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Topic: First Lady of the Banjo |
Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 22 Nov 2008 11:31 am |
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Last night had a great concert with Miss RONIE Stoneman,She was a star on HEE HAW for twenty years,At 70 she has more energy on and off stage as most teenagers.She's been a good friend of our band [Strokin Dixie] for several years.She is a MASTER banjo player,she makes that old Mastertone sing.Been playing since she was four.She told me one time on HEE HAW she almost lost her job,She and Roy Clark was jaming between takes,she out played him and showed him up.BIG MISTAKE,She said that taught her a lesson,NEVER,NEVER,NEVER,embarress the STAR. DYKBC.
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Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Ronnie Boettcher
From:
Brunswick Ohio, USA
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Posted 22 Nov 2008 1:09 pm
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I agree with you. She is a wonderful entertainer, and does pick the Mastertone with expertise. I have always wanted to meet, and jam with her, because I play the same kind of Mastertone as she does. Those banjo's sound just like Ralph Stanleys. If you want a good video clip to look at, go to "youtube.com" and type in the Stoneman family. Then select the cripple creek tab. Her sister is full of energy too, and plays a mean mandolin. Ronnie
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Sho-Bud LDG, Martin D28, Ome trilogy 5 string banjo, Ibanez 4-string bass, dobro, fiddle, and a tubal cain. Life Member of AFM local 142 |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 22 Nov 2008 2:47 pm
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Here is a pix of Roni from about 3 years ago when she came to our Tuesday jam shows at Catfish Johnny's in Lake Panasoffkee, FL (Where we have our Florida Steel Guitar Club jams). I'm in the background and not looking up, as usual, for a picture. 
The female rhythm guitar picker was with her from Nashville.
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Steve Broatch
From:
Newcastle, England
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Posted 22 Nov 2008 4:03 pm
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Forgive my ignorance and also my hijacking this thread. (I'll shut up after this). But over the last few months I've read a few posts apologising to Bob for mentioning the dreaded 'B' word. I'm curious, why does Bob hate banjo so much??
I've been playing Scruggs style for about 7 years now and over the last year have started playing clawhammer. It's the most fun I've had on a musical instrument (apart from pedal steel of course)
Come on Bob you know you love it really.  |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 22 Nov 2008 6:38 pm
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Steve. If you are a Forum member and a steel player, you MUST hate banhoes. It's the law.
Those who play both steel and banhoes on the Forum are a confused lot. They must hate the banhoes although it is an instrument they double on. Some no doubt play the banhoe better than steel.
I had a fiddle player who borrowed my banhoe and never returned it (Thank God). Now I am almost totally cured, except I still have a Scruggs book around here somewhere.
In addition, all this must take place with your tongue planted firmly in your cheek. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 22 Nov 2008 11:09 pm
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| As a teenager I was a big fan of the Stoneman Family, and those two girls really turned me on. I have to admit it. I love the banjo and mandolin. Ronnie also used to do a great imitation of Kitty Wells. As most people know, her father, Pop Stoneman, wrote a lot of hits, including White Lightning and The Wreck of the Titanic. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 5:29 am
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I'm with ya, Alan. I also had a big crush on Ronnie Stoneman. 'Course, it was a one-way love affair, story of my life you might say.  |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 6:11 am
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| When I lived in Laurel, MD (in early 70's) the lead guitar player we had in the "Dewey Reed" band was a Stoneman cousin. I don't remember his name but he was from Hagerstown. |
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Steve Feldman
From:
Central MA USA
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 6:47 am
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| Steve Broatch wrote: |
Forgive my ignorance and also my hijacking this thread. (I'll shut up after this). But over the last few months I've read a few posts apologising to Bob for mentioning the dreaded 'B' word. I'm curious, why does Bob hate banjo so much??
I've been playing Scruggs style for about 7 years now and over the last year have started playing clawhammer. It's the most fun I've had on a musical instrument (apart from pedal steel of course)
Come on Bob you know you love it really. |
Don't listen to these guys. They are really influenced by peer pressure.  I've played clawhammer for ~30 years. You should try to make over here to some festivals like Mt. Airy, Clifftop, etc., sometime.
_________________
"...An admission of interest in protracted commentary is certainly no reason to capitalize on surmised aberations that do not exist." - BH |
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Olaf van Roggen
From:
The Netherlands
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 9:04 am
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| I have some (female) friends who play the banjo,i know they don't read the steel forum so i'll post the link of banjo jokes I use against them.......http://bluegrassbanjo.org/banjokes.html just for fun! |
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Dave Diehl
From:
Mechanicsville, MD, USA
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 10:01 am
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| I've been doing some touring with Roni for the last couple of years and played steel on her new CD released about 8 months ago. She is a really down to earth person who cares very much about her musicians. I have enjoyed the experience and look forward to more. She is a real story teller... Bobbe S. can attest to that. She is also a real supporter of Steel Guitar. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 12:26 pm
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I have to admit it. I'm coming out of the closet. I've been secretly playing the banjo for about 45 yrs.  |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 2:23 pm
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Steve B.....anytime I mention the dreaded "B" instrument I always write it as "B@njo" for fear that b0b might have added an automatic deletion program for that word!.......JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 2:25 pm
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I don`t understand, you are telling me that that lady in the picture is 70 years old...??? or am I missing something...???
Db
btw
I love bluegrass music, and for that matter , I do love any kind of music as long as there is a quality...
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www.steelguitarsonline.com |
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Dave Diehl
From:
Mechanicsville, MD, USA
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 2:45 pm
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| That is right Damir. She is and that is a recent picture of her. They are right about her energy level also... wish I had it and I'm nowhere close to her age. |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 7:58 pm
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Damir,that's right,she was born 5-5-38,and she can outplay most young whipper snappers,talk the horns off a billy goat,and one of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet. DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 3:58 am
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| That picture, I posted, is 4 years old. It was taken in December 04. |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 6:35 am
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Amazing.....I can just say one thing, I sure do wish that I look like that when I`m 70 years old...
Turtlehill banjo company picture
Db
_________________
www.steelguitarsonline.com |
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Richard Sevigny
From:
Salmon Arm, BC, Canada
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 7:06 am
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Damir,
That's not going to happen without a lot of expensive surgery 
Seriously though, she must have a line on the fountain of youth 
_________________
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If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.
-Albert Einstein |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 7:40 am
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She used to have brown hair as a youth. Other than that she doesn't look much different.
Maybe she's got a painting in her attic...  |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 8:24 am
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I don`t know, but if someone else had told me that this lady was 70 years old I would told him to stop lying....with all the stress I doubt I`ll live to be 70 years old....
Db
_________________
www.steelguitarsonline.com |
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Dave Diehl
From:
Mechanicsville, MD, USA
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 9:10 am
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This is a pic about a year ago at a job I did with her in Floyd VA.
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 1:34 pm
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I've seen her in a couple of PBS broadcasts lately and it seems she's showing more "leg" than she used to in the past. Not only has she kept her chops up it looks like she's worked on her body some. She's also much more attractive than she was when she was younger. I've heard that she used the "homely" look for the comedy part of her show(s)......Anyway, she looks hot now and plays just as hot.....JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 8:31 pm
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The [homely] look was her forturn,They were looking for someone just the opposite to the Hee Haw Honeys,Tom T Hall helped her get the audition for the show.Her new bio is a great read.All kind of good stories in it.things like she and Little Jimmy were the last two opry stars to see Stringbean alive before he was murdered,The two of them walked String and his wife to their car that night after String played the opry,she said the last thing she said to him.[BE CAREFUL] String always had about 75 grand on his person all the time. DYKBC.
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Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Robert C. McKee
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 27 Nov 2008 6:03 pm
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| to Ken Lang sayin we banjo/steel pickers is a confused lot....we wouldn't be if someone would show us where the neckstrap goes on the danged pedal steel..... |
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