Andy Griffith passes at 86

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=740667


If you haven't seen 'Face in a Crowd' it's a must see!

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend, Andy Griffith," TV Land President Larry W. Jones said. "His contributions to the entertainment industry and his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor will live forever in the minds and hearts of generations of television viewers past, present and yet to come. The entire TV Land staff will miss him and our thoughts go out to his family."

Very sad! Loved him as Sheriff Andy! They don't make shows like that anymore! I sure have good childhood memories of wholesome TV shows!

I was a faithful viewer of the Andy Griffith show and later of other series Andy was in. It was so sad to hear the news on the tv. Not only because of his passing but because 2 young people were watching at the same time and the girl said the the boy "Who's Andy Griffith" and he said "I think he was a tv talk show host."

I think I saw all the "Mayberry" shows. It was one of the top fives they say. It's interesting to note that Mt. Airy, NC his hometown, was the "model" for Mayberry and they have his statue there and other show memorabilia. Near Mt. Airy is Round Peak, which lends its name to the Round Peak style of clawhammer banjo playing as exemplified by Kyle Creed, Fred Cockerham, and Tommy Jarrell all local residents. You will recall that on the show there was an occasional appearance by the 'Darling family', 4 boys and their father played by Denver Pyle. The 4 boys were actually The Dillards, a bluegrass band originally from MO, but living and playing in CA at the time of the show. I saw them in person 2-3 times. Doug Dillard on banjo, his brother Rodney on guitar / lead singer, Mitch Jaynes on bass, and I'll have to remember the name of the mandolin player. Doug died just this May, and I think Mitch died earlier. Not sure about the other two. They had several seminal records in the 60's / 70's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dillards

This is how I remember them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSG3shlHG7c&feature=related

This must have been one of the last performances of the original band. Banjo in the Hollow is one of Doug's original compositions and still a good piece for students to learn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC7l4uXS-CM

One of the greatest bluegrass classics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=17PrnKcfuIQ&NR=1

I think the first commercial release that I heard from Andy was the comedy album that he did in the late 50's/early 60's. The most successful track was the ,"What it was, was Football", wherein he describes a country hick, himself, watching a football game for the first time. I think he was drinking a "big orange drink" while watching, although that could have been on another track....it's been a long time....

"What it was, was Football" is played on about every radio staion here when football season starts. It'll be a little sadder to hear it this year.....Griffith was amazing and it is a shame that the younger generation won't slow down long enough to see what they've missed.