Bela Fleck released My Bluegrass Heart a while back, a massive collection of self-penned bluegrass instrumentals. It’s a return to the music that initially established him as one of foremost performers on the 5-string banjo. This week we present The Banjo Special, featuring music from Bela Fleck’s two CD package, as well as some of the finest banjo players from the past half century. It’s a Banjo Special … this week on the Sing Out! Radio Magazine.

LISTEN:

Artist/”Song”/CD/Label

Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer” (excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian
              Folkways
Nick Hornbuckle / “Cumberland Gap” / Twelve By Two (Plus or Minus One) / Corvus
Bela Fleck / “The Old North Woods” / My Bluegrass Heart / BMG
Nashville Bluegrass Band-Alan O’Bryant/ “I’ll Just Keep On Loving You” / Home Of The Blues / Sugar Hill
John Hartford / “Gentle On My Mind” / Steamboat Whistle Blues / Radio Bremen
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band-John McKuen / “Clemente Opus 36” / Dirt Silver & Gold / BGO

Bill Emerson and the Sweet Dixie Band / “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico” / Bill Emerson and the Sweet
              Dixie Band / Rebel
Emerson & Taylor / “Espanol” / Appaloosa / Webco
Old Man Luedecke / “Just Like a River” / Proof of Love / Black Hen
Bela Fleck / “Hunky Dory” / My Bluegrass Heart / BMG
Nick Hornbuckle / “Yell in the Shoats” / Twelve By Two (Plus or Minus One) / Corvus

JD Crowe & the New South / “Sally Goodin” / JD Crowe & the New South / Rounder
The Osborne Brothers / “I Wonder Where You Are Tonight” / Dayton to Knoxville / Pinecastle
Flatt & Scruggs / “Earl’s Breakdown” / Foggy Mountain Jamboree / Columbia
Roger Sprung and Doc Watson / “The World is Waiting for the Sunrise” / Classic Bluegrass /
              Smithsonian Folkways
Bela Fleck / “Bum’s Rush” / My Bluegrass Heart / BMG / Music for Little People
Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer” (excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian
              Folkways