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Writer's pictureLinda Paulus

FOD: David & Butch Baldassari

Updated: Mar 10, 2022

Toward the end of Pluck, you'll read about David and Butch Baldassari's interview and performance on the 2005 radio program, "Wood Songs Old Time Radio Hour". For those who haven't read that far yet, Butch was a preeminent mandolinist, composer, producer, performer and fellow professor with David; they became fast friends and academic colleagues at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music due not only to their shared love of music, but because of their similar personalities.

David Schnaufer on dulcimer & Butch Baldassari on mandolin.
David Schnaufer & Butch Baldassari. Courtesy of Sound Art Recordings.

Both Butch and David were smart, funny, kind, and generous by all accounts, and you'll hear the evidence in the following recording. The "radio program" is available for everyone to listen to at this link; I thought you might enjoy it on this Sunday afternoon. If you're anxious to hear them, scrub forward to about the 7:20 mark for the playing and the interview. During the interview, the Peasall Sisters sing a song during a short interlude--they played George Clooney's children in the film, Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? After they sing, Butch and David return, and perform one of my personal favorites of theirs among others, "Wild Rose of the Mountain."


If you long for a brief mental break to escape from the worries of the world, then tap your toe, laugh, and learn a little bit of history with two of the best American musicians who ever lived.




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