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…

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…