banjukebox - Posted - 09/13/2019:  10:01:45

This week’s TOTW is “Jonah in the Windstorm”. The title is presumably based upon the bible story where Jonah attempted to flee the Lord by escaping on a ship. God brought a great storm down on the ship. Jonah was eventually thrown into the sea where he was swallowed by a great fish.

youtube.com/watch?v=8-7R1iw-GW8

The Traditional Tune Archive lists as the source Glen Fannin of Magoffin County, KY

tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:J...Windstorm

You can listen to Glenn’s version at Slippery Hill as recorded by Bruce Green:

slippery-hill.com/recording/jo...windstorm

I first heard the tune on a recording by the Orpheus Supertones, a veritable “supergroup” of old-time musicians.

mudthumper.com/orpheus-supertones.html

Two versions by the Orpheus Supertones:

youtube.com/watch?v=ksIg_yln_S0

youtube.com/watch?v=km6y7PNxKB8

Here are two versions by BHO members:

Dean Barber:

banjohangout.org/song/17005

Steve Jones:

banjohangout.org/myhangout/vid...#theVideo

Here’s the version I have come up with along with the accompanying Tab:

VIDEO: JONAH IN THE WINDSTORM
(click to view)

Jonah in the Windstorm (Tab)

m06 - Posted - 09/13/2019:  10:51:50

Nice choice. This tune is played fairly regularly at the West Country sessions I go to.

RG - Posted - 09/13/2019:  18:54:06

Big fan of Glen Fannin's fiddling, nice TOTW!

JanetB - Posted - 09/14/2019:  16:27:39

A new one for me, Pat. Thanks, and nice version on your video. I listened to your two oldest sources -- the Orpheus Supertones were a group I missed out on.  Glen Fannin sure plays fast, as does Dean Barber, so that got me in the spirit of the windy storm to play it faster than I might normally do.

I haven't learned much about Glen Fannin other than his birth and death dates (1901 - 1978) and that he knew John Salyer and was influenced by Jeff Gipson, who was part Cherokee. We had a past TOTW with one of Fannin's tunes, Stump Tailed Dolly, and can find some of his 1977 recordings by Bruce Greene in the Digital Library of Appalachia, a year before he died:  Glen Fannin digital collection.  Both Jonah in the Windstorm and Stump Tailed Dolly have a higher A part rather than the B part being the "fine" one.

Edited by - JanetB on 09/14/2019 16:30:37

Jonah in the Windstorm (TOTW)

 

mjt0229 - Posted - 09/14/2019:  19:45:26

Dan Levenson (@clawdan) taught this one at Centralia this year. It was pretty fun!

banjukebox - Posted - 09/17/2019:  08:08:04

Thanks for the comments. I must have missed that session with clawdan. It would have been interesting to see how he plays it. I was also unaware of Glenn Fannin until I started doing some research.
Janet, I enjoyed your version. I liked the way you went up an octave in the B part to grab those low notes we can't get to on the banjo. (instead of ignoring them like I did.)