Arianne, I am away from home and my library, but it seems to me that Twain
himself tells a different version of that story either in his early newspaper
sketches (collected in the fine volume by Lou Budd, perhaps?) or in the
autobiography. As I recall, it was a guitar he grabbed, not a banjo. And by
all contemporary accounts, his singing voice was higher than a bass.
He certainly loved the banjo, as Martin said, for its ability to thrill and cut
right down to your soul, and he loved the minstrel shows into the 1880s -- and
excellent musicians, like Tommy Briggs or Polk Miller and his Quartette,
always. There are numerous quotations in his work and private writings about
banjo music, but nothing that I've seen about him playing or trying to. (And
I've looked!) Memory plays funny tricks, and because of Twain's extravagance
and his fondness for the music, Gillis might have inadvertently altered the
incident in his memory. It just seems so fitting that Twain should play -- and
while, as Kevin pointed out, the digital age makes it even easier for us to
create pictures of what ain't, it is also a longstanding human trait.
My memory plays tricks, too, so when I get home, I'll try to find the sketch
unless someone else comes up with it first, but I'm pretty sure that in Twain's
own version, it was a guitar he grabbed.
Cheers,
Sharon
________________________________
From: Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Fri, February 8, 2013 3:44:28 PM
Subject: Re: Mark Twain, banjo player?
Twain strummed a little guitar in his youth, but not banjo. He also plunked
a little on the piano most of his life, but not the banjo (his sister Pamela
gave piano lessons in Hannibal). Playing the banjo is not like playing
guitar and playing one does not mean you can play the other. My Dad had (and
still has at age 90) a bluegrass band and was a friend of Earl Scruggs and
they exchanged 8-track banjo tapes all the time. I tried learning both
guitar and 5-string banjo, soon gave up, and masteed classical piano
instead. Scriabin is soooo much easier.
There's a cut & paste photo of Twain playing a banjo somewhere on the net,
but there are cut & paste pictures of all sort of things out there that
ain't true. There are also other cut & paste images of Twain online that
have caused endless confusion, but is at least one genuine image of Twain at
the piano --not actually playing it-- but posing. There was an old Martin
guitar being hawked around as Twain's guitar a few years ago, but there was
no evidence to support that claim --and some powerful reasons to doubt it.
Some years ago "Mark Twain's favorite juke box" was sold at auction in Waco,
Texas, said to be the very juke box he always played whenever he visited
Waco --which was never. But I digress...
Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB
*************************
You may browse our books at
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert E Stewart" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2013 10:04 AM
Subject: Re: Mark Twain, banjo player?
> In the Feb. 2, 1863 atricle in which the name Mark Twain first appears,
> the article concludes with the writer playing the piano. I can't speak to
> the banjo, but he did claim some musical talent in that writing.
>
> Bob Stewart
>
> In a message dated 2/8/2013 4:36:47 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> I can't remember ever hearing that [Sam Clemens] played the banjo. Just
> recently a
> friend lent me his copy of a Mark Twain edition in 1929 which included an
> article by Cyril Clemens talking about visiting the Gilles family in our
> California foothills. I'd love to hear that it is TRUE Mark Twain played
> the banjo. Can any of you confirm or deny this story? It is the bass
> voice and the banjo playing that has me interested.
>
> Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine April 1929
> Founded by Bret Harte in 1868; and Mark Twain Number Vol 87 April 1929
> No.
> 4
> Article by Cyril Clemens: "A Visit to Mark Twain's Country"
> .
>
> Arianne Laidlaw
>
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2013.0.2897 / Virus Database: 2639/6072 - Release Date: 01/31/13
> Internal Virus Database is out of date.
>
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.2897 / Virus Database: 2639/6072 - Release Date: 01/31/13
Internal Virus Database is out of date.
|
