This is another “Sunset Waltz”, unrelated to the Mississippi Mud Steppers tune, transcribed at the request of a reader. The tune is in three strains, similar to a classic American march, and, as is often the case with marches, it modulates to the subdominant for the final strain. The first two strains are in the…
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…
Lazy Kate
The Leake County Revelers recorded Lazy Kate at their final session, December 18, 1930, in Jackson Mississippi. It was paired with a side recorded two years earlier, Memories, and released as Columbia # 15767. Theirs is the only recording of this tune under this title. The tune is comprised of two eight-bar strains played in the standard…
Avalon Quickstep
Narmour and Smith recorded Avalon Quickstep at a June 7, 1930, session in San Antonio. It was released on OKeh’s country 45000 series as OKeh #45469. It was also released on OKeh’s Mexican 16000 series as #16732. The Mexican series issue was titled Tiempo Alegre, and, per Tony Russell’s discography, may have been credited to ‘Duo Instrumental.’ Avalon…
Johnny Inchin’ Along
Johnny Inching Along is a fairly simple and straightforward AABB fiddle tune in G major, based on two four-bar strains. It was recorded by Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts at a March 15, 1929, session in Richmond, Indiana, and released as Gennett #7049. Roberts uses a variation of the ‘A’ strain repeatedly in his performance. This is…
Buck Creek Gal
Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts recorded Buck Creek Gal at an August 26, 1927, session in Richmond, Indiana. It was released as Champion #155500, credited to the pseudonym Fiddlin’ Jim Burke. The tune is unusual structurally. It can be broken into three primary sections: An eight-bar ‘A’ section in E minor An eight-bar ‘B’ section in G major…
Bill Cheatham
The Red Headed Fiddlers recorded Bill Cheatham as Cheat `Em at an October 27, 1929, session in Dallas. Bill Cheatham remains a standard in old-time and bluegrass repertoires. There are several recordings under various spellings listed in Tony Russell’s comprehensive discography: Bill Cheatam: Blind Joe Mangum/ Fred Shriber Bill Cheatham: Arthur Smith Bill Cheatum: The Light…
What’s the Matter with the Mill
I made this simple arrangement of What’s the Matter with the Mill years ago for <a href=”https://kennethrainey.com/writing/my-wildly-unsuccessful-book/”>my tunebook</a>, based on a Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys recording from a September 29, 1936, session in Chicago. Coincidentally, that same session produced Wills’ first recording of the Western Swing standard Steel Guitar Rag. The tune is a…
Wish I’d Stayed in the Wagon Yard
I made this simple arrangement of Wish I’d Stayed in the Wagon Yard years ago for my tunebook, based on Lowe Stokes’ recording from a November 1st, 1929, session in Atlanta, released as Columbia 15557-D. Stokes’ recording is the only version listed under the title ‘Wish I’d Stayed in the Wagon Yard’ in Tony Russell’s comprehensive…
Walking Boss
I made this simple arrangement of Walking Boss years ago for my tunebook, based on recordings by Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley. I’m not aware of any recordings that precede the Clarence Ashley recording (ca 1960). It has since been performed by artists including Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, Mike Seeger, and Meat Puppets.