缅怀蓝草音乐大师吉米·马丁

Remembering Bluegrass Great Jimmy Martin

缅怀蓝草音乐大师吉米·马丁

 

(Music)

 

Born in a small Tennessee town, Jimmy Martin grew up poor on his parents' hog¹ farm. He purchased his first guitar when he was just 10-years-old, paying for the musical instrument with money earned by hunting and selling possum skins.

 

Jimmy Martin was first exposed to music at a young age, and grew up singing traditional American folk ballads³. As a teenager he first heard Bill Monroe's mix of mandolin, fiddle⁴, and guitar music that we now know as bluegrass. In an interview several years ago, he said that as a young boy, he knew he wanted to play that music, too.

 

Jimmy Martin: As you know, I was born a country boy way up in the hills of east Tennessee, in a little town called Sneedville. I always wanted to be an entertainer, and a bluegrass and country music singer. I want to thank all of my fans for making my dreams come true.

 

(Music)

 

In 1948, Jimmy Martin traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, and managed to talk his way backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. His goal was to play his guitar and sing for Bill Monroe. The impromptu⁵ audition⁶ worked, and Monroe offered Jimmy Martin a job as one of his "Bluegrass Boys."

 

Jimmy Martin played with Bill Monroe until 1954, making 46 recordings⁷ with his group including the now-classic bluegrass songs Uncle Pen and Walking in Jerusalem.

 

In 1956, he set off on a solo career with his band, The Sunny Mountain Boys. They recorded for Decca Records for the next 18 years, helping⁸ to bring bluegrass into the mainstream⁹. His style of music differed from Bill Monroe's in that Jimmy Martin's style focused on the vocals¹¹, not instrumentals.

 

Over the years, Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys became a training ground for a string of now-familiar bluegrass names, including J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Alan Munde and Paul Williams.

 

"Freeborn Man" was one of Jimmy Martin's hits during the Decca years.

 

(Music)

 

Despite his string of hits, Jimmy Martin was denied his lifelong dream of becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. His temperament¹² clashed with Opry management, and he was denied membership into that exclusive club. That part of his life is at the heart of a book called True Adventures With the King of Bluegrass.

 

But Jimmy Martin was not denied many honors. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Honor in 1995, and was even the subject of a documentary film, King of Bluegrass: The Life and Times of Jimmy Martin.  That movie was released in 2003, and has a wonderful soundtrack made up of Jimmy Martin's hits, including Hit Parade of Love.

 

I’m Katherine Cole.

 

(Music)

 

注释：

Tennessee [7tene5si:] n. 田纳西州

hog [hR^] n. 猪

purchase [5pE:tFEs] vt. 买，购买

possum [5pCsEm] n.（动）负鼠

ballad² [5bAlEd] n. 民歌，歌谣

mandolin [5mAndElin] n. 曼陀林琴

fiddle [5fidl] n. 小提琴

bluegrass [5blu:7^rB:s] n. 蓝草音乐

Nashville [5nAFvil] 纳什维尔，美国田纳西州首府

Grand Ole Opry 乡村大剧院

Bill Monroe 比尔·蒙罗，蓝草音乐之父

impromptu [im5prCmptju:] n. 即席演出

Decca Records 德卡唱片公司

vocal¹⁰ [5vEukl] n. 声乐演唱

temperament [5tempErEmEnt] n. 性情

induct [in5dQkt] vt. 吸收……为会员

1 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

2 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

3 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

4 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

5 impromptu   

adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)

参考例句：

• The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
• The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。

6 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

7 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

11 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

12 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。