I was listening to the Dallas String Band recently and it seems their fabulous Dallas Rag is played in the key of F, at least. It's very difficult to hear what the guitar is doing (if anything!) but presumably playing rag chords. It's the mandolins show on this tune, and a tremendous tune it is. A good tune to learn to back up any mandolin player who can pull it off.
I was listening to the Dallas String Band recently and it seems their fabulous Dallas Rag is played in the key of F, at least. It's very difficult to hear what the guitar is doing (if anything!) but presumably playing rag chords. It's the mandolins show on this tune, and a tremendous tune it is. A good tune to learn to back up any mandolin player who can pull it off.
Quite a few good mando tunes in F, and Dallas Rag is one of the best, as you say. I didn't go back to see if we've mentioned these, so forgive me if I'm duplicating someone or myself, but The Three Stripped Gears' Black Bottom Strut, Doc Roberts' Take Those Lips Away, and the Miss. Mud Steppers' Alma Waltz are all in F. And the second part of Doc Roberts' fiddle tune Cumberland Blues is similarly in that key (first part's in C). All of these are great raggy tunes. Al Miller's version of Someday Sweetheart is in F, and maybe more of his tunes, too, but that's the only one I know the key for. Oh, and Kirk McGee's No One Else Can Take Your Place, which is partially in 3/4 and partially in 4/4. Chris
The Carolina Peanut Boys/Memphis Jug Band's "You Got Me Rollin'" is another great mandolin tune out of F. I still haven't got out of G position on mando, but it would seem F is mando friendly, or at least popular.
I shall experiment until I manage to get to the store to buy new banjo strings.
I notice that "Wayward Girl" indeed doesn't occur in this thread but does appear in the Blues in F page on Weeniepedia.
edited to add: just a note - in case longtime users or new users missed this upgraded function, the new-fangled search function on the forum allows for a pretty easy search of whatever thread you happen to be reading. Enter your search term in the field at the top right of the page, use the drop-down menu to choose "This Topic" and click Search. Very nice when looking for something within a long topic, like the 46-page Lemon lyrics thread.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2009, 06:52:22 PM by uncle bud »
Hi all, I became aware of the music of Lake Howard, an Old-Time singer and guitarists from Deep Run, N.C., through Lightnin' Wells, who made his music available to me (thanks, Lightnin'!). Evidently, Lake Howard was a discovery of J. B. Long, who lived in Kinston, NC before moving to Durham and discovering Blind Boy Fuller, Bull City Red and Gary Davis. Anyhow, Lake Howard recorded a bunch of titles in 1934-1935, and played a couple of them out of the F position in standard tuning. Howard was a particularly nice player, playing in a thumb lead style much like Maybelle Carter's "scratch". He had very good tone and timing and could play quick, too. He also had the mysterious ability to drop beats here and there in his solos and maintain a smooth rhythmic flow while doing that. I expect he just heard it that way. Like many of the Old-Time musicians of his era, his material was all over the map, including religious numbers, sentimental songs that may have been from the Parlor Song era, novelty numbers and some fairly risque blues. He played both "I've Lost My Love", his own version of "Careless Love", and "It's None of Your Business", a song that is somewhat reminiscent of the Cedar Creek Sheik's material, out of F position in standard tuning. He was utterly at home in the position and very fluid there. He also used a closed F position to play in the key of G, as Rev. Davis often did, on "Love Me Darling, Love Me". I don't know if any of Lake Howard's recordings have been re-issued and I know next to nothing about him biographically. If any of you Weenies has the big Tony Russell book on Old-Time music and would care to post more information on Lake Howard, I would be interested and would appreciate it. All best, Johnm
I believe I have a Lake Howard LP of re-issues on either Old Homestead or County; I'll check when I get home. One of his tracks of him backing someone on fiddle is on the "White Country Blues" 2-CD set. I believe he played a National. Chris
"Duplin County Blues" is the track on "White Country Blues" -- a version of "I Don't Love Nobody," with The Cauley Family. According to the notes, Howard was born in Greensboro, NC in 1913 -- he played often at J.B. Long's Kinston United Dollar store and over WDNC in Durham. He had two sessions for ARC, one in Aug. '34 and one in April of '35. Sadly, at age 33 he got a brain tumor that paralyzed him on his left side and he died in Jan. 1954.
Track listing on the LP is Little Annie It's None of Your Business New Chattanooga Mama Grey Eagle Lover's Farewell Walking in the Light I've Lost My Love Forsaken Love Streamline Mama Love Me Darling, Love Me Chewing Gum Duplin County Blues Within My Father's House
I'll have to take all the mail off the turntable and give it a spin; I think I only listened to it once when I bought it about 10 years ago. Chris
Thanks, Chris and Stuart, for the additional information on Lake Howard. It appears from looking at the track list on the album that I have two titles that did not appear there--"I've Lost My Love", which is the "Careless Love" version, and "Get Your Head In Here", a nutty chorus blues much in the mold of the Cedar Creek Sheik. All best, Johnm
Hi all, Also on the "Rev. Gary Davis--Live at Gerde's Folk City" CD set is a song played in F, "Tesse", not previously available on record by Rev. Davis. It's a sort of vaudeville/minstrel show number, sung by the Reverend in a faux sobbing voice which is either hilarious or excrutiating, depending on your sense of humor. All best, Johnm
I'm trying to figure out how "South Carolina Rag" by the great Willie Walker and Sam Brooks was done. I'm thinking it was played out of the F position, my thinking on this is based mainly on the accompanying guitars' chord shapes and basslines.
Of course this is a cycle of 5ths tune, so no dreaded IV chord in it.