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.…
Devil in Georgia
Doc Roberts recorded The Devil in Georgia at a Richmond, Indiana, session on Friday, March 15th, 1929. It was released on the Gennett label as #6942, paired with Rocky Mountain Goat. The tune bears striking resemblance to Buck Creek Girl, a track he recorded for the same label two years earlier. There are a few…
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…
Dance with a Gal with a Hole in Her Stocking
This transcription is based on a performance Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts recorded for the Gennett label in Richmond, Indiana, on May 15, 1928. It was released as Gennett # 6495, and on the Gennett-affiliated labels Silvertone (#8176, credited to Jim Burke) and Supertone (# 9169, also credited to Jim Burke). The recorded form is more irregular…
Old Blind Dog
This transcription is based on a performance that Jimmy Johnson’s String Band recorded for the Gennett company in Richmond, Indiana, on August 22, 1932. It was released as Champion # 16541. The tune is a bit of an oddity structurally. The ‘A’ strain repeats four times, the ‘B’ strain not at all. Additionally, there’s some…
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…