Banjo Hangout Top 100 Old Time Songs

Another version of Magpie, this time I'm getting acquainted with my new banjo (Rickard White Laydie Half-Spun).

This old-time Tune of the Week, 3/31/17, came from the playing of Kentucky fiddler Manon Campbell who learned it from his aunt. The story is that a boat was caught in a slow whirlpool at Coal Harbor Bend and didn't realize that the dance tune they kept hearing, thinking they were floating downriver, was from the same gathering at the house by the river. My arrangement comes from fiddler Rhys Jones of the group Bigfoot.

This old-time Tune of the Week, 3/31/17, came from the playing of Kentucky fiddler Manon Campbell who learned it from his aunt. The story is that a boat was caught in a slow whirlpool at Coal Harbor Bend and didn't realize that the dance tune they kept hearing, thinking they were floating downriver, was from the same gathering at the house by the river. My arrangement comes from fiddler Rhys Jones of the group Bigfoot.

My rendition is roughly based on the fiddling of Edden Hammons. I also used the Low Bass A tuning (as named by Art Rosenbaum) to get the droning 4th string. This is the tuning used by Tommy Jarrell on John Brown's Dream. The tuning is a(low)AAC#E, or in relative terms 12 4 3 5.

My rendition is roughly based on the fiddling of Edden Hammons. I also used the Low Bass A tuning (as named by Art Rosenbaum) to get the droning 4th string. This is the tuning used by Tommy Jarrell on John Brown's Dream. The tuning is a(low)AAC#E, or in relative terms 12 4 3 5.

Jake Phelps was a Kentucky fiddler who is known for the "unusual tunes" he played. This recording is multi-tracked with cello banjo accompaniment. I find Across the Plains enchanting and think of the Westward Ho pioneers beginning their journey, before the problems set in....

Jake Phelps was a Kentucky fiddler who is known for the "unusual tunes" he played. This recording is multi-tracked with cello banjo accompaniment. I find Across the Plains enchanting and think of the Westward Ho pioneers beginning their journey, before the problems set in....

All of Ed Haley's fiddle pieces are a good challenge. Dunbar is a little town in West Virginia though Haley had moved to nearby Kentucky.

All of Ed Haley's fiddle pieces are a good challenge. Dunbar is a little town in West Virginia though Haley had moved to nearby Kentucky.

Ome Flora with a 12'' pot. aDADE.

Ome Flora with a 12'' pot. aDADE.

For the old-time Tune of the Week, 2/17/17, this comes from the playing of NC fiddler Marvin Gaster. It's kind of a simple melody, so it was fun to try various slides, hammer-ons, or chords for variation.

For the old-time Tune of the Week, 2/17/17, this comes from the playing of NC fiddler Marvin Gaster. It's kind of a simple melody, so it was fun to try various slides, hammer-ons, or chords for variation.

For the old-time Tune of the Week, Green Willis is named for a fiddler from Willis, Virginia. It's also called The Raw Recruit. When it's played in slow jig time, it's called Chapel Hill March. Go back far enough to Scotland and it was called Da New Rigged Ship. Lots to think about here on this cheerful tune that reminds me of a new soldier marching enthusiastically.

A multitrack fiddle-banjo duet with some guitar and bass backup. This is one of those fiddle tunes that's difficult to track down in terms of a source. Although there are several versions (some unrelated) of the tune, this version is probably a Hiram Stamper version and later adapted slightly by his son Art.