Roger cooper notes.pmd

1. Dance All Night 18. Pretty Little Indian 2. Stonewall Jackson 19. Golden Star Hornpipe 3. Old Kentucky Blackberry 20. Flannery's Dream 21. Rough and Ready 4. Wild Goose Chase 22. We'll All Go to Heaven When 5. Headwaters of Tygart the Devil Goes Blind 6. Jim Woodward Tune 7. Queen of the West 24. Paddy Bids Farewell to America 8. Father Wheeler's Waltz 25. Midnight Serenade 9. Pond Creek Polka 26. Trot Along, My Honey 10. Gippy, Get your Hair Cut 27. Sally Growler 11. Martha Campbell 12. Hard up Big Kanawha 29. Morgan on the Railroad 13. Nancy Rowland 30. Soapsuds Over the Fence 14. Lazy Bow Drag 31. Briarpicker Brown 15. Shortening Bread 32. Six White Horses 16. Big Indian Hornpipe 33. Yellow Barber

Roger Cooper was born on January well and competed hard with one other 19, 1949 and raised in sundry parts of for musical supremacy. The tunes they Lewis County, Kentucky, a beautiful enjoyed tended to be elaborate in their region of rolling hills arrayed along the melodic contours and appear to derive broad Ohio River. The nearest town of substantially from popular dance music any size to be found in the region is Ports- composition of the late nineteenth cen-mouth, situated across the river in Ohio tury. To many Southern ears, these fiddle and easily reachable across several large tunes would have sounded "northern," bridges (in the old days, ferries carried although, in fact, they more accurately traffic to and fro between the states).
reflect fin-de-siecle mores of popular song Although such jobs have largely now composition. In addition, the great steam- vanished, Portsmouth once offered em- boats of the Ohio carried these musicians ployment in steel and shoe making and up into West Virginia and down to Cin- many Kentuckians crossed the river to cinnati, so that fresh tunes from these work there, to gain a better education and regions were continually imported into to attend the big square dances held in the Portsmouth.
little communities that surrounded the But prototypical Appalachian hills town. This economic activity once sup- and hollows cluster thickly in Lewis ported a large community of exceptionally County as soon as one leaves the riverskilled fiddlers who knew one another and many of the simpler but evocatively

lonesome hill tunes ofcentral-easternKentucky continued tobe cherished by the amateur fiddlers whoworked the little farmsscattered through thisrolling terrain. Thefrequent interchangebetween the two sides ofthe Ohio River gave riseto one of America's mostdistinguished fiddlerepertories, well exem-plified by the blend oftunes to be heard on thepresent record. Roger Cooper grew up at notes below). Although Roger made his the tail end of this great regional tradition living for many years playing bass in little and had the great fortune to have been country-western bands that worked lo- tutored in the music by one of its finest cally and in military clubs around the practitioners, the late Buddy Thomas, who country, his experiences with Buddy andpassed away in 1974 at thirty-nine. Buddy his friends engendered a deep love for thewas raised near Emerson, at the south old violin music that has never left him, edge of rural Lewis County, but eventu- along with a profound appreciation of the ally developed an extraordinarily deep degree of skill and attention required to understanding of fiddle music's potential make their evocative contours come truly through assimilating the abundance of alive. Most of this grand heritage has now inspiration that could be sampled within vanished from Lewis County and Ports- the wider musical community available to mouth, having become displaced by him. As a young man, Roger roomed bluegrass and other forms of modern with Buddy in central Ohio where Roger music. Somehow these shifts have crept worked a factory job and Buddy mainly up on Roger gradually, leaving him to played the fiddle. There Buddy would remark wistfully, "When I first started out instruct Roger in fiddle playing and at- in this fiddle business, I never dreamed it tempted to communicate the complex would get so lonesome--I really didn't." ways in which he thought about their This is Roger's second CD for musical structure. Buddy also introduced Rounder. The notes to his earlier release, Roger to many of the other great players Going Back to Old Kentucky (Rounder of the region, such as Morris Allen in 0380) contains a long autobiography by South Shore and Jimmy Wheeler in Ports- Roger detailing his adventures withmouth (whom we shall discuss in the Buddy, Morris and the rest. These memo-

ries, along with some of Buddy Thomas' Roger has known Robin Kessinger own reminiscences, are available online at since the mid ‘seventies, from a timethe website of Musical Traditions Maga- when Roger worked near Robin's home zine (http://www.mustrad.org.uk) and are in St. Albans, West Virginia. Robin is highly recommended to any listener inter- from the redoubtable Kessinger clan of St.
ested in understanding the circumstances Albans and his great uncle Clark recorded of Roger's wonderful music better. In- many selections of exceptional skill for deed, I'd heartily recommend purchasing the Brunswick label in the 1920's (Clark Going Back to Old Kentucky itself, which will be discussed further, under "Gippy, is full of beautiful tunes of the type heard Get your Hair Cut"). Robin's dad, Bob here (although that record as a whole Kessinger, was a great promoter of coun- comes across as more melancholy than the try music and formed a delightful instru- tunes sampled here, which more ad- mental ensemble with his boys. Although equately reveal Roger's skills as a square Robin restricts his contributions to firm dance fiddler). And anyone who admires rhythmic support here, he is justly cel-the music found here will certainly want ebrated as one of the country's finest to hear Buddy himself, on the full collec- masters of the flat-picked guitar solo and tion that Gus Meade and I recorded just has recorded many tapes and CDs for before he died: Kitty Puss on Rounder West Virginia's Fiddletunes label. He is 0032 (more of Buddy and Roger's other also greatly sought as a guitar teacher, friends can be heard on some of the col- both for his expertise and his unquench- lections that I'll mention in the notes able affability. Michael Garvin, still in his early ‘twenties, comes from another musi-

cal family, the Garvins of Flatwoods, Stephane Grappelli and Stuff Smith (who Kentucky. His grandfather, Bert, though was born in Portsmouth, as it happens).
mainly a bluegrass player, performs a Nonetheless, in the music heard here number of delightful traditional numbers Roger adheres to Buddy Thomas' admoni-with J.P. Fraley on Rounder's Kentucky tion "to keep it original," which does not Old-Time Banjo collection. Although he necessarily entail a slavish imitation ofplays a number of instruments well, sources, but instead the insistence that Michael has been working hard at learning each performance should maintain aold Kentucky tunes such as these and stylistic "old time" integrity at every level represents one of the state's best hopes forkeeping its wonderful folk heritage alive(a few selections will appear, along withmore tunes from Bert and Michael's fa-ther, Keith, on a large collection of Ken-tucky music to be published on the Musi-cal Traditions label). Recently Michaelwas given a Kentucky Folk Arts Fellow-ship to apprentice in fiddling under RogerCooper.
Although, because of the con- straints of schedule and geography, Ineeded to run most of the sessions for this Tygart's CreekCD independently, I am eager to acknowl- of detail. Although Roger may haveedge John Harrod's vital role in making acquired a specific tune from the project possible, as well as the con- Portsmouth's Jimmy Wheeler or even tinual encouragement that Wally Texas' Lewis Solomon, he invariably Wallingford and Gary Cornett have of- integrates these melodies into the more fered Roger in his music. Gary is one of propulsive and harmonically "fattened up" Kentucky's premier violin craftsmen and style that he learned from Buddy Thomas.
has helped keep Roger well-stocked in Fiddle music is enjoying a great revival fiddles over the years.
recently across America but many of the The tune notes to follow may seem newer players learn their tunes painstak- a bit arcane, but I am attempting to sketch ingly on a note by note basis, often froma story of how a traditionally based player books or slowed down on the computer,such as Roger assembles a repertory and fail to invest their performances with within an era of tape recorders, television the complex layers of higher organiza-and wider access to various forms of tional structure that is essential to the fiddle music from around the world.
effective performance of a regional style.
Roger, in fact, greatly admires the music But if our fiddle music abandons the drive of Bob Wills and has become intrigued of and rich rhythmic integration that servedlate with classic swing fiddlers such as the traditional square dance so ably, then

it will lose its key musical rationale andwill have devolved into merely anotherinnocuous form of New Age tinkling.
Roger represents one of the last of ourcountry players who has learned to playthe fiddle in an entirely traditionalmanner and, in these notes, I haveattempted to convey some measure ofthe layered complexity that such anartist self-consciously instills withinthese tunes, in the hopes that succeedinggenerations may strive to keep theaffective contours of Southern fiddlemusic sharp and pungent.
The tunes
1. Dance All Night. Given this tune'sgreat popularity, it would be hard todetermine where Roger's source, BuddyThomas, learned it, although Buddy hadcultivated a small collection of 78 record- witnessed in the lyrics usually associated ings and may have been familiar with the with "Dance all Night": classic recording (Co 15108) by Georgia's Dance all night with a bottle in Skillet Lickers (whose chief fiddler, your hand Clayton McMichen, later moved to Louis- Bottle in your hand, bottle in your ville and became an important figure in the local musical scene). Patently, the Dance all night with a bottle in tune represents a derivative of "Buffalo your hand Gals," whose minstrel show origins trace Just before day give the fiddler a to the 1840's. By now, melodic contours within this family have diverged substan- tially, leading Roger (and Buddy before I'd kinda forgotten about this tune him) to retain "Buffalo Gals" and "Dance until I started playing with Junior All Night" as completely different tunes Aldridge in the late ‘seventies and within his repertory. Indeed, yet another ‘eighties. Junior had played a lot venerable strain--"Give the Fiddler a with Buddy and he reminded me of Dram"--belongs to this same melodic this one, which makes a real good grouping and Roger plays it as well. Fos- square dance tune. sil evidence of these linkages can be

2. Stonewall Jackson. This polka, titled popular of which (in the United States) locally after the celebrated hero of the was popularized (and possibly composed) Confederacy, is widely loved across the by Arthur Smith in the 1930's. Within entire country, displaying wide variations Kentucky, where Roger's tune is mainly in its travels with respect to both title and encountered, Smith's more recent intru- the melodic composition of its second sion has proved a source of confusion strain. Roger comments: and local fiddlers have resorted to various Up in Ohio, them old guys called it stratagems to keep the tunes apart (many a "The Duck's Eyeball" and some- fine old-time tune has become lost to times, to get a laugh, Buddy would posterity through eclipse by some radio- say it was, "Stay in the Kitchen ‘til disseminated johnny-come-lately). Thus the Cook Comes in." Snake Chapman of Canada, Kentucky In the east the tune is commonly called began calling the tune heard here "Richmond" or "Green Mountain Polka," "Garfield's Blackberry Blossom," while while Roger's variant titles are more Santford Kelly of West Liberty conversely common to the west of Lewis County, insisted that Smith's piece was properly where they reflect little jingles that fit the entitled "Blueberry Blossom." The ratio- nale for Snake's title traces to a bit of lore Lay around the kitchen ‘til the regularly associated with the tune (his cook comes in versions of both tune and tale can be The cook comes in, the cook comes in found in Rounder 0378). It is said that, Lay around the kitchen ‘til the during his celebrated campaign at Middle cook comes in River, James A. Garfield was heard to The poor old cook comesin. Sometimes these regionalvariations are so markedthat fiddlers (Ed Haley, forexample) will retain severalversions of the piece in theirrepertory. Roger learned hisdriving version from BuddyThomas, whose own perfor-mances can be heard on FRC303 or Rounder 0544 (in anuncharacteristically lowpitched version).
3. Old Kentucky BlackberryBlossom. There are a varietyof fiddle tunes with this title, the most Buddy Thomas whistle this tune which he had picked up seems to have rarely ventured. In con- from a Negro lad attached to the troops.
trast, another well-known blind street When asked its name, Garfield allegedly musician, J.W. ("Blind Bill") Day was spit a wad of chewing tobacco onto a well remembered throughout mountain nearby blackberry bush and declared, Kentucky, for he was a regular visitor on "Why, we'll just call it ‘Blackberry Blos- court days in the region (Day and his som.'" It seems likely that this tune gradu- brother Robert were chiefly responsibleally radiated from the eastern Kentucky for spreading the extremely popular song region (until its advance was halted by the "The Rowan County Troubles" through-Smith melody), for Ed Morrison of out Kentucky and probably served as its Breathitt County told Jean Thomas in the author). This division of traveling terri- 1930's that his own father had "carried the tory between these two great itineranttune through the whole Civil War" and musicians is doubly curious as Haley and taught it to him. In fact, we happen to Day were related by marriage and lived know that the blind fiddler Ed Haley was but a few doors apart in Ashland.
responsible for much of this spread, for As such, Buddy's arrangement of virtually every fiddler who knew the tune the tune is rather different from Haley's told us that they had learned it from Ed setting (which was also played, with Haley. This holds even for musicians as limited deviation, by the Portsmouth geographically separated as Sherman fiddlers Forrest Pick and Acie Neal).
Lawson of Logan, West Virginia (Folk- Buddy's version (which he called "The ways 40097) and Dick Rutherford of Old Kentucky Blackberry Blossom") is Monticello, Kentucky (who recorded the more driving, with almost a bluegrass piece in G major on Co 15567). A home flavor to it. In fact, he instructed Roger, recording of Haley's own performance "Now, the way to play this tune is just to can be heard on Rounder 1134.
take [Ralph Stanley's] ‘Clinch Mountain The chief exception to this pattern Backstep' and make everything in it mi- is the present arrangement, which Roger nor." And Roger reports, "So I tried it learned from Buddy who seemed to have that way and everything was easy. Old never heard of Ed Haley until we inquired Buddy was a crafty little guy, wasn't he?"about him in the early ‘seventies. And the In fact, melody-wise Haley's explanation seems to trace to Haley's "Blackberry Blossom" is closely related to patterns of travel, where, depending upon the West Virginian "Yew Piney Moun- the season, he would take the steamboat tain," whereas the Stanley piece (when set from his home base in Ashland over to in the minor) also resembles the old Ken- Portsmouth, or travel down to the mining tucky "Lonesome John" to a considerable country below Williamson and deep into extent. Indeed, modal tunes of this class the coal camps of West Virginia. Al- are apt to wander across each other's though Buddy learned many tunes from boundaries fairly readily.
his friends in Portsmouth, he always livedin the high hills below Roger where Haley 4. Wild Goose Chase. One day I playedRoger a cassette tape that I'd made in 1973of Manon Campbell, an elderly fiddlerfrom Line Fork in southwestern Ken-tucky. This tune, with its striking imita-tion of a goose's call in G string harmon-ics, struck Roger's fancy and he set out todevelop a version himself in his owndistinctive style. Although this charmingtune is not especially common, variantsseem to be widely disseminated, ranging Abe Keibler from Emmett Lundy's superb Virginiarecording for the Library of Congress to 5. Headwaters of Tygart. Roger picked Eck Robertson's Texas version (as "Lost up this evocative tune, wonderfully typi- Goose"; County 202). Sometimes only cal of the old Kentucky hill tunes, from the goose call is common to these tunes-- the late Abe Keibler, whose uncle John Charlie Faurot recently sent me a wonder- was one of the best regarded violinists inful version by Lewis Thomasson of this early Portsmouth (Morris Allen, who also ilk (soon to be available on an anthology played the tune, was raised by the of Texan fiddling from County Records).
Keiblers after his own parents died).
And sometimes the melody is completely Tygart's Creek, which runs to the Ohio unrelated and lacks the call altogether, River east of Portsmouth, has inspired a such as the "Wild Goose Chase" that number of beautiful fiddle tunes, includ- Clyde Davenport plays. Clark Kessinger ing several distinct melodies called "No plays a wonderfully syncopated version Corn on Tygart" (cf. Rounder 1132 and allied to Roger's on Br 331--it is one of 0194). J. W. Day of Ashland (but origi- his finest records. Roger had heard nally from the Wolfe County highlands) Clark's version beforehand, but, as he recorded a melody related to Roger's as reports, "it hadn't really sunk in." As it is, "The Nigger's Wedding" for the LibraryRoger's rollicking treatment is quite his of Congress. Recently Roger has run own, falling someplace in the wide stylis- across a local newspaper (The Kentucky tic breech separating Kessinger's from Explorer, June, 1996) that reprints a Manon Campbell's. At the first available traveler's report from November, 1867 opportunity, I'll attempt to make the latter that mentions a Lewis County resident recording available (although it is, unfor- who played this tune: tunately, of less than sterling audio qual- [T]he only thing remaining [in ity), for he was an important representa- Clarksburg] to remind one of former tive of old-fashioned southeastern Ken- times is the cheerful face of the prin- tucky styling. As such, his music figures ciple hotel keeper in the place, prominently in Jeff Titon's tune book, Lewis C. Stricklett, Esq., who still Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes.
resides there. The old man relates many laughable anecdotes of former almost jazz-like in their chordal sense times, when Clarksburg was a flourish- (how much of their unusual qualities can ing town. When you visit there, call on be attributed to Booker and how much the old chap and hear him play represents Jim Woodward's personal the"Negro Wedding" on the violin-- creation is hard to say). Several sterling but first have your life insured. examples of Woodward's playing can be From a gradual accumulation of anecdotal heard on Rounder 0377, where he istidbits such as this, the large contribution excellently accompanied in ‘thirties swing that African-American dance musicians style by his good friend Ray Stipe (whose have supplied in developing the most uncle Doug was also a fiddler and can be precious parts of our noble fiddle tune seen playing to the left of Jim in the ac- heritage has become evident.
companying newspaper photo). Rogerhas been captivated by all of these num-bers since he first heard them on tape (henever met Woodward himself) and threeof these selections appear on the presentCD.
7. Queen of the West. The title of thistune provides a dead giveaway to itsorigins--it traces to the popular OneThousand Fiddle Tunes printed by M.M.
Cole in 1940, where it is credited to "ZekeBackus." This collection, in fact, repre- Doug Stipe and Jim Woodward sents a mere reprinting of plates from a 6. Jim Woodward Tune. One of the most giant tune compendium of 1882 entitled intriguing fiddlers that John Harrod and Ryan's Mammoth Collection (recently Gus Meade visited was Jim Woodward of reprinted in its original form by Mel Bay).
Jessamine County, Kentucky. Jim Wood- However, the Ryan collection never en- ward was one of several fiddlers who joyed the widespread distribution of recalled unrecorded melodies learned Cole's, which was cheaply printed and from the great African-American fiddler almost uniquely available in a twentieth Jim Booker of Camp Nelson who had century time frame when many country recorded a few breakdowns for Gennett violinists had learned to read music and as Taylor's Kentucky Boys (several of his were hungry for fresh repertory (see brothers, without Jim, also recorded as the Donald MacLellan's account of Cole'sBooker Orchestra). The Gennett selec- importance in Nova Scotia in the notes to tions, although beautifully played, provide Rounder 7044). Oddly enough, the tunelittle hint of the glorious tunes that Jim (except for a single measure and few Woodward learned from Booker, all of phrasing indications) appears twice in which are quite distinctive in their lilt and Cole's, the second time as "Sumner's Hornpipe." Several of the fiddlers around astonishing variety of manners, rangingPortsmouth were known to have utilized from Roger's and Lewis Solomon's rela- Cole's but Roger acquired the tune tively undotted approaches to "Queen of through a more circuitous route. Some- the West" (where the melody is treated as time in the ‘seventies, Roger's friend, the effectively a reel) to Winston's Fitzgerald's bluegrass musician Ronnie Eldridge, was sublime triplets on "Sumner's Hornpipe" visiting the celebrated fiddler Kenny (Rodeo 2009) or the graceful rolling bow Baker in Nashville who had a reel to reel of Tommy Peoples (GTD 008). As to tape of a Texas fiddler which he gave to Cole's collection, Roger remembers, Ronnie who then passed it along to Roger, Buddy once told me, "It's a book out who thereupon learned a number of tunes that's got over a thousand tunes in it from the tape. Robin Kessinger subse- and, if you can get someone to read the quently adapted Roger's version as a music for you, you've got yourself a virtuoso guitar solo piece and it has now pretty good tune." become somewhat of a standard amongst Indeed, Buddy once took Gus Meade and flatpickers as a result (Robin's spectacular me to meet Lem Isom, a Portsmouthsetting can be heard on Raw Fiddle on theFiddletunes label). The "Texas fiddler"on Kenny's tape turns out to have beenthe late Lewis Solomon and the notedfield recorder Charlie Faurot has justreleased some wonderful recordings ofLewis on his Old Blue label, many ofwhich come directly from One ThousandFiddle Tunes (the version of "GeneralLee" found on Old Blue 701 can be di-rectly compared with Roger's own rendi-tion on Rounder 0380). In addition,Howdy Forrester and Georgia SlimRutland (of whom more below) wereknown to have played this tune frequentlyduring their Dallas sojourn, where theysocialized with the Solomon brothers andBenny Thomasson. Undoubtedly, thisinterchange contributed significantly tothe postwar rise of the predominate styleof modern contest fiddling, which washammered out in Texas competitions of fiddler who largely played tunes extracted the ‘forties and ‘fifties.
from Cole's (a fine example can be heard Despite their rather rigid format, a on Rounder 0544).
hornpipe can be executed in the most 8. Father Wheeler's Waltz. Jimmy sheet music (Asa Martin once told me Wheeler was a skilled instrument repair- about similar arrangements around Irvine, man who lived in Portsmouth. He was Kentucky). Although we often enjoy a adept on many instruments and had stereotype of the country fiddler as iso- played rhythm guitar and bass in popular lated from trends in popular music, this is orchestras during the ‘thirties.
not true of municipalities like Portsmouth Jimmy was excellent on the guitar as where the violin was as happily accepted well and he was pretty sophisticated in a village orchestra as brass or wood- musically for those days. One time he winds. Hence it is not surprising that explained to me how you could put a Jimmy Wheeler's repertoire consisted in diminished part into "Turkey in the tunes apparently extracted from several Straw." Well, it works, but people generations of American popular dance would look at you if you did it and say, music. To be sure, old mountain tunes"What the hell was that?" But listen- like "Headwaters of Tygart" were also ing to Jimmy's fiddle playing was a intermingled within the Portsmouth tune real good lessonfor me. He'dput these sneakynotes into atune that you'dnever think touse otherwise.
Budd once saidthat Jimmyplayed "closenotes betterthan anybody Iever heard,"tho' I don'tknow exactlywhat he meant by that. Portsmouth Jimmy's father had been a traditional arsenal, but even the repertory of a back fiddler who tended a farm just outside of country Lewis County fiddler such as Portsmouth and Jimmy learned many fine Charlie Kinney (Rounder 0376) consisted tunes from him, often with no name mainly in hornpipes and polkas akin to attached such as this delightful waltz.
those that Jimmy Wheeler favored, al- Jimmy told Roger that, around the turn of though Charlie performed these in a far the twentieth century, the various fiddlers more rustic manner than Jimmy in the countryside would concentrate in (many of Charlie's tunes apparently came the city once a month to hear a pianist from Dick Swearington of Concord, rattle off the latest tunes for them from Kentucky, an accomplished musician of an earlier day).
Jimmy socialized with all of the When I played country music up in major fiddlers around Portsmouth and Ohio, they always wanted polkas a lot. Buddy and Roger picked up many fine And I always liked the real polka selections from him. In earlier days, he bands quite a bit: their tunes just fit played guitar behind the violinist Forrest the fiddle. And down here in Kentucky, Pick (see Rounder 0544) on radio as "The you can slip one in on them if you Happiness Boys," a show for farmers that don't tell them that it's a polka. was greatly appreciated by its de-voted listeners. Wewere never able tohear Jimmy andForrest together, butfortunately Jimmymade some fine re-cordings for the lateJeff Goehring thathave been recentlyreleased on the FieldRecorder's Collectivelabel (FRC 401).
There Jimmy can beheard playing many ofthe tunes that Rogerperforms here.
9. Pond Creek Polka.
Again, another tunefrom Jimmy Wheeler's father that has Robin Kessinger come down to us without a name. PondCreek (in Ohio; there is another near 10. Gippy, Get your Hair Cut. Roger Hardy, Kentucky) is a rural spot where learned this tune from Clark Kessinger's regular square dances were continuously classic Brunswick recording (Br 364). It maintained for nearly a hundred years.
comprises a particularly delightful member Jimmy's dad lived in the vicinity, as did of one of America's most venerable and the Mershon family: entangled tune families, the "Betty Mar- An old man named Ishmael Mershon tin"/"Fire on the Mountain" group. In its and his two boys. Joe Stamper said oldest forms, it is found in fifer's manuals that they were the best fiddlers he ever of the early 1800's (Samuel Bayard) and as heard; that their music was just out of a play party song (from Henry King, this world. Sketches of Pitt County (North Carolina)): High Betty Martin, tip-toe, tip-toe, "High Betty Martin" and the martial High Betty Martin, tip-toe fine; "Johnny, Get your Gun" (which carries She couldn't get a stocking, she yet another convoluted melodic branch in couldn't get a shoe, its wake). The popular fiddle tunes She couldn't get a husband to suit "Granny, Will your Dog Bite?" and "Rye her mind. Straw" represent further forks within this As a fiddle tune (cf. Hiram Stamper's family as well. A contemporary fiddler version available at the Berea College like Roger will know most of these famil- Library website), it consists of two iar tunes, without sensing any particular themes, the low partheard here, with itsinsistent "tip-toe," "tip-toe" rhythm, and thecustomary "Fire on theMountain" melody. Atsome point in the nine-teenth century, thesetwo strains becamedetached and eachserved as nuclei for a fresh family of tunes Vanceburg (the process is neatly illustrated by the relationship between them (which is not performances of Kelly Gilbert on Rounder surprising, as their focal features have0377, where two entirely new second parts become completely distinct). By thehave been added to each strain). Carl 1920's, when "Gippy" was recorded by Sandburg reports in The American the Kessinger Brothers, the intended focus of its satire had shifted to flappers, as In the early 1890's, in the tank exemplified by Dutch Coleman's amusing towns of the corn belt, few women adaptation, "Granny, Get Your Hair Cut." bobbed their hair. Often when a Eighty-year old Stephen Tucker woman who had taken this liberty recorded a delightful "Chippy, Get Your walked along Main Street on a Hair Cut" for Herbert Halpert of the Re- night when there was to be a band settlement Administration in 1939 (almost concert, she was an object of certainly "Gippy" represents a record special scrutiny. Young men would executive's misspelling of either "Chippy" sing at her: or "Kippy"). As is often the case with Chippy, get your hair cut, hair, Kessinger's performances, the high or "fine" part of the tune is novel and more Chippy, get your hair cut, hair technically demanding than more conven- cut short. tional second parts such as Tucker played.
Sandburg then links this ditty to both Kessinger seems to have never claimed authorship of these elaborations, but we his family's great musical heritage. As a have reports of unrecorded virtuosos of a young boy, Robin often fell asleep to musical generation prior to Kessinger uncle Clark's music at extended house (e.g., the often praised Bob and Abe parties. In the late ‘sixties, Clark recorded Glenn) that may have been responsible for a number of LPs, but these often includethese novel pairings. As we shall observe more hokum (especially from the guitar- under "Birdie" below, there seems to have ist) than his classically delineated 78s.
been a fashion for embedding familiar Robin claims that Clark favored such melodic strains within a matrix of synco- accompaniments only as a necessity for pated elaborations.
winning fiddle contests, but preferred Clark's recording remains one of more straightforward backup when he the sterling fiddle recordings of all time played "serious music" for a more dis- and Roger does an excellent job adapting cerning audience. Robin also reports that the arrangement to his own style. Once his father taped many of these home upon a time Buddy had proposed a trip to sessions; let us hope that they may some- visit Clark in St. Albans, having heard day become publicly available.
many tales of his exploits from JimmyWheeler and Morris Allen, but chickened 11. Martha Campbell. This perfect out at the last moment. But Bob fiddle tune is most strongly associated Kessinger later took Roger under his wing with Kentucky, where it has witnessedwhen Roger lived in West Virginia and many recordings, but it is also known in kindly helped Roger experience more of Texas (Ace Sewell; Orville Burns). Here Kanawha River Roger mainly follows the melodic con- (inter alia, Alva Greene and Francis tours developed by Buddy (Rounder Gillum). 6/8 marches such as this (as 0032), but, like Buddy, he has always well as the differently accentuated jigs and greatly admired the driving propulsion quadrilles) seem to have enjoyed some that Bob Prater instilled within this tune popularity across the entire South during (Bob can be heard playing the melody on the late nineteenth century, but quickly Rounder 0376). Although Roger feels that faded from the repertory subsequentlyhe resembles Bob less than Buddy in (Dwight Lamb of Onawa, Iowa now matters of bowing and decoration, he knows more of them than any non-Cana- credits Bob's square dance playing as a dian or Irishman that I know). Morris vital influence on how he approaches always pronounced the river's name as issues of rhythm and phrasing. Indeed, "Big Canoy" and it wasn't until Roger although Roger plays a lot of Jimmy interpreted it for us that we realized that Wheeler's music on this record, it was he was talking about the large waterway Bob's playing that primarily inspires the that runs through Robin's hometown of strong rhythmic pulse andsquare dance "lift" thatRoger infuses into an uptempo tune such as this.
It would be deeply ungrateful to not acknowl-edge as well the profoundinfluence that Doc Rob-erts' nonpareil perfor-mances of "MarthaCampbell" on 78 will haveexerted upon any fiddlerwho has heard them,including Roger andBuddy (who owned a Morris and Agnus Allen battered copy of one of them). To thisday, Doc remains one of the violinists that St. Albans, West Virginia. As such, this isRoger admires most.
certainly one of the many tunes that gotcarried between Portsmouth and Charles- 12. Hard up Big Kanawha. Here is an ton on the big paddlewheel boats that unusual melody learned from Morris once bound these two communities to- Allen, who only played it on the rarest occasions. Morris in turn credited the Morris Allen was one of Buddy's tune to Bob Mays, a musician that the best friends and taught him some of his older fiddlers to whom Gus Meade and I finest melodies. He lived in South Shore, talked in the 1970's sometimes mentioned Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Portsmouth where he worked in a steel 14. Lazy Bow Drag. Roger learned this mill. Roger lived just up the road from from Jimmy Wheeler. As such, it is remi- Morris and his wife Agnus for a few years niscent of other "northern" soundingin the late ‘seventies.
tunes such as "Old Flannigan" (which Old Morris didn't care what anybody Jimmy also knew as a "no name" thought of him and so he was liable to melody). Another skilled fiddler from say anything under the sun to you. Portsmouth who often played it on the But he and Agnus were really fine radio as "Lazy Drag" was Acie Neal (his people and he straightened me out on Christian name was probably "Asa," a bunch of things in my fiddle playing. which is usually pronounced "Acie" in the South). Acie had died before Roger was 13. Nancy Rowland. Roger learned this old enough to travel into Portsmouth to jolly version of a fine old square dance hear him, but Buddy often talked of play- tune from Buddy, but where he picked it ing guitar for him (and complained that up is uncertain. It wasrecorded a number oftimes on 78 from scatteredparts of the country (JohnCarson, the Skillet Lickers,The Carter Brothers andSon); it is possible thatBuddy learned it from oneof these (most probably,the Skillet Lickers whomBuddy greatly admired--heonce tape recorded anelaborate "fiddler's con-test" skit very much intheir manner). On the other hand, Snake Neal didn't like him learning his tunes).
Chapman learned his fine version There is a home recording extant of this (Rounder 0418) from hearing Georgia tune and, before he begins, Acie Neal Slim and Big Howdy Forrester play it on comments, "There isn't anything lazy the radio. Buddy was too young to have about it, if you're a-fiddling." On this heard those broadcasts, but possibly he recording, which demonstrates a great heard Forrester play it at a later time. But level of technical skill, Neal engages in it is a common enough tune and Buddy quite a bit of what Buddy used to call "hot learned fiddle tunes from many sources, dogging"--showy ornamentation that so exact origins would be hard to pin- interferes with the tune's rhythmic flow.
According to Ray Hilt's report (Ray per-forms another version of this tune onRounder 0544), Neal played with fewer affectations when Ray listened to his radio had remembered from earlier years andbroadcasts before the war.
Rector Hicks made a similar report to The fiddlers within the Portsmouth Kerry Blech).
circle (which included frequent visitors Although Buddy could execute such as Ed Haley and Clark Kessinger) fiddle tricks with the best of them and represented a close knit bunch, but they certainly liked to show off, he rarely were also quite competitive with one spoiled the flow of his melodies with another, each vying to outdo the other excessive "hot dogging." Roger has con- with some yet more extended elaboration structed his own musical aesthetic around upon "Ragtime Annie." In addition, a these percepts of Buddy's and will never celebrated contestfiddler of the late‘thirties whostyled himself as"Natchee theIndian" (his realname, Roger wastold, was LesterStorer) had grownup in the hillcountry outside ofPortsmouth.
Natchee developeda set of fiddletricks (and fashion mannerisms!) that allowed him to vanquish many of the best compromise the propulsion of his perfor-fiddlers of his day (including Kessinger, mance to accommodate an empty "effect." Arthur Smith and Ed Haley). Roger com- Roger conceptualizes each fiddle tune asments: structured within a hierarchy of nested Old Morris Allen would say, "He rhythmic units, which must be carefully couldn't play nothing. He'd just play maintained in tight synchronization. Of- that contest stuff and then he'd be ten in recording Roger will halt an other- done: that was all he could do. But wise fine performance simply because he you just couldn't beat him in a contest "didn't make the bowing come aroundat all." right." Indeed, Roger's concern with In such a milieu, it is not surprising rhythmic integration is so great that he that some measure of extraneous "hot rarely enjoys playing breakdowns within a dogging" crept into the Portsmouth music conventional jam session setting, because(Snake Chapman once commented that Ed he usually finds it impossible toHaley's postwar home recordings were maintain the integrity of the pulse and the more "ragtime" than the performances he logical progression of the tune's variations when the lead trades too rapidly between familiar folk ditty "Shortening Bread" ("Put on the skillet/Put on the lid"),surrounded by three elaborate supple- 15. Shortening Bread. Here is an elusive ments with a marked ragtime feel to them.
tune that appears prototypical of a number Another Owen Walker piece that Docof other tunes whose origins I find played (but which was also performed by equally mysterious. Roger has heard the the Alabamian Tommy Jackson in a seem- tune from two sources: a recording of Jim ingly independent version) is "The CatWoodward made by John Harrod and Gus Came Back," which appears to be con-Meade and the classic 78 by Doc Roberts structed around the rather plain chorus of (from Camp Nelson and Richmond, the eponymous comic song ("Oh, the cat respectively; both locales lie in the blue- came back the very next day/We thought grass region, to the west of Lewis he was a goner"), again supplemented with elaborated syncopated sections. In Old Woodward has a real pretty the case of the "Birdie" heard below and melody to his, but a different feel than the well known "Twinkle Little Star" (of Doc's and I had to move away from which George Hawkins knew a Woodward's towards Doc's to get it to particularly complex arrangement), we work out for me. witness sentimental songs of the late Both fiddlers seem to have learned the nineteenth century transformed into jaunty composition from African-American (and rather irreverent, given their origi- performers: from Jim Booker in nally gloomy subject matters) cakewalks.
Woodward's case and from Owen It is my tentative deduction that we are Walker, an unrecorded Richmond barber, witnessing evidence of some mode of in Doc's. In addition, Roger obtained a dance music arrangement popular around "Shortening in the Bread" from George the turn of the century, for which more Hawkins of Bethel, which appears to concrete evidence may one day emerge (I represent a more distanced relative of the possess sheet music for a ragtime setting setting heard here.
of "Turkey in the Straw" of roughly the To complicate the picture further, character hypothesized). Much of the out west in Nebraska the great Bob evidence required to resolve these matters Walters learned a set close to D's which properly (the same difficulties attend to he called "Irish Cobbler" (a good version locating sources for melodies like "Pond of which can be heard on Dwight Lamb's Creek Polka") lies buried within the vast new CD, Rounder 0529). Now it is terra incognita supplied by the popular certainly possible that Uncle Bob or his dance music of the second half of the source learned the tune from Doc's record nineteenth century, of which we under-(there were certainly Kessinger and Arthur stand relatively little. It has been firmlySmith tunes in Bob's repertory), but I established (by Gus Meade's Country suspect not. The composition consists of Music Sources, inter alia) that much of the a melodic core apparently based upon the material that becomes known as "folk song" in the twentieth century originated wrong when the true etiologies of the as popular composition during this earlier tunes are uncovered.
epoch and we can presume that much thesame holds of our "folk" instrumental 16. Big Indian Hornpipe. Buddy learned music as well. But tracking down origins this beautiful air (which is related to the is even harder here, given the diffuse book tune "Lardner's Reel" which was nature of music publishing in the nine- also popular in Kentucky) from Morris teenth century. In addition, it is well Allen and Jimmy Wheeler (available on established that song melodies have FRC 401). I've also seen a 1932 tune list tended to lose their Victorian chromati- belonging to Forrest Pick that mentions a cism as they evolve into "folk songs"and "Big Engine Hornpipe." However, the allied processes have no doubt altered our fiddlers in nearby Bath County--Georgeinstrumental dance pieces greatly as well Hawkins and Alfred Bailey (Rounder (as can be easily seen by comparing the 0376)--knew a completely different published melody of "Put Me in My Little melody by this title (although Alfred had, Bed" with the "Birdie" heard here). But in fact, acquired some of his repertory without a lyrical link to bind them to- from Forrest and Jimmy's radio broad- gether, it becomes difficult to align a casts). A comparison of Jimmy's version with Buddy's (and Roger's)vividly demonstrates how differ- ently the two musicians con-ceived a tune: Buddy, by Roger's account, typicallydropped the "fiddle contest" accretions that Jimmy added,preferring to instead "fatten up"Jimmy's single line melody with unisons and double stops, whileadding more lonesome slidingnotes and installing a complex back beat that works against themain melody line. Buddy seems Buddy Thomas to have authored the final variation him- "folk" fiddle tune confidently with its self, which he said represented an popular predecessor, even when the Indian's war cry and was, no doubt, music for both have been located and are inspired by the television cartoons he available for inspection. I have com- loved so well. Normally, I wouldn't like plained elsewhere of the incautious equa- such mimetic accretions, but I've grown tion of melodic stocks based upon the so accustomed to Buddy's musical logic passing similarity of a phrase or two, for that "Big Indian Hornpipe" now seems such attributions have commonly proved naked without it.
17. Dittany Tea. This concoction, brewed 19. Golden Star Hornpipe. The usualfrom a variety of oregano, represents a name of this popular hornpipe is "Silver traditional remedy for indigestion. Roger Star Hornpipe," its luster having been learned this otherwise unreported tune upgraded by the folk process in Ports- from Jimmy Wheeler.
mouth. Although this tune can be foundin One Thousand Fiddle Tunes, it, unlike 18. Pretty Little Indian. This melody may "Queen of the West" and "Sally Growler,"represent an old West Virginia tune, but can be confidently placed in Portsmouth virtually all of its current popularity traces long before 1940, as Jimmy Wheeler firstto the late Curly Ray Cline, who fiddled learned it from his dad (it was quite popu- for Ralph Stanley for many years and who lar locally). Indeed, the tune is frequentlyrecorded the piece on Rebel 1506. It is to performed in both French Canada and be presumed that Buddy Thomas (Roger's Cape Breton, as well as out in the Midwestsource) learned the tune in descent from by Bob Walters and his friends. As iscommonly in the South, Roger performsthe tune at a quite zippy pace with littletraditional hornpipe accentuation. Indeed,he commented to me the other day, "Boy,I sure played that tune fast when we didthat recording!" 20. Flannery's Dream. A number ofmountain tunes of roughly this title have Buddy and Roger been encountered in Kentucky, ranging Cline's performance. It bears certain from cognate melodies (Alva Greene's affinities to the widely distributed "Pretty version on Rounder 0376) to the appar- Little Widow" and may represent a ently unrelated (John Salyer's on AC recomposition of those strains.
003). The closest match I've heard is with When Cline was a young teenager, Santford Kelly's version on FRC 503 he competed in a large fiddle contest (Ricky Skaggs recorded a bluegrass adap- against Snake Chapman, to whom he lost tation of Kelly's piece as "Son of Hobert" on points. But Curly Ray began to bawl in 1972, but Roger had heard Buddy play so loudly and his mother raised such a the tune before that). Roger is unsure fuss that the judges reconvened behind where Buddy picked up this version, but the curtain and split first place between remembers hearing Buddy speak of Kelly the two. Snake was so disgusted by the who was a well-known personality at the process that he more or less stopped going Sorghum Festival held annually in Westto fiddle contests, but other fiddlers spoke Liberty (on one such occasion, J.P. Fraleyabout the scandal for many years thereaf- recalls Kelly setting forth a Rumpel- ter (John Hannah recalled the tale for stiltskin-like challenge to provide a title Kerry Blech in 1984, for example).
for this old tune). So, quite possibly, Buddy learned the tune directly from Indeed, I don't remember Buddy Kelly or ran into Skaggs at some bluegrass playing this piece for Gus or me (or, forget-together. Roger comments that, that matter, "Blackberry Blossom" either), though Buddy did not drive, he covered probably because he felt that he had not large amounts of territory in his musical managed to get all of the "old time" flavor rambles and one could scarcely travel he had wanted in the piece. Indeed, anywhere in Kentucky or Ohio where through comparing notes with Roger, Buddy didn't seem to know somebody or whose main period of learning from other just up the road or up the next hol- Buddy occurred several years before Gus and I met him, it has become fairly clear Buddy can be heard playing this that Buddy's performances were undergo- tune on FRC 303, in an uncharacteristi- ing a transition in the several years before cally slow rendition, a style that I suspect he died, when he was attempting, in par- represented an attempt to emulate J.P.
ticular, to introduce more "long bowing" Fraley's sedate manner for the sake of the passages (that is, playing a long string of audience present, whereas Roger's ver- notes on a single bow stroke) into his sion better reflects the driving tempo and playing (Roger, in contrast, attempts very rhythmic emphasis that Buddy had em- little of this). Buddy had acquired some ployed earlier.
of his best tunes from his mother's Buddy used to play this tune all the memories of her own father's playing and time--he was crazy about it. He pro- her manner of phrasing plainly formed jected such a rhythm on that tune that Buddy's model for how these old-time it would really grab hold of you. And tunes should sound. Indeed, he often it was in the minors, too--it used to remarked to me in our interviews, "I'm remind me of a frailing banjo type feel that I'm just learning how to bow out thing. But Buddy never did get it quite those old tunes right," even though longthe way he wanted--he just kept hunt- bow performance was not typically a ing for some way he wanted it to hallmark of Kentucky mountain style (although it suits many of the Portsmouth tunes better). Roger also informs us that, Buddy attached to this melody: a few years earlier, he often needed to Two fiddlers got together to battle it "pick his brain to coax some of Buddy's out. They played all night and nary good tunes like ‘Snakewinder' out of one of them could outdo the other. So him," because Buddy was accustomed to they went to bed and old Flannery favoring the popular standards that most heard this tune in his sleep. When he of his audience expected to hear (the same got up in the morning, he started play- was true of Morris Allen: when I first ing this tune and the other guy knew he visited Morris by myself, I could only was beat. Buddy said, "he just put on extract "Ragtime Annie" and such, his pants and went home." whereas in Buddy's company the mostastonishing melodies bubbled forth, sim- 21. Rough and Ready. Another fantastic ply because Buddy knew the proper titles tune that has come down to us from Jim to request).
Booker via Jim Woodward. In this case, On a related topic, Roger some- Woodward's own performance can be times objects to hearing his own playing heard on Rounder 0377--I hope that we characterized as a "Lewis County style," will be able to issue more of Jim for he feels that such a generic description Woodward's fine playing in the future.
robs Buddy's particular musical genius of "Rough and Ready" is distinguished by its its rightful due. In the five or six years tricky, meandering structure. Roger when they worked closely together, Roger comments,witnessed at first hand Buddy's continual This is one of the most crooked tunes I efforts to elevate his fiddling to a higher ever did hear. But once you under- plane. Often Buddy would attempt to stand it, then it's alright to play. describe in words, often to Roger's utterincomprehension, the intangible effects he 22. We'll All Go to Heaven When thewas attempting to reach: Devil Goes Blind. In 1997 Roger took me He would sit there for hours and to visit Abe Keibler in Portsmouth, cousin hours just scratching away slowly on to Morris Allen and Roger's source for the fiddle with it laying down on his "Headwaters of Tygart." That evening arm. It could almost drive you crazy, Abe played us an old mountain tune with for you could hardly figure out what he this evocative title and I suggested towas playing or what he was searching Roger that it might be a good tune to for. But then, when it came time to learn. However, Abe was in his late really play, he'd put that fiddle up ‘eighties and Roger had trouble making under his chin and, boy, it would be out the exact melody he intended to play beautiful. And all of that little stuff he (Buddy Thomas, by contrast, was a genius was scratching on would still be in it, in being able to discern the melodic core but it'd be up to tempo and beautiful. within the most rustic performance).
Getting back to "Flannery's However, Roger had a tape of Ed Dream," Roger relates the little story that Morrison's great performance of the tune for the Library of Congress and so he in My Little Bed" by C.A. White and essentially plays the Morrison version Dexter Smith. Roger here plays Buddy here. I listened to my tape of Abe Keibler Thomas' version, but many other settingsrecently and he is clearly playing a simpler of the tune, often quite varied in theirversion of this tune, albeit only with two melodic materials, have been recorded in parts. According to Roger, the late the region (from Jimmy Wheeler, J. P.
Charlie Kinney sometimes played a tune Fraley, Forrest Pick, The Tweedy Broth- of this title, although he may have well ers, Clark Kessinger, inter alia). Roger picked up the melody from the collector thinks that Buddy may have gotten his Gus Meade who commonly employed it version from Joe Stamper, who in turn as a demonstration piece for our infor- had known Buddy's grandfather, Jimmy Richmond (Buddy had acquired some of Roger rightly identifies this as "one his most beautiful melodies from his of the old Kentucky mountain tunes," a mother's whistling of tunes that her father rousing style of playing that he associates used to play).
with J.W. Day, Santford Kelly and the In its original song form, "Put Me great Emma Dickerson. Morrison (about in my Little Bed" was recorded several whom little is known) lived in Breathitt times on 78 (e.g., by the Red Brush Row- County, which lies a little to the south of dies). Stan Jackson of Washington State where these other fiddlers lived, but, as (but originally from Arkansas) learned it Roger comments, he has the style downperfectly. It is unclear how Morrisoncame to the attention of Jean Thomas inAshland (who arranged his Library ofCongress session there), although Thomasseemed to been in touch with many musi-cal personalities around the state (PleazMobley, Buell Kazee and Asa Martin alltold me that she had contacted them in the‘thirties to come to her Ashland folkfestival). Kerry Blech observes that Tho-mas sometimes traveled the Eastern Ken-tucky circuit as a court stenographer andthat "court days" often provided localmusicians with an opportunity to meet anaudience.
23. Birdie. As stated above, this widelydisseminated fiddle tune seems to repre-sent a humorous set of raggy variationsupon the 1870's sentimental song "Put Me George Hawkins was inexplicably not included in theRounder issue of his home recordings (it 24. Paddy Bids Farewell to America.
is a very fine performance). There are "Paddy's Farewell to America" is credited many compositions of the late nineteenth to Tom Doyle in Ryan's Mammoth Col- century called "Midnight Serenade" (or lection ( = One Thousand Fiddle Tunes) something similar), but I've not found any which seems to represent its primary mate to the present strains.
source. Roger learned this jig fromGeorge Hawkins of Bethel, Kentucky (see 26. Trot Along, My Honey. Roger learned Rounder 0376) in the mid 1970's; George this arrangement from Buddy when they always articulated its title as "Paddy Bids lived in Ohio together: "It was one that I Farewell to ‘Merikee." could play in front of him, as I don't think I asked George one time, "What's that he liked it too much. He had heard ittune about?" He said, "I reckon that from Howdy Forrester and when I asked Paddy's come over here and didn't who he was, Buddy answered, "Why, he like it, so he's getting on the boat to plays with Roy Acuff on the Grand Ole go back." Oh, I liked the way George Opry: he's a real fiddler.' When I asked, played it awfully well. ‘How good is he?,' Budd replied, ‘My George did not read music; he possibly god, son, he's the best that ever was.'" picked up the tune from Tom Riley when According to Roger, Howdy Forrester, he worked in Indianain the late 1940's orfrom what he calledthe "northern fid-dlers" (= Ohio) hewould often meet inthe many fiddle con-tests he attended.
25. Midnight Ser-enade. Roger learnedthis pretty waltz longago from Buddy andMorris Allen, but hadmore or less forgottenabout it until it cameto mind a few years ago. Clark Kessinger Michael Garvin played a related melody with a far more Kenny Baker, Clark Kessinger, Doc Rob- elaborate--and, to my thinking, less attrac- erts and Clayton McMichen and the Skillettive--second part. Ed Haley also played Licker ensemble were the commercially yet another elaboration on the tune that recorded fiddlers that Buddy admired the most. Big Howdy (as he was popularly legendary status as a great technician.
known) performed this sprightly tune Interestingly enough, showing just often on the Grand Ole Opry as a member how small circles sometimes run in theof Roy Acuff's troupe and recorded it on fiddle world, Robin's father was a great his celebrated MGM LP, Fancy Fiddlin' friend of Rutland's (and probably played Country Style, which is probably where Kinnikinnick CreekBuddy learned it (Forrester later rere- an intermediary role in making these corded "Trot Along" for the Stoneway recordings possible). The Kessinger label as well). According to Snake family used to visit Rutland in his music Chapman, Forrester often played this tune shop in Valdosta, Georgia. Slim was alsowith Robert "Georgia Slim" Rutland a talented flat-picker and Robin still plays when they worked radio broadcasts to- some exceptional guitar numbers he gether in Texas in the late 1940's. Unfor- learned from him. To tighten this circle tunately, the group left behind only a few even further, the late Curly Parker recordings for Mercury, largely of a coun- (Rounder 0544) told Gus Meade and metry music cast, but the Forrester-Rutland that Slim often visited with Ed Haley fiddle duets left a lasting impression on when Rutland worked in radio stations in anyone who heard them. Recently some Ironton and West Virginia before World 1950's home recordings of Georgia Slim with his wife have appeared on the Tri- Returning to "Trot Along" proper, Agle-Far label which fully confirm his Snake reported that Forrester and Rutland often announced this number as "The Traveler," presumably in humorous eu- That record almost got me off track phemism. Melodically, I'd guess that the completely, because I admired piece traces to Forrester's Hickman Howdy's fiddling so much, I started County, Tennessee heritage, from which trying to play like that for awhile, until Big Howdy acquired many unusual and I finally switched back to what I'm a- charming pieces (John Hartford managed doing now. to tape a number of these shortly beforeForrester's death--I hope that they will 27. Sally Growler. The story of this tune someday become available). I also hy- is virtually the same as that for "Queen of pothesize that the melody once supported the West": Roger learned it from the same words. Its half stanza release in E minor tape of Lewis Solomon who was appar- ently attempting toamplify his reper-tory by going through One Thou-sand Fiddle Tunes(where it is cred- ited to HarryCarleton). Rogercomments: Old Solomon wasjust cooking onthat thing. It's hard on you toplay it like that, asthere's no place for a rest in itanywhere.
Although the strikes me as supplementary, representing widespread (and deserved) popularity of either a relic of minstrel show practice the composition undoubtedly traces only (where instrumental interludes were often to the 1940's, it is now performed fairly set in the relative minor) or an addition by commonly in Texas, Cape Breton andRutland and Forrester themselves (Big Ireland. Morris Allen, who hated to admit Howdy often cobbled together parts of that there could be a fiddle tune he hadn't fiddle tunes for the sake of greater vari- heard before, insisted that the proper name of this was "The Queen City Horn- Roger finally managed to hear Fancy Fiddlin' Country Style for himself 28. Putney's Run. Roger learned this speedy tune from Jimmy Wheeler, al- Black Texicans (Rounder 1862), there is though home recordings of Acie Neal are an unusual song by Arthur Armstrong also extant. Roger isn't sure where about "King Buzzard" that speaks of "an Putney's Run is, although he imagines that old mule in the corner of the fence" thatlies in Ohio someplace, because "Every- may conceivably bear some lost linkage to thing over there is a ‘run', while we call this odd title, as well as to Dr. Humphrey them ‘creeks' over here." Kerry Blech Bate's equally peculiar breakdown, observes the melody's affinities to Lonnie "Throw the Old Cow Over the Fence." Seymour's "Log Chain" (FRC 403) and Be that as it may, on his Field Recorder's that Estill Adamsof WashingtonCourthouse per-formed an unre-lated melody as""Putner's Run." 29. Morgan onthe Railroad.
Yet another won-derful tune de-scended from JimBooker courtesyof Jim Wood-ward. Almostcertainly its titlerefers to John Hunt Morgan, a Lexington South Shorebusinessman who organized a rebel militia Collective CD, Jimmy Wheeler mentionsthat disabled the L & N railroad in a cel- that he acquired this melody from a bar- ebrated raid in Christmas raid of 1862.
ber in Columbus, Ohio named Lake On Rounder 0377, Ed Barnes plays a Brickey. Roger comments, lesser tune of this title, but John Harrod When Jimmy would play for you, he informs us that Barnes was probably had a routine where he'd just dash off confused and the customary name of his a whole bunch of tunes quickly in a melody is "Muddy Creek." row, like he didn't care much aboutany of them. But he seemed to like this 30. Soapsuds Over the Fence. This title one a lot--I think he liked the title of it. has been attached to many distinct tunes Old Morris Allen played a tune he (quite commonly the familiar "Too Young called "Soap in the Sinkhole," but it to Marry") and is commonly mentioned as was really just "Billy in the a popular tune in chronicles of pioneer life. On the Library of Congress CD 31.Briarpicker Brown. Although this hear those patterns better when the sprightly reel is now quite popular within fiddle is just by itself, because some of fiddling circles, those versions have all those notes lie in the same range where descended from Buddy's 1974 recording.
the guitar is a-playing. And then when Buddy learned it in turn from Morris you look at the rhythm in the tune as a Allen who told us that it was named for a whole, you'll hear yet another pattern Carter County musician of fifty years laid on. In a good fiddle tune, there'll previous who "had a gnarled chin--it be about five or six different things looked like he had been a-eating briars." going on at the same time and you Morris reported that Brown played other have to work pretty hard to make it all tunes, but that this one represented his come out right. But I'm not so good particular favorite. When John Harrod at analyzing music, so I'll start talking and I recently pulled our recordings of myself out on a limb here. Buddy used Morris out of storage to issue his own to talk about the patterns in fiddle version of "Briarpicker Brown" on Along tunes all the time, sometimes in ways I the Ohio's Shores (Rounder 0544), we wasn't able to completely understand were surprised to hear that his fine part at the time. was differed from Buddy's (which Rogerfollows here). Both versions are quite 32. Six White Horses. Learned from charming and fit together well. Roger Jimmy Wheeler, whose own version can comments that he rarely heard Buddy play be heard on his Field Recorders Collective old Kentucky pieces like this or "Susan's CD. On another CD in that series, Cecil Gone" much when they lived together: Plum of Massillon, Ohio plays a more "I think he just learned them way back elaborate version of the same tune in a when and pretty much forgot about them, manner greatly influenced by Arthur unless you'd think to coax them out of Smith. I would not be surprised to learn that this song-like composition derives Jeff Titon has observed that the low from Smith's popular radio broadcasts strain in "Briarpicker Brown" resembles and country music tours in the ‘thirties the old English standard, "The Rose and ‘forties (it is even conceivable that its title accidently drifted over from the Clyde Often when revivalists attempt a Moody-Bill Monroe hit of 1941). Kerry tune such as this, they omit the strong Blech reports (on the authority of the backbeats that supply it with its special collector, the late Jeff Goehring) that character. Roger comments: Jimmy sometimes attached a bit of unre- With a good fiddler, when one thing is lated scatology to the tune. Jimmy was going on with the main melody, you fond of roughhouse humor and had likely will be able to hear other patterns recalled some naughty juvenile doggeral popping along in the backbeats, like that happened to fit the tune's metrical the fiddle is providing its own accom- contours (which are roughly the same as paniment. In fact, you can sometimes the well-known "No More Booze on Kinnikinnick the name properly signifies.
33. Yellow Barber. This is one ofBuddy's most celebrated tunes and Roger 34. Katy Hill. Virtually every modern does a good job in capturing the exhilarat- Southern fiddler can play a strong "Katying combination of drive and Kentucky Hill" and there is no better request to lonesomeness that Buddy's playing mi- make if one wants to gain a first impres- raculously combined. Other excellent sion of their musical aesthetic. "Katy regional recordings of the tune can be Hill" is undoubtedly a relatively old tune found by Jimmy Wheeler (FCR 503) and with four parts (a nice old-fashioned Ed Haley (Rounder 1132). Further west setting by Jim Herd can be heard on Voy- this same tune (with an additional part) ager 340 and two part arrangements were was played as "Arthur Berry" by George sometimes called "Piney Woods Gal" in Hawkins, Tom York, Alfred Bailey and old Virginia). However, the tune's the great Dick Summers (Rounder 0194; present ubiquitous format may not be Summers probably learned the tune either much older than the late 1930's, which is directly from George or their common when Snake Chapman reported that he musical mentor of a generation earlier, first heard it on the radio, performed by Tom Riley). Although the late John Hart- Arthur Smith and Howdy Forrester.
ford claimed that the strange title referred Along its journey to universality, it fused to an African-American barber, this was with the originally distinct "Sally mere speculation on his part, as no tradi- Johnson," dropping parts along the way tional player I've met could tell me what (as I document in the notes to Rounder 0539). This streamlined new "Katy"admirably suits the framework of the oldKentucky backwoods tunes set in G suchas "Susan's Gone" or "Headwaters ofTygart." And so it can ably serve as arousing vehicle to finish off this admi-rable collection of sterling performances.
--Mark Wilson Produced and annotated by Mark Wilson.
Recorded 2003-5 in St. Albans, West Virginia and Garrison, Kentucky.
Photography by Mark Wilson.
Special thanks to John Harrod, Gary and Jan Cornett, Charlotte Cooper, Kerry Blech, Bob Gates, Scott Prouty and Wally Wallingford This CD belongs to the North AmericanTraditions Series.
Visit our website at http://
www.rounder.com/rounder/nat
Rounder CD 0533Rounder Records1 Camp StreetCambridge, Mass 02140 All arrangements copyright 2006 Happy Valley Music BMI on behalf of Roger Cooper.

Source: http://www.mtrecords.co.uk/pdf/510_notes.pdf