I Wonder as I Wander / Go Away From My Window - John Jacob Niles (1960)

John Jacob Niles performing two of his most memorable pieces on the CBS one-hour special, Folk Sound U.S.A.. Introduced by Cisco Houston.
Video courtesy of Jim Clark
www.ciscohouston.com

[@chrisreinert9981]

I'm 73yo and in my youth I listened to my mother's folk records, including several Niles albums. She said that she had seen Niles sing when she was younger. I still collect folk song recordings and have collected as many Niles recordings that I can find. Twenty some years ago I transcribed some of his recordings and sent them to early internet sites that showed song lyrics.

[@christopherhelton6999]

I grew up in the Bluegrass region, but never heard of Niles until I saw the brief clip taken from this segment in Scorsese's "No Direction Home." I was captivated by Niles's performance. In my mind, he was taking the Appalachian songs back to their roots in something like medieval madrigals. I have since visited the John Jacob Niles Center at the University of Kentucky, seen his unique handmade dulcimers up close, stopped by his old homestead at Boot Hill Farm, and attended several lovely services at St. Hubert's Episcopal Church, whose beautiful wooden doors he hand-carved and inscribed with verses from the Psalms. There, I had the honor of meeting and chatting with Ron Pen, Niles's biographer. I have been wondering for years where Scorsese lifted his clip from. Thanks for sharing this.

[@Mrbeahz1]

An American treasure!

[@wheatiemattiasich]

thank you for uploading this!

[@jakehoey5404]

Been looking for this full clip for years. Thank you so much!!!

[@melvinwren]

same

[@edwardhippely7700]

Awesom .***** !

[@CptEtgar]

Thank You .

[@thoroughlywithfoil]

I wish there was more JJN footage.

[@wheatiemattiasich]

Appalshop has some

[@thoroughlywithfoil]

@@wheatiemattiasich Yes, I have seen that film, it is wonderful.

[@johnhassan9085]

one can only laugh at this nonsense. thank you!!