The Ray Brothers recorded Mississippi Echoes at their second and final recording session, November 21, 1930, in Memphis Tennessee. The group was comprised of Will Ray on fiddle and Vardaman Ray on guitar. The tune was paired with Tuscaloosa Waltz, and released as Victor # 23552.
The tune is comprised of two eight-bar strains in C, played in AABB form. While the harmonic progressions in the strains are conventional (I IV V I in the A strain, I V I in the B strain), the tune is made considerably more interesting by the leaps of an octave or more.
Vardaman Ray’s unusual first name is likely an homage to Mississippi politician and lamentable human being James K. Vardaman.
Mississippi Echoes