time was the communal, front porch music that was popular between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. By the advent of the 1900s, only a few rural musicians persisted in playing "the old way". Bluegrass actually corrupted old-time music, converting it into more of a performance art and feeding egos with solos. Luckily, Old-Time Music lovers in the 1970s and 1980s were able to visit legendary fiddlers like Tommy Jarrell of Toast, NC, who opened his home to whoever wanted to come and learn his style of fiddling. Les Blank's wonderful film paints a portrait of Tommy and his family, and many of the young musicians who visited him and became his friend. Tommy was quirky, gregarious and generous, and this film shows him at his best, in fine fiddling form.