Ffilharmonious Jug Band
Encyclopedia
The Ffilharmonious Jug Band was an Anglo-American Jug band
group in England in the late 1960s. Members were American Jeff Wilson (Guitar
, Slide Whistle
, Wash Tub Bass, Jug
, Kazoo
, Mandolin
, and vocals
), American Jim Johnson (Banjo
, Guitar
, Dobro
, percussion
, Kazoo
, Hand Trumpet, Harp
, Phonofiddle
, Jug
, Wash Tub Bass, and vocals
), Briton Doug Kyle (Guitar
, Harp
, Kazoo
, Jug
, Banjo
, and vocals
), and Briton Pete Ballan (Washboard
, spoons
, Kazoo
, Souzazoo, Door bell, Bicycle Bell
, cymbal
s, Sand Blocks, and vocals
).
The band first played at the old Coach and Horses Public House
on the A-40 in East Wycombe (High Wycombe
area) England
in 1966. The Coach and Horses hosted a folk club evening each week and that is where the two Americans met Kyle and Ballan. Kyle and Johnson had been playing Jug band
music separately for a few years so it was an instant match. They organized the group almost immediately. Wilson was a fairly accomplished musician who had been playing popular music for some years and had been playing American "Folk" music of the 60s with Johnson in the duo "Jim & Jeff". Ballan had been an English Merchant Seaman and was a regular at the folk club where he enjoyed the English traditional songs - especially sea shanties and the like.
After considering several options the name Ffilharmonious Jug Band was chosen. The group played at folk clubs
, Universities, Public Houses, and concert venues over much of southeast England and recorded an LP
titled The Ffilharmonious Jug Band at Pinner Studios, London
area in 1967.
which are in his possession. But, Beard Ballan has a copy of the album, well travelled and still played regularly! Songs on that album included:
Jug band
A Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
group in England in the late 1960s. Members were American Jeff Wilson (Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Slide Whistle
Slide whistle
A slide whistle is a wind instrument consisting of a fipple like a recorder's and a tube with a piston in it. Thus it has an air reed like some woodwinds, but varies the pitch with a slide. The construction is rather like a bicycle pump...
, Wash Tub Bass, Jug
Jug
Jug may refer to:* Jug , a vessel for liquids* Jug , used for rhythmic bass accompaniment* Jug , cross breed between a Pug and a Jack Russell Terrier...
, Kazoo
Kazoo
The kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
, Mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, and vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
), American Jim Johnson (Banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, Kazoo
Kazoo
The kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
, Hand Trumpet, Harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, Phonofiddle
Phonofiddle
A phonofiddle is a class of stringed musical instruments that are played with a bow and use a phonograph type reproducer as a voice-box.The sound producing diaphragm may be a metal cone as in the Stroh violin or a mica sheet as in the instruments made by A. T. Howson, London and the Stroviols...
, Jug
Jug
Jug may refer to:* Jug , a vessel for liquids* Jug , used for rhythmic bass accompaniment* Jug , cross breed between a Pug and a Jack Russell Terrier...
, Wash Tub Bass, and vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
), Briton Doug Kyle (Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, Kazoo
Kazoo
The kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
, Jug
Jug
Jug may refer to:* Jug , a vessel for liquids* Jug , used for rhythmic bass accompaniment* Jug , cross breed between a Pug and a Jack Russell Terrier...
, Banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, and vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
), and Briton Pete Ballan (Washboard
Washboard
A washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common by the end of the 20th century, the washboard has become better known for its originally subsidiary use as a musical instrument....
, spoons
Spoon (musical instrument)
Spoons can be played as a makeshift percussion instrument, or more specifically, an idiophone related to the castanets. "Playing the spoons" originated in Ireland as "playing the bones," in which the convex sides of a pair of sheep rib bones were rattled in the same way.- Techniques :# A pair of...
, Kazoo
Kazoo
The kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
, Souzazoo, Door bell, Bicycle Bell
Bicycle bell
A bicycle bell is a bell mounted on a bicycle for warning pedestrians and other cyclists. They are a required piece of equipment is some jurisdictions. They usually mounted on the handlebars and thumb activated...
, cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, Sand Blocks, and vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
).
The band first played at the old Coach and Horses Public House
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on the A-40 in East Wycombe (High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
area) England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1966. The Coach and Horses hosted a folk club evening each week and that is where the two Americans met Kyle and Ballan. Kyle and Johnson had been playing Jug band
Jug band
A Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
music separately for a few years so it was an instant match. They organized the group almost immediately. Wilson was a fairly accomplished musician who had been playing popular music for some years and had been playing American "Folk" music of the 60s with Johnson in the duo "Jim & Jeff". Ballan had been an English Merchant Seaman and was a regular at the folk club where he enjoyed the English traditional songs - especially sea shanties and the like.
After considering several options the name Ffilharmonious Jug Band was chosen. The group played at folk clubs
Folk clubs
A folk club is a regular event, permanent venue, or section of a venue devoted to folk music and traditional music. Folk clubs were primarily an urban phenomenon of 1960s and 1970s Great Britain and Ireland, and vital to the second British folk revival, but continue today there and elsewhere...
, Universities, Public Houses, and concert venues over much of southeast England and recorded an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
titled The Ffilharmonious Jug Band at Pinner Studios, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
area in 1967.
Discography
As of 2008 this author knows of only two copies of that albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
which are in his possession. But, Beard Ballan has a copy of the album, well travelled and still played regularly! Songs on that album included:
- * Mobile Line
- * Stealin', Stealin'
- * Alberta
- * Sadie Green
- * The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me
- * Rag Mama
- * Jug Band Music (The Doctor Sez Give 'em)
- * Why Don't Women Like Me
- * Crazy Words, Crazy Tune
- * Houston