This YouTube video by Cotton Pickin Kids is a catchy rendition of the song, ‘Rocky Top.’
The six kids range from ages 13 up to 21. Savio, 21, plays the mandolin, Thérèse, 20, plays the fiddle, Cecilia, 17, plays the guitar, Rosalinda, 16, the fiddle, Gianluca, 15, the banjo, and Giovanni,13, the dobro. They are all from the Cipollari family, who are from Alabama and make bluegrass music together.
The song starts with a fast tempo and the kids dive right into it. This group has talent and they all know how to play an instrument to make lively music together. What an exceptional family band!
‘Rocky Top’ is an American country and bluegrass song that was written in 1967 by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The song was first recorded by the Osborne Brothers in the same year.
The song is also one of the 10 official songs of the state of Tennessee and is associated with the University of Tennessee’s team, the Tennessee Volunteers.
“Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills”
The song laments the loss of a way of life as the singer is longing for a place, Rocky Top, Tennessee. If you have ever moved somewhere new and missed home, you should be able to relate to some if not all of the lyrics in the song.
Many have made covers of the song including famous artists such as Dolly Parton, John Denver, and Rascal Flatts. You can even hear the song at Walt Disney World.
‘Rocky Top’ is quite the hit and a great choice for the Cotton Pickin Kids to use as a song.
“Therefore, as you abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that you abound in this grace also.” - 2 Corinthians 8:7