Rough & Ready

• 1. Birdie - learned from J. P. Fraley of Ashland KY, often our opening tune.
• 2. California Cotillion - from the Russians at Fort Ross CA, we surmise, then to a German in Nebraska, to Kerry Blech's fiddle to Wes' banjo to here.
• 3. Pretty Boy Floyd - Woody Guthrie wrote Floyd "went at it wrong, but at least he tried."
• 4. Mississippi Sawyer - slightly older form, from West VA, with the D-C chords in B part.
• 5. Lady Be Good - Gershwin to Stefan to Appalachia, Please, please.
• 6. In The Mood - Don Manning on KBOO Jazz Show played Scrapper Blackwell's original guitar rag solo then a full hour of later versions - but not even one on old-time fiddle!
• 7. Take Me Back To the Range - Wes' favorite lament now that he has moved from being a field botanist to a desk job; influenced by the Deseret String Band
• 8. Bull at the Wagon - Dempson and Denmon Lewis, cattle ranchers in S.E. New Mexico in the 1920's, recorded 4 songs one day: can you hear the bull?
• 9. Soldier's Joy - The basic English/American fiddle tune. "If you think it's too simple, you haven't played it enough."
• 10. Cluck Old Hen - I believe I can hear her now. Or is that Wes's clawhammer talking?
• 11. The Forest Flower (Metsakukkia)- exotic Finnish waltz, first learned from Glada Musikanter in Salem.
• 12. Levi Jackson Rag - Truman likes calling the dance for five couples which Pat Shaw wrote for this in the 1950's: fun to watch people's knees moving funny, and fun to play.
• 13. Monterrey Polka - in Mexico Truman picked up a cassette of a Huasteca mountain trio and ...
• 14. Voodoo Queen Marie - Antonia, Holy Modal Rounders, tune of Colored Aristocracy. A NY Times article says Marie is buried in the wrong grave.
• 15. My Name is Mud - a true tale from Tru's lamented pal Charlie Berg of La Conner WA
• 16. Sobre las Olas ( Over the Waves) - An elder in Independence told us, "you want to play around here, you gotta be able to play Sobre las Olas" Juventino Rosas, 1890's.
• 17. Shady Grove - a lively version based on Jean Ritchie's narration (in "Singing Family of the Appalachians") of her father's memory of first hearing a fiddle, tearing through this song.
• ...'He was about nine years old, in school, and a relative had been over the mountain and came back with a fiddle player, and they came by the school. The fiddler played a bit, and -
• 'Finally I let out a yell and lept off'n that bench and commenced to dance and clog around. ... some of the other boys jumped up, too. ... That man played that tune over and over, and then he played some others and every time he'd touch that bow to them strings, hell would tear loose in that schoolhouse... it was a sight to see.
• 'After a while they left, and the teacher tried to settle us, put us back to our books, but I couldn't even see the print in that speller. I kept seeing that old fiddle bow race around on "Shady Grove". We around there had always sung that tune middling foast, hopped around to it a little bit, but that fiddle had tuck out with that'n like the Devil was atter her. I was so tickled about that I kept laughing and wiggling round in my seat, and saying the words to "Shady Grove" out loud instead of my lesson.'
• 18. Storbo Jons' Schottische - from Dalarna, Sweden, picked up in Minnesota years ago.
• 19. Too Young to Marry - and 6 other names. Gene England called it Missouri Mule and showed where the mule brays in the first part (see if you can find it).
• 20. Valsetz Loggers Lament - based on Jean Ritchie's The L&N Don't Stop Here Any More, with a couple of minor changes and a new verse, becoming completely true in Truman's life
• 21. Wild Horses at Stony Point - Truman first heard this from old Mr. Roy Karpel south of New Castle VA, and was awestruck. Mr. Karpel fell into someone's lap, ending the set.

Truman Price, fiddle and vocal, Wes Messinger, banjo or guitar and vocal, George Taevs, bass on most numbers, Don "Taco" Austin, washtub on 2, 5, 6, 16

Still, so many favorites are left out, we may have to do it again. Next Survey: what would you like?

Purchase by mail or web: $12 per copy plus $3 total per order shipping. We can take checks, MC, Visa, AmEx, paypal, etc.

Truman Price / 7210 Helmick Road/ Monmouth, OR 97361

email at truprice@oldchildrensbooks.com