J-Walk - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:04:55

I'm not talking about the tunes that you play best. I'm talking about tunes that you just like -- tunes that you just enjoy playing because they're fine tunes (and you aren't sick of). For example, I can play Angelina Baker fairly well. It's a fine old tune, but it's not on my list because it's just too common, and I'm kind of tired of it.

In any case, here's my carefully honed list (which will probably change tomorrow):

* Nancy (AKA Fair Morning Hornpipe)
* Durang's Hornpipe
* Moses Hoe The Corn (thanks, bluemule_77)
* Black Widow Romp
* Dragonfly (Joel Mabus' tune)

List yours. This might be a good way to find some new tunes to learn.

oldtime-kurt - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:23:28

Here is my list, at the present time, in no particular order.

Jake Gillie
Greenfields of America
Elzics Farewell
Sandy Boys
June Apple

Kurt

http://www.southernstringband.net

rendesvous1840 - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:31:12

Ragtime Annie
Blackberry Blossom
The Devil And The Farmer's Wife
Boneparte Crossing The Rhine
Flop-Eared Mule


Paul

"A master banjo player isn't the one who can play the most notes. It's the one who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello

wormpicker - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:34:25

Durang's is definitely in my top 5 for listening to, but I'm not very good at playing it yet so I'll have to go for (you probably could have written this list for me, J-Walk):

*Angelina Baker
*Forked Deer
*Fortune
*Snake River Reel (HA! Fooled you!)
*John Brown's Dream (not very good at this one either, but I love listening to it)

Paul

Obsession is a great substitute for talent. -Steve Martin

Bill Rogers - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:35:45

June Apple
Old Joe Clark
Turkey in the Straw (D)
Soldiers' Joy
Little Rabbit


Bill

chip arnold - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:47:46

Changes all the time. Tonight:

Coleman's March
Sally in the Garden
Old Mother Logo
Fortune
Knoxville Girl

**********************
Take what is given
Give what is taken

Chip Arnold

banjo_brad - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:49:24

I like to play, for extended periods, at the present moment:

Barlow Knife
Old Jawbone
June Apple
Pusch Ridge (sorry, that one is my own OT'y composition)
Grasshopper on the Garden Wall (another of my own compositions)

Currently, I find that "Black Dog Goin' on Down the Road" is one that could make my list as I learn it.
Same with "Pretty Little Dog."

On the fiddle, I have a different list.


Brad
------------------
"I'll tune up my fiddle and rosin my bow; to make myself welcome where ever I go." Tommy Jarrell
www.PricklyPearMusic.net
http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/5/ My ezFolk page
http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/3371/ Tucson Old Time Music Circle page

Edited by - banjo_brad on 03/19/2008 22:49:57

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:53:09

J-Walk,

Hey, I'm tickled to see "Moses" made your list! It's on mine, too. So, without much forethought, and at risk of returning and saying, "No... wait!" my list appears thusly:

Moses Hoe the Corn
Forked Deer
Sourwood Mtn. (simple and infectious -- two great qualities in a tune, IMHO)
[My strange] June Apple
Needlecase

BM

p.s. J-Walk: I'd like to hear your version of Moses on the banjo; I'd only worked one up at about the time I e-mailed you the fiddle version. Would be interesting to compare; I'm willing to record if you are!

J-Walk - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:54:10

Brad, I see that I've had an influence on you with those two "dog" tunes. Those are pretty fun. Pretty Little Dog would have been #6 for me.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 03/19/2008:  22:56:35

My pipedream is to record a CD of nothing but rabbit tunes.

Bill

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/19/2008:  23:00:11

With a possum sequel?

BM

J-Walk - Posted - 03/19/2008:  23:01:03

Brian, I love that Moses Hoe The Corn tune.

I first heard it when Brian played it on fiddle at at the Clawcamp West jam session. I followed up, and asked him about it and he kindly sent me a recording of him playing it.

I'll send you an MP3 of my version of "Moses." I might even play it along with the fiddle version you sent me. I agree that it would be interesting to see how we approached it on the banjo. It's really a great tune, and should be a classic. But as far as I can tell it's been recorded only one time -- by the Lonesome Stragglers.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/lstragglers

Gopher,Everett? - Posted - 03/19/2008:  23:03:52

In no particular order:
Sugar in my coffee-O
Black Jack Davy
Wildwood Flower
Sugar Hill
Year of Jubilo

And my current "If you play that song one more time I swear I'm leaving you" song,
Andrew Jackson Go Back Home (with apologies to Mary Z.)

"Gopher, Everett?"
"No thank you, Delmar. I'm afraid one-third of a gopher would only arouse my appetite without bedin' her back down."
--Ulysses Everett McGill, O Brother, Where Art Thou

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/19/2008:  23:04:25

We've wondered whether Moses is the biblical figure, which would mean the corn wasn't corn as we know it but some other grain... or if Moses was a more modern figure with an old name, hoeing American corn... hmmmmmm...

I'll get busy recording an MP3 as well, before I listen to yours -- so I don't risk being influenced!

BM

nbanta - Posted - 03/19/2008:  23:44:19

Well let's see...how about:

Quincy Dillon's High D Tune
Grab Yer Gal and Polka
Morpath Rant
Richmond Cotillion
Cold Frosty Morn (had to throw in at least one not in double D)



Ned

--Colorado

Pitts - Posted - 03/20/2008:  00:16:57

Hmmm... Good question.

(in no particular order)

Soldier's joy
Buffalo Gals
Mississippi Sawyer
John Brown's dream
Home Sweet Home

ScottK - Posted - 03/20/2008:  00:22:33

"Moses Hoe the Corn" is on my list right now, too. Neal Pressley from the Lonesome Stragglers was out here over the holidays and I played a gig with him and his son Patrick (Patrick and I are in an old time string band together here in Portland), so I learned "Moses Hoe the Corn" and a few other tunes from the Lonesome Stragglers CD for the gig. If you're comparing versions, I could record and post what I worked out too.

Like everybody else, my top five is changing all the time. Right now "Sal's Got Mud Between Her Toes" is on my list. I learned it from the excellent version played by Jim Collier and Joe Newberry on the "The Young Fogies, Vol II". "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" and "Can You Dance a Tobacco Hill" are on my list this week, too. "Hangman's Reel" is always a favorite to play with a fiddler. After listening to my Ernie Carpenter CD this morning, I think Flipping Jenny is going to be back in my top 5 next week.

Scott

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  00:25:14

Scott, I'd like to hear your "Moses." Not sure mine's yet ready for primetime... but if I can get a recording I'm halfway satisfied with I'll post it.

RWJones1970 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  00:37:33

Top 5 at the present moment:

*Piney Woods
*Calloway
*Blackberry Blossom
*Country Blues (Doc Watson)
*Frosty Morn

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 03/20/2008:  01:08:04

I'm curious to know if "Moses Hoe The Corn" is the same as "Razors Flying Through The Air" I have a 1930s recording but I don't know who the group is. It is on a long out of print European album called "Black And White Hillbilly Music" that is full of real rarities. Unfortunately, I have only a copy of a copy of the album and the last few cuts are missing from the table of contents.
I know the title "Razors".from the second Delaware Water Gap lp and from a Dave Guard album my brother has. The DWG recording has the Refrain "Moses Hoe The Corn" -- but I'm not sure it was original to the "Razors" song or if it was something Carlin and Sapoznik added.

Oh and I have no idea what my five favourite tunes are. I likes a good tune - any good tune. Lately we've been playing a few tunes from the British Isles that are lots of fun.
"Trip To Moscow" is recently written, but sounds ancient.
"Turpin Hero" and
"Trip To Paris" are old. based on American sources we've been playing
"Rattletrap" and
"Bonaparte's March"
and my wife has got a nice one called
"Vance No More" that I haven't played yet.

I think I'm over the pre-requisite number so I better stop.

So many tunes - so little time.

Rocket Science Banjo, Chapters 1 - 4.1 REVISED is ready now
oldwoodchuckb@yahoo.com
You can watch the videos for some Rocket Science Banjo subjects starting here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdRuf4X0X7g

Edited by - oldwoodchuckb on 03/20/2008 01:18:48

chickenstalker - Posted - 03/20/2008:  01:08:23

in no particular order, and this is banjo only, no fiddl player (add a fiddler and the list changes a little, but not alot) :
june apple
stay all night
blackest crow (i think i like the waltziness)
old joe clark
john brown's dream

sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge adn lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known- a.a. milne, winnie the pooh

ScottK - Posted - 03/20/2008:  01:19:34

Hey Brian,

I just posted a recording of my version of Moses Hoe the Corn on my BHO music page. It's kind of a quick and dirty recording I made with my iPod, but good enough to show how I play it.

Cheers, Scott

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 03/20/2008:  01:25:14

Bill,
Some friends of ours have a group called "Pesky Varmits" and we have been thinking about a cds worth of "varmit" tunes - no all rabbit tunes but possums and such too.
Then there is the "Liza Jane" project. We do about 5 LJs and I know there are at least a dozen we don't do but could do.

We were also thinking about a "Creek" cd. "Cripple, Shootin', Crow etc etc etc.

Rocket Science Banjo, Chapters 1 - 4.1 REVISED is ready now
oldwoodchuckb@yahoo.com
You can watch the videos for some Rocket Science Banjo subjects starting here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdRuf4X0X7g

dustyelmer - Posted - 03/20/2008:  01:35:58

1) Fortune, which i'm learning now. having trouble with the coarse part for some reason.
2) Greasy String
3) Ruben
4) Angeline
5) Baby-o

- Dusty

Aonach - Posted - 03/20/2008:  02:59:54

Good thread!-Mine are
Over the montain(R.D.Luncefords version}
Year of Jubilo
Turkey in the Straw
Alabama Joe
Fall of Richmond

Of course like most this changes regularily!
Andy

Ah go on- will have ya not have a teensy slice a cake wid your tay...

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 03/20/2008:  04:49:38

BTW:
Old Mother Logo & Over the Mountain are Southern Illinois tunes from the fiddling of the great Mel Durham
who we lost on the fifth of this month.

My (current) faves:

Mary Blane (F.C. German & Chas. T. White, 1847)

Jim Along Josey (Ned Harper, 1840)

Polly Put the Kettle On (Wade Ward)

Old Stepstone (originally The Old Doorstep, A.J. Crider & Geo. B. Chase, 1880)

Sandy Boy (from Rice, 1858)

R.D. Lunceford- "Missourian in Exile"
Model 1865 Bowlin Fretless Banjo
****************************************************
"Drink from the Musselfork once, and you'll
always come back." -Dr. Bondurant Hughes, 1917

Edited by - R.D. Lunceford on 03/20/2008 05:01:56

Debbielee - Posted - 03/20/2008:  06:45:35

This is a hard one...
My favorites are (1) Old Mother Logo (2)Padder Roller (3)Mississippi Sawyer (4)Old Susanna (5)Cold Frosty Morning.


Debbielee

Clodhopper - Posted - 03/20/2008:  08:14:54

I'll say;
Sally in the Garden
Julia Delaney
Red Haired Boy
Rock the Cradle Joe
Kitchen Girl

It's never too hot for coffee, it's never too cold for beer.

SteveK - Posted - 03/20/2008:  08:23:18

I don't know exactly what my top 5 tunes are but my current favourite is Sakkijarven Polkka. I got it from Cathy Moore's site.
http://banjomeetsworld.com/index.html It's in the Europe section. It's a brilliant arrangement. Apart from the Forked Deer is about my all-time favourite tune to play and so is Arkansas Traveller. I like to play some tunes in the old G tuning- Wild Horse and Off to California are two of my favourites in that tuning.

bagunhe - Posted - 03/20/2008:  08:37:21

Walking in the Parlor
Liquor Seller
Lovely Jane
Roustabout
...............Shoot, I don't have 5..........
Bosco

konnichiwa, arigato, sayonara

dbrooks - Posted - 03/20/2008:  08:56:16

Great question. Like others. I change my top 5 often, mixing tunes I play well and those I am having fun learning.

June Apple
Coleman's March
Copper Run (Chris Coole)
Found Indian Because It's There (arr. Brendan Doyle)
Clear the Palate (arr. Maxine Gerber)

David

Edited: to correct tune title

Edited by - dbrooks on 03/24/2008 11:58:48

schaumannk - Posted - 03/20/2008:  09:22:33

Cripple Creek
Old Joe Clark
Soldiers Joy
Mississippi Sawyer
Grandfathers Clock


Kirk

Edited by - schaumannk on 03/20/2008 09:23:58

oldtime-kurt - Posted - 03/20/2008:  09:22:37

It's just amazing how little overlap there is on these favorite lists. The diversity of tunes is fantastic

Kurt

http://www.southernstringband.net

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  09:48:15

As I type this, I'm uploading an MP3 to my page of my playing of "Moses Hoe the Corn," also based on the Lonesome Stragglers recording. Cheap mic, not great playing by me, but heck... we're among friends.

BM

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  09:53:58

There's been much talk of "Old Mother Logo." I'll attempt a search, but can anyone recommend a member's homepage recording of it? I don't know as I've ever heard it.

BM

chip arnold - Posted - 03/20/2008:  09:59:38

I got Old Mother Logo from R.D. Lunceford's playing. It's on his "Drop Thumb" cd. There is a tab book available that goes with the cd. Full of good tunes and well worth having!


**********************
Take what is given
Give what is taken

Chip Arnold

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  10:07:22

Thanks, Chip. I've been itchin' to order R.D.'s music. Were it downloadable, I'd probably already have it! Dern shipping charges.

My search revealed that no one on the HO has recorded "OML." You all have an option: you can record it for me, or stand fast with R.D., imposing sanctions 'til I order the CD.

BM

black flag - Posted - 03/20/2008:  10:50:05

My favorites this week seem to be:

Gray Eagle (Jerry Correll)
The Falls of Richmond
Shooting Creek (both from Blanton Owen)
Cumberland Gap
Big Scioty (from David Bass, in Cumberland Gap tuning)

Chris

Edited by - black flag on 03/20/2008 11:44:49

chip arnold - Posted - 03/20/2008:  11:15:13

Sanctions it is BM. Save on shipping by ordering Cotton Blossom and Drop Thumb together. Both are CD/Tab book sets. Great notes in the books too.

**********************
Take what is given
Give what is taken

Chip Arnold

J-Walk - Posted - 03/20/2008:  11:30:14

Speaking of Old Mother Logo, CD Baby has a very generous sample by Deadwood Revival:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/deadwoodrevival

banjo bill-e - Posted - 03/20/2008:  12:35:33

I would have a new list every week.

oldtimer - Posted - 03/20/2008:  12:36:06

Cider (a la Riley Baugus)

Wade Ward medley: Chilly Winds, June Apple, and Old Joe Clark

John Henry ( a la Dix freeman, Tommy Jarrell, and Riley Baugus)

Fortune (a la Fred Cockerham)

Billy in the Faiergrounds (Godsey)

Goodbye Old Booze

Lonesome John

stay tooned....
Glenn Godsey

"Time passes unhindered"

GSCarson - Posted - 03/20/2008:  12:38:39

This changes from week to week, and really depends who I've been playing music with. Its mighty tough at that so I'll just pick the first five that come to mind. Right now, it seems to be:

Valley Forge
Polecat Blues
Shaking Down the Acorns
Bonnaparte Crossing the Rhine
Highland Rim (a Brian Sutton tune)

jojo25 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  12:40:42

in regard to OML...I think a tab for this tune was in BNL a while back...as my feeble flu-infested mind tells me that is where I picked it up

my top 5

Lady of the Lake (the easy one!)
Big Sciota (with da words, of course)
Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine
Katy Dear
Cedar HIlls Polka

Drop thumbs, not bombs

Joe

Edited by - jojo25 on 03/22/2008 14:58:52

slabounty - Posted - 03/20/2008:  13:28:10

Hmm....

Spotted Pony
Soldier's Joy
Angeline the Baker
Smith's Reel
Whiskey Before Breakfast

the first three I'm learning out of Dan's Clawless book (the practice part), the last two from his Festival book (the fun part).



Scott LaBounty
Orange, CA

JimA2985 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  13:44:18

Hmmmm.. this is kind of hard:

Cumberland Gap - on any instrument, I figured it out on all of them and I love it.. there's just so much you can do with this song

The Coo Coo - I started off with this song doing a strict Clarence Ashley interpretation.. it's kind of mutated into something else now, like Rufus Kasey meets the way I play it on dulcimer.

Angelina Baker - I love that low part. Don't even remember the high part half the time.

Since U Been Gone - that Kelly Clarkson song.. try it, it's fun!

Cripple Creek - faster is better on this one.

---
Jim
---
http://jimsbanjo.blogspot.com/
soundclick.com/jimnjblues

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 03/20/2008:  14:04:03

I tabbed out "Old Mother Logo" in the March 1999 issue of Banjo Newsletter.

The first couple play throughs of the tune on the Deadwood Revival sound sample
are like the tab. It is a two part tune, and the later variations are, I think probably
composed by their banjo-player. They do a good job.

I did OML on my Drop-Thumb CD, available through Elderly.

I'm a cyber-dunce, otherwise I'd be happy to post it. If anyone knows the tune and would like
to put it on the BHO, by all means please do so.

R.D. Lunceford- "Missourian in Exile"
Model 1865 Bowlin Fretless Banjo
****************************************************
"Drink from the Musselfork once, and you'll
always come back." -Dr. Bondurant Hughes, 1917

Tessellater - Posted - 03/20/2008:  14:06:41

SInce you been GOne! LOL.

I actually did a banjo arrangement for Backstreet Boys "I want it that way".

"I never want to hear you say, I want it that way". Their pure major harmonies are just delicious.

bluemule_77 - Posted - 03/20/2008:  15:55:27

Thanks, R.D. And in case there was any confusion by anyone else, I sure wasn't requesting that they post R.D.'s recording! I assure you that I meant someone's own personal rendition of it.

BM