This transcription is based on a performance Alex Hood and His Railroad Boys recorded at their only recording date, an April 8th, 1930, Knoxville session that produced two sides. A transcription of L and N Rag appeared in my book, but there are three significant issues with that transcription: It is in the wrong key Several phrases are transcribed…
Arkansas Traveler
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…
Dance All Night
The Stripling Brothers recorded Dance All Night, aka Danced All Night with a Bottle in My Hand, in New York City on August 19th, 1929. It was their second-ever recording session. The recording was paired with Horse Shoe Bend, and released as Vocalion # 5395. My recording of this tune (included on the Document Records Complete Recorded Works CD) sounds in…
Going Up Brushy Fork
This transcription is based on a performance that the Kessinger Brothers recorded in New York City on June 25th, 1929. It was released on Brunswick as # 458, and on Melotone as # M18019, credited to ‘Les Serenadeurs Du Lac St Jean.’ Each strain of this tune can be found in the better-known Cripple Creek.…
Fisher’s Hornpipe
Most everyone plays Fisher’s Hornpipe in D major nowadays, but The Hill Billies (aka Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters) recorded a very clever arrangement in G major. The tune was recorded in New York on October 21st, 1926, and released as Vocalion # 5017. The Hill Billies and Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters were…
Brownstown Girl
The Kessinger Brothers recorded Brownstown Girl, aka Buffalo Gal, aka Roundtown Girls, etc… at a three-day recording session in New York City in June, 1929. It was released as Vocalion # 02565. There’s a nice surprise in bar 5 of the ‘B’ strain — a suggestion of an e minor chord as the guitar accompaniment walks up…
Salty Dog
This tune, recorded by the Stripling Brothers in New York City on September 10th, 1934, is neither the New Orleans standard Salty Dog, nor its later bluegrass incarnation. It is, however, an interesting tune bearing a heavy ragtime influence, including: A secondary dominant in bar 7 Ties across the bar and across beats Syncopated three-note…
Mississippi Breakdown
The Mississippi `Possum Hunters had a single recording session to their credit, a May, 1930, session in Memphis that yielded four sides for the Victor Label. Mississippi Breakdown came out of that session, and was paired with `Possum on the Rail. Tony Russell’s Country Music Records: A Discography 1921-1942 lists three recordings of tunes called Mississippi Breakdown: The Mississippi…
Leake County Two Step
Freeny’s Barn Dance Band’s complete output comprises six sides, recorded in a single session for the OKeh label on Tuesday, December 16th, 1930, in Jackson, Mississippi. Their modest recorded output contains some wonderful moments: the transcendently beautiful waltz Don’t You Remember the Time, a charmingly odd interpretation of Cocaine Habit called Croquet Habits, and this tune, Leake County Two Step.…
I’ve Got a Girl Named Susie
This transcription is based on a performance that Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts recorded on August 24th, 1928, in Richmond, Indiana. It was released as Gennett # 6635, and also on the Champion and Supertone labels (credited to Fiddlin’ Jim Burke). My recording of this tune actually sounds in A flat. I’m assuming that Roberts is playing…