Good Night Waltz is a lovely waltz in the keys of C and F that was recorded by early string band performers such as the Kessinger Brothers, the Blue Ridge Entertainers, and the Leake County Revelers. This transcription is based on a Leake County Revelers performance recorded in New Orleans on April 13th, 1927, and…
Alabama Jubilee
Alabama Jubilee is a fun circle of fifths tune that has been performed by such luminaries as Chet Atkins and the Kentucky Colnels, and has remained in the bluegrass and old-timey repertoire for decades. This transcription is based on a performance by The McClung Brothers and Cleve Chaffin, recorded in Chicago in 1929. It was…
Mississippi Echoes
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…
Hesitation Blues
I made this arrangement of Hesitation Blues years ago for my tunebook. It attempts to combine attributes of performances by Charlie Poole, Milton Brown, Hank Penny, and Doc Watson. The earliest recordings of this song were in a twelve-bar form, but most contemporary players use the structure Doc Watson used, a sixteen-bar form with an…
Birds in the Brook
The Leake County Revelers’ Birds in the Brook is unusual in two significant ways: It has an unusually long and complex form It has a short minor-key segment (at rehearsal mark ‘C’), played in unison The tonal relationships between the strains, starting in C major, and moving up to the subdominant F, is typical of marches,…
Ridin’ in an Old Model T
Ridin’ in an Old Model T is one of six sides recorded by the Dixie Ramblers at a March, 1937 session in Birmingham, Alabama. Russell’s Country Music Records actually lists four unrelated groups that recorded under the name The Dixie Ramblers. Unusually for 1930s string bands, this group appears to have been racially integrated. Ridin’…
Sally Ann
The Hill Billies (aka Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters) recorded Sally Ann at their first-ever recording date, a January 1925 session for the OKeh label. They would re-record the the following year for release on Brunswick and Vocalion. Though this performance is in C major, Sally Ann is often played in other keys, more commonly…
East Tennessee Blues
This transcription is based on a performance of East Tennessee Blues recorded by the dual-monikered group Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters/ The Hill Billies. It was recorded in New York City on October 21st, 1926, and released as Vocalion # 5016 (credited to The Hill Billies) and Brunswick # 103 (credited to Al Hopkins…
Texas Gals
The Hill Billies, aka Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters, recorded Texas Gals at an October 22nd, 1926, session in New York City. It was released as Vocalion # 5021, paired with Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad. Texas Gals is a three-part tune in C major. The middle strain is very similar to the second strain of Billy…
New Money
Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts recorded New Money at an August 24th, 1928, session in Richmond, Indiana. It was paired with Shoot That Turkey Buzzard, and released as Gennett # 6775. It also saw a release on the Supertone label (# 9355), credited to his oft-used pseudonym, Fiddlin’ Jim Burke. This is the only commercial recording of New Money under that title…