This transcription is based on an August 26, 1927, performance in Richmond, Indiana, by Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts. Arkansas Traveler (aka Arkansaw Traveler, Arkansas Traveller, Arkansaw Traveller) is among the first fiddle tunes to be recorded, and remains a standard in the repertoire. Tony Russell’s Country Music Records lists over twenty different recordings on the tune under various…
Martha Campbell
This transcription is based on a performance that Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts and Asa Martin recorded for the Gennett company in Richmond, Indiana, on March 15, 1929. It was released as Supertone # 9397, credited to Martin and Roberts. Roberts actually recorded Martha Campbell twice for Gennett, the first recording being an acoustic disc recorded in…
Rocky Mountain Goat
This tune is based on a March 15, 1929 performance in Richmond, Indiana, by Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts and guitarist Asa Martin. It was released as Gennett # 6942, and released on Gennett-affiliated labels Champion and Supertone (credited to the pseudonym Fiddlin’ Jim Burke). The tune bears passing resemblance to several other tunes, including the now ubiquitous…
Soldier's Joy
Soldier’s Joy has been one of the most commonly performed fiddle tunes for generations. This transcription is based on a performance that Marion Underwood and Sam Harris recorded for the Gennett Company in Richmond, Indiana, on April 26, 1927. Their performance is slightly unusual in that it reverses the usual order of the ‘A’ and…
Saint Jobe's Waltz
This transcription is based on an October 1929 performance a group called The Red Headed Fiddlers, recorded in Dallas, Texas for the Brunswick company. It was released as Brunswick 460. According to Tony Russell’s discography, theirs is the only recording of St. Jobe’s Waltz made by a country string band prior to WWII. Like many good fiddlers,…
Richmond Cotillion
This transcription is based on a May 1927 performance recorded by Da Costa Woltz’s Southern Broadcasters in Richmond Indiana. The source recording features a square dance call over the tune, making it difficult to hear the melody. Treat this transcription as a reasonable, if inexact, approximation.
Forked Deer
Forked Deer has long been a standard among old-time musicians, but I’ve always been partial to the performance Taylor’s Kentucky Boys recorded in April, 1927 for the Gennett company in Richmond, Indiana. An interesting quirk is a beat that’s borrowed from the end of second repeat of the ‘A’ strain that’s added back to the…
Haste to the Wedding
Like a lot of folks, I first learned this tune from R.P. Christeson’s Old Time Fiddler’s Repertory. It was recorded in the 78rpm era by the Irish fiddler Ned O’Boyle. Christeson categorized Haste to the Wedding as a quadrille, but it’s more accurately described as a double jig.
Eighth of January, The
This transcription is based on a performance that Ted Gosset’s Band for recorded for Gennett in Richmond, Indiana, on September 16th, 1930. According to Tony Russell’s discography, the track was only released on Gennett-affiliated labels Champion, Superior, and Supertone. The Superior release was billed as Buddy Young’s Kentuckians, and the Supertone release bore the name…
Back up and Push
This transcription of the old-time fiddle standard Back up and Push is based on a performance by the Willis Brothers that I got from an old 78rpm record. The Willis Brothers held down a spot on the Grand Ole Opry on and off after WW II, and appear on Hank Williams’ earliest recordings.