Good Vibes: Bobby Horton
Posted November 19, 2009
Horton collaborated with Ken Burns on the music for 10 of his historical documentaries.
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IN A TIME WHEN even music is pulled and stretched and conformed by technology, it is refreshing to find peace in simplicity. It’s almost like sitting in a pew and singing a hymn you sang as a child. It’s like coming home after a frantic business trip. There is a goodness to it.
Music holds the power and magic to transport us to another time and place. For Birmingham recording artist and composer Bobby Horton, the trip is a little longer than most, taking him back centuries. Figuratively speaking, Bobby has always marched to the beat of his own drum, or one of the other 50 some-odd instruments that he plays.
This talented but humble man, who has played in the popular band Three on a String for 38 years, has dedicated his life to researching, recording, and performing the songs of American history. “I don’t believe I’ve met anyone quite like Bobby in the ability to understand the soul of American music,” says documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, with whom Horton has collaborated on scores for 10 of his films - The Civil War series, the Baseball series, the World War II series, and Burn’s most recent, The National Parks series, just to name a few. Below, in his own words, Horton shares his thoughts about a life’s journey pursuing two passions: music and history.
I’ve always grown up around music. I started by fooling around with my dad’s trumpet. My grandpa played the banjo, and he introduced me to pickin’ music and Southern gospel. By the 7th grade I had formed a Dixieland band, and I think I’ve been in a band ever since. I guess you could say early on I was hooked on performing. I listen to and play all kinds of music—big band, jazz, rock and roll—but classical is my favorite. Love Bach, and Mozart is my main man. For me, the ultimate pop music is from the ‘30s and ‘40s. Glenn Miller, oh wow. I can sing you every line of “String of Pearls.” I'm not a great player or anything, but every instrument fascinates me. I’m always watching every member of the band.
After graduating from Samford University, I worked in computer tech. It wasn’t easy—I was on call pretty much 24 hours a day. By then I was also playing in Three on a String at night. After my child was born, I knew that I wanted to be home a lot more. But I remember telling my grandfather that I just couldn’t pass up the security of my day job. He told me, “Son, there’s no security in this life. What do you like to do?” I said play music. He asked, “What do you make the most money at?” Well, music. And then he said, “The answer seems pretty clear cut to me.” Leaving was scary, but I’ve never looked back.
I’m also crazy for history. Every adult male in my life growing up was a WWII veteran. I revered them—still do to this day. The thing that really nailed it for me was a photograph my dad got from the surrender of Germany in Northern Africa in ’42. I saw a similar picture in one of my schoolbooks and thought, “My dad was there.” It brought it home that history is about real people just playing the hand they’re dealt. Visit a military cemetery, whether it’s Shiloh or Normandy, and walk up to a headstone. Look closely. What I think of is how many books this man didn’t write; the diseases he couldn’t cure; the tunes he never sang; all of the generations since that have been impacted by the fact that this person was sent to an early grave.
It’s funny that I’m primarily fascinated by military history, because I’ve only been in one fight in my life, and I definitely lost that battle. Got clocked right down to the ground as a child in an argument over a bike. When I was nine, the Civil War centennial came around, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. We lost an entire generation in that war.
My music really took off with my Civil War research. In concerts and lectures, I tell stories of the war from both sides. I’m not a great singer, but I love to mimic voices. And I present the music the way the common folk would have performed it. I recorded an album of Civil War tunes in ’85. Then I talked to the editors of history publications and contacted the manager of each of the Civil War parks to say I had something they might be interested in. I also designed the album artwork, and I still ship every one myself. Can’t believe I have fourteen volumes and dealers all around the world now.
I got to know Ken Burns through the editor of American Heritage, who told him he needed to talk to this guy in Alabama who was recording Civil War songs. They initially asked for permission to use a couple of “needle drops” [cuts that have already been recorded] for his documentary, The Civil War, and my version of “Dixie” got included on the CD.
Then Ken started to work on Baseball. The documentary was covering baseball from its roots in the 1830s to around the 1970s. He wanted me to do a classical version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” I said let me do it in a variety of different styles. I recorded about 78 versions. Lucky for me, I am a huge baseball fan.
When I worked with Ken on Lewis & Clark, I got in on the ground floor. I always say that if at the end of every day, you can put at least one check mark in the quality of life column, that’s a good day. The only thing we didn’t have for the film was the theme for the discovery, the journey. I was searching to fill that void when I was asked by a friend to accompany him in a recital. The first line of a song he sang went something like, “We are traveling on life’s highway,” and I thought a-ha—that’s it! So I recorded a 3 ½ minute demo on instruments that would have been around in 1803, the year that Lewis and Clark set out to explore the West: mandolin, violin, cello, skin drum, key whistle. Ten days later, my phone rang. Ken built the whole opening of the series off that demo. What a big check mark on my quality of life register.
Sometimes this stuff just lands in your lap. I know where blessings flow from, and that’s why I don’t “puff up.” One thing I’ve learned over the years, if you go to +8 on the “Hey, look at me” scale, when it’s over, you go to a -8.
Songs shape stories. Especially way back when, when many people couldn’t read and write. They learned history through them. We’ve always needed music to find solace, to escape, to project patriotism.
You hear some people say they don’t like the national anthem—they think it’s too hard to sing. But if you truly know the story, you can’t help but cry when you sing it. England, the big power, was back a second time to try to destroy our young nation in the War of 1812. The British army had captured a young doctor on the way from D.C. to Baltimore, and Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, went down to negotiate his release, as well as some other prisoners. Key met with the British on one of their boats, but he couldn’t leave before the battle started because he’d overheard their strategy. Up on a hill at Fort McHenry was the biggest flag ever made. The bombardment started, with the British using the flag as the target point. Bombs soared like mortars and the flag started taking hits. And then it got dark, but the Brits kept firing all night long. When the sun came up, the flag was still there. Our country—and our flag—had survived. But the bodies of dead soldiers were holding up that flag, and that’s why I have a hard time performing the anthem without getting choked up. Freedom ain’t a given. God gave us the desire for it, but men had to fight and die for it.
Music is the emotional pulse and heartbeat of so much history, so much memory. And I’ve loved every part I’ve played in passing it on.
comments (4)
Such an uplifting article, and the music accompanying it is wonderful! Music has played an incredibly important role in our nation's history and in the lives of its citizens. I particularly appreciated Mr. Horton's comments about our national anthem. I do get emotional when it is played, and I often cry just looking at our country's flag. Every stitch used to sew an American flag is part of a continuous thread of sacrifice of the men and women who have served or died defending it. We owe each of them a debt we can never repay.
Dianna LecknerI, too, am a devotee of military history. My family does not have a history of military service, but I also look at photos from history and imagine what their lives were like and what they would have thought and accomplished had they survived war. I hope these battlefield heroes know that I never cease to be grateful and honored by their sacrifices and their accomplishments.
Cynthia L. AlverThis was so poignant. I love history and music and am so glad someone is preserving the connection between the two. The anthem is perfect as it is; like freedom, it's beautiful and difficult. I hope everyone who reads this takes a moment to remember those who sacrificed for that freedom; not only the soldiers, but their families as well. Thank you!
Jamie ALI met Bobby Horton many years ago when I served on the board of a local Tech school. Three on a String was the entertainment for one of our state meetings and they were outstanding and lots of fun; Bobby told about some really funny "Alabama" experiences and I could have sworn he was talking about my kinfolks! It was even more fun getting to speak with him after the meeting. As for the National Anthem, have you ever noticed that the first verse ends with a question? The first verse is not the whole story. We should be singing at least two of the verses; my other choice would be the one that says: "O! thus be it ever when free men shall stand between their loved homes and the war's desolation, blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation! Then conquer we must , when our cause it is just. And this be our motto-- 'In God is our trust!' And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!" The poem may have been set to the tune of a British drinking song, but when done properly, it can be a most majestic tribute to our country and to the ones who built and fought for it.
Melanie McCurdy