Would it be "wrong" to play Dueling Banjos at a kids party?

[Papa Deuce]

I DJ lots of kids parties.

No, seriously.... I think it would be fine. Here is what happened today. I had 4 kids in my car and they all heard it for the 1st time ever, today.

They all liked it and asked me to play it again.


But in today's PC world, with the connotations associated with that song, think some parents might get upset? Or is it OK to play?

 

[teacups]

I think its no biggy... but I must also add that I am very rarely politically correct.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Yes, of course. It's a fun song.

They have no idea of the connotations and really wouldn't until they were old enough.

 

[Minnie_me]

I have no idea of the connotations!

 

[Papa Deuce]

I have no idea of the connotations!

It is most known for being in the movie "Deliverance" during male on male sexual assault.

 

[NotUrsula]

Funniest t-shirt seen on the street in Gatlinburg: "Paddle faster -- I hear banjos!"

Seriously, it's an instrumental, and I'll bet anything that half the parents you deal with won't even recognize where it is from. The ones that do will probably mostly chuckle and crack a joke amongst themselves. As long as no one feels compelled to run and fetch a DVD of Deliverance from the den, I don't think it will be a problem.

I went to a wedding fair once, and not one but TWO of the DJ's exhibiting there featured, Theme from M*A*S*H* on their suggested wedding playlists. DH & I were cracking up at the thought of playing THAT at a wedding, but we seemed to be the only people who were. I guess not that many people still know that the real title of that song is Suicide is Painless.

Do you use a check-box playlist for these things? If so, the people who don't like it will strike it off.

PS: Jim Hensen apparently thought it was not a problem for kids. Note this clip of Steve Martin playing it on The Muppet Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gzTn6f5a0s

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Ew, not OK for me. It is too connected to that movie.

I don't believe it is during the assault, actually. But I don't want to watch it again to find out...

 

[Papa Deuce]

Ew, not OK for me. It is too connected to that movie.

I don't believe it is during the assault, actually. But I don't want to watch it again to find out...

Technically, you are 100% correct, but people seem to link it with the assault.

 

[Ohiodislover]

I don't believe it is during the assault, actually. But I don't want to watch it again to find out...

I think you are right. The song is actually played when the row passed the little banjo boy.

Can't stand the movie, but I like the song. Only the adults would even get that. My kids have a stuffed banjo playing gopher that plays it when you push a button. DH cringes, but the girls have no clue

I think it's fine to play

 

[teacups]

Technically, you are 100% correct, but people seem to link it with the assault.

Yep, it was played on a front porch. But it was still a creepy sort of scene. So creepy makes you think of creepy I guess.

There are lots of songs that have been in unsavory scenes and are still fine songs.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I don't have an issue with it.

Then again I don't associate them with the movie and just see them as a musical instrument. I don't have the need to complicate my life like that.

 

[SydneyFalco]

Yeah, but "Duelling Brandos" is better ... and even less correct.

"Pass the butter..."

 

[Papa Deuce]

See, as of right now, 2 out of 7 DO have a problem with it.... so I am at least glad I asked.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I have never seen that movie.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Fueding Banjos was originally a popular bluegrass tune, long before it was used in the movie.

The producers of Deliverance used the song illegally, the authors sued and won.

It would be a shame to shun a great bluegrass song because it was illegally used in a dark movie.

Don Reno and Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith recorded "Feuding Banjos"
(written by Smith) in 1955. Smith later re-recorded the song, and it
appeared on his LP "Battling Banjos." In 1963, the tune was a hit on
country-western radio stations for The Dillards, under the name
"Duelin' Banjo" (available on The Dillards' "Back Porch Bluegrass"
album). The Dillards' version featured a banjo versus a mandolin. It
has been said that the melody resembles that of an 1889 bluegrass tune
called "Banjo Reel," but the resemblance is a distant one.

"In 1955, Reno again paired up with Arthur 'Guitar Boogie' Smith, his
former mentor. Together they did Feuding Banjos, a tune later used
without their permission in the movie Deliverance. Reno and Smith sued
the film company for rights infringement and won. Feuding Banjos, also
known from the movie as Dueling Banjos, is still one of the most
recognizable bluegrass tunes today."

 

[live4christp1]

I DJ lots of kids parties.

No, seriously.... I think it would be fine. Here is what happened today. I had 4 kids in my car and they all heard it for the 1st time ever, today.

They all liked it and asked me to play it again.


But in today's PC world, with the connotations associated with that song, think some parents might get upset? Or is it OK to play?

I have no idea what this means? I always thought it was just two good banjo players trying to out do each other.

Okay, I should have read the rest of the posts before posting. Never saw the movie so it's just blue grass music to me. Like someone else said, "one of the most recognizable" you know what it is within the first few notes.

 

[Angelhalo]

I voted yes it would be fine. It wouldn't offend me as a parent. However, I definitely associate with with the rape scene in Deliverance even though it wasn't played during that scene. So while it wouldn't bother me, I would be wondering why it was chosen to be played rather than a 1000 other songs that don't have an explicit connotation connected to them.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I bet they'd like Cotton Eye Joe, too.

 

[sbell111]

It always makes me think of Roy Clark and Buck Owens.

 

[Papa Deuce]

..... So while it wouldn't bother me, I would be wondering why it was chosen to be played rather than a 1000 other songs that don't have an explicit connotation connected to them.

I bet they'd like Cotton Eye Joe, too.

That's what the KIDS said. "Hey, that sounds like Cotton Eye Joe!" .... so that made me wonder if I could extend that type of dancing by playing Dueling Banjos.

I wonder if most "30 something" parents even know of the movie.