This Pallet on the Floor isn’t the same tune as Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor. It is, however, an interesting 12-bar tune in C with some nice syncopations. The Stripling Brothers recorded this tune at a session in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 12th, 1936. It was paired with You Are Always in My Dreams, and…
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…
Shippin’ Sport
This transcription is based on a performance that Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts recorded for the Gennett Label in Richmond, Indiana, on August 24th, 1928. It was released as Gennett # 6689, as well as on the affiliated label Supertone (# 9355, credited to Fiddlin’ Jim Burke). The tune is a straightforward AABB fiddle tune in G…