Topic: SOTM April 2016: Buck Dance

[frankie]

The Song of the Month for April isn't properly a song at all, although we might have a tendency to think so. The title "Buck Dance" may make you think of one or two specific guitar pieces - we'll get to those later - but a Buck Dance is really just a type of flat-foot dancing related to clogging and tap. You can read a better description and definition here:

Links:
http://ncpedia.org/buck-dancing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clogging

Buck dancing and clogging are forms of dance that cut across racial lines. If this kind of thing makes you curious, you might enjoy the documentary Talking Feet:

http://www.folkstreams.net/film,121

Some points of specific interest for the country blues nerd include:

• starting at 5:55 or so - discussion from a mixed group of North Carolina dancers
• Algia Mae Hinton at 16:31 - playing guitar behind her head AND buck dancing!
• John Dee Holeman at 43:02

Musically speaking, there's no specific piece of music that is meant to accompany buck dancing and rather than denoting a 'specific piece' at all, a musical piece by that title seems to indicate that the musician is going to 1) show off their own prowess on the instrument, and 2) play in such a way as to let the dnacers show off as well. That might mean single-note runs, stop-time, imitations of dancing by tapping or clapping...  maybe even dancing and playing simultaneously. The pieces that follow actually have very little in common... some of these might be surprising to you and others, like the examples from Mississippi John Hurt, Libba Cotten and of course Sam McGee and Reverend Gary Davis will be familiar friends.

In general I expected these pieces to have a 'raggy' quality and I suppose you could say that's true where the guitar is the instrument in question. I did include a breakdown from Mississippi fiddler Enos Canoy and a stellar banjo showpiece from Hobart Smith. You'll also find dance accompanied only by percussion and a harmonica piece. All in all, I think you'd have to say that these all represent the unique imaginations of each of the performers. Some of these were a real surprise to me - like the recording by Lil' Son Jackson... I really didn't think he had anything like that in him at all!

Most of these pieces are pretty short - it shouldn't take you more than a half hour to get through all 14 of these and by the end of it, you may have a very different idea of how to approach a 'buck dance' piece yourself the next time you sit down with one of your instruments.

Enjoy!

ps: I would be remiss if I did not add that this is Rev. Davis's birthday...  Happy Birthday, Rev. Davis and thank you for the music!

Tracks

Georgia Fife & Drum Band - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQHX
Horace Sprott - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQHB
Enos Canoy - Buck Dancing Charlie	http://picosong.com/KQHt
Hobart Smith - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQUy
Hobart Smith - Clog Dance With Guitar	http://picosong.com/KQUX
Horace Sprott & Harry Rutledge - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQUx
Algia Mae Hinton - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQdX
Jesse Fuller - Buck and Wing	http://picosong.com/KQdr
Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQrc
Scott Dunbar - Buck Dance By Joe Tucker	http://picosong.com/KQr9
Mississippi John Hurt - Stop Time (Buck Dance)	http://picosong.com/KQrg
Elizabeth Cotten - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQrK
Sam McGee - Buck Dancer's Choice	http://picosong.com/KQrH
Reverend Gary Davis - Buck Dance	http://picosong.com/KQGF

[Prof Scratchy]

Lots of fine tracks there, frankie! And a different take on SOTM. Many things there that were new to me.

[Lastfirstface]

Great subject. Another one is the "buck dance" piece Mance Lipscomb recorded a few times. He plays it at the end of this recording:

[harriet]

Thanks Frankie. A little something from Precious Bryant to practice to:

[JRO]

Here is Mississippi John Hurts

[Lignite]

Another recording of Algia Mae Hinton's Buck Dance from 1985; http://picosong.com/KhfF

[Johnm]

Thanks for putting the topic together, Frank and for posting all of those versions.  I'd not heard Hobart Smith's "Clog dance With guitar" before.  Man, that is beautiful--his time was like a river.  Thanks to the other posters, too.  Hayes McMullan had a version of "Stockwell" which John Hurt also recorded, both as "Stockwell" and "Buck Dance", that will appear on his forthcoming album.  Something to look forward to.
All best,
Johnm

[Zoharbareket]

Interesting!!

thank you Frank and all!


Z

[uncle bud]

Nice choice, Frank, never heard the Lil' Son Jackson track before.

Bill Williams had a fingerbusting buck dance as well:



John Jackson has a version of what he called Buckdancer's Choice. You can find it on Don't Let Your Deal Go Down as "Flat Foot and Buck Dance". But here's another medley where he demonstrates these and other country dance pieces. Flat Foot is first, then Buck Dancer.



Can't wait to hear Hayes McMullan, John!

[Johnm]

Yes, I'm really looking forward to the Hayes project being out too, uncle bud.

Here's a version of Buckdancer's Choice played by John Cohen on guitar and Tracy Schwarz on spoons from the New Lost City Ramblers album "Gone To The Country".



And "Buckdancer's Choice #2" by Mark Spoelstra:



All best,
Johnm

[Lastfirstface]

I thought I'd try MJH's Buck Dance on banjo and had some fun getting it under my fingers. I threw in a bit of the Chicken Reel bit from the Mance Lipscomb recording. Just a quick and sloppy take:

[uncle bud]

nicely done, LFF. Great feel.

[Lastfirstface]

Thanks, Uncle Bud.

[frankie]

That's right in the spirit, Pete - fantastic. Thanks for posting.

[Lastfirstface]

Thanks, Frankie. I've got a decent version of Louis Collins worked out for banjo too, I'll have to try to get it on video. I like approaching MJH's C tunes in "low bass tuning" on banjo, it seems to suit them.