The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky

Subject: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Fortunato
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 08:51 AM

Billed as THE THREE PICKERS, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, and Ricky Skaggs, backed up by Kentucky Thunder and Alison Krause appeared on Maryland Public Television last night.

If it is yet to play in your area don't miss it. They played to a Winston-Salem, North Carolina audience that knows its Old Time and Bluesgrass and Folk music, and the crowd spent nearly as much time on it's feet as it did sitting down.

The music was simply tremendous. Doc's old cutaway Gallagher "rang like a bell", on Foggy Mountain Top, John Hardy and many others. Earl's banjo was fast, clean, and had his characteristic excellent timing. Ricky Skaggs mandolin was quite good, but his high tenor harmony had that quintessential high lonesome sound, soaring and sweetly raising the hair on the back of your neck.

Whoever the Dobro player was he was just incredibly clean and tasteful, the perfect fill at the perfect time.

It was very gratifying to see the Mighty Doc take center stage in that company, and lift them up above divisions, genres and distinctions.

Great show.   cheers, Chance

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From:
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 08:56 AM

Mary in Kentucky and I talked about it here PBS: Great Performances

There is also an Alison Krauss special which is on WGBH tomorrow morning at 4AM. The program is called Soundstage.

On the link above, I put a link to PBS's National schedule database. Check it out.

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Candyman(inactive)
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 09:05 AM

Whoever the Dobro player was he was just incredibly clean and tasteful, the perfect fill at the perfect time.

Rob Ickes.

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 03:03 PM

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 03:16 PM

oops...OK, for what it is worth, Rob Ickes, a young man from Sonora, California, has earned a place next to Mike Auldridge and Jerry Douglas as the best on his instrument. Check out "What It Is" on Rounder for progressive acoustic music. Rob is now the leader of the Big Three on Dobro.

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: JedMarum
Date: 29 Jul 03 - 11:29 PM

Wow -yes, man; I agree!

What a great show. Wish I couldda been there, but it was a treat in TV!

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Dharmabum
Date: 30 Jul 03 - 06:25 AM

Thanks for the heads up.
It's scheduled to air here in the northeast(NY,NJ,Philly)on channel 13,Thursday 7/31, 8pm.

I'm,looking forward to it.

DB.

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 30 Jul 03 - 07:57 AM

It was on my station Monday night. Great show!

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From:
Date: 04 Aug 03 - 03:39 PM

I've put some of the August Music programs on PBS in August in this thread PBS: Some shows in August

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 04:06 AM

NPR interview with the three legends, along with three tunes can be heard Here .

At least I hope the audio stuff can be heard, the soundcard on my computer is out of action ....

Murray

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Midchuck
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 09:48 AM

Call me a grouch if you will. It's been done before.

But I can't accept the idea of Skaggs putting himself on a plane with Doc and Earl.

He's a superb picker of multiple instruments, a good singer, and appears to be a very good businessman.

But he does not have the legend status of the other two. He did not create - or at least set the standard for - and entire musical technique single-handed; as Earl did with bluegrass banjo and Doc with acoustic flatpicking.

I think he's presuming too much.

Peter.

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Fortunato
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 11:04 AM

Midchuck,

Ricky was quite deferental to Doc and Earl, sincerely I think. Of course the producers were looking for success in viewers/subscribers and product sales, and the decision to put Ricky there could be seen as trying to attract a younger Bluegrass/country crowd.

That's ok with me, when they put Doc on the stage or the tube, I'm grateful, they can sell Martha White Flour or Doc Johnson's Marital Aides, as long as I get to see the man.

cheers, chance,

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 01:55 PM

They scheduled Bill Monroe, but he couldn't make the gig.

Subject: RE: The Three Pickers, Doc, Earl and Ricky
From: Candyman(inactive)
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 03:44 PM

But I can't accept the idea of Skaggs putting himself on a plane with Doc and Earl.

Both Doc and Earl are well past the point where they take any gig that they don't want to do. I don't think it's so much a question of whether Ricky puts himself on their plane, but whether Doc and Earl accepts that he be there. Clearly, they do,