gentrixuk - Posted - 11/04/2022:  04:55:57

This week’s tune of the week is “Swing Nine Yards of Calico”, which comes from the playing of J.P. Fraley (1923-2011). It features on his 1973 album, recorded with his wife Annadeene Fraley, “Wild Rose Of The Mountain” (Rounder 0037).

“A native of eastern Kentucky, J.P. Fraley was taught to fiddle as a child by his father. Fraley's recordings span thirty years, as he and his late wife Annadeene entertained festivals and audiences here and abroad, such as the American Folk Song Festival, Smithsonian Folk Festival, the National Folk Festival, Brandywine Folk Festival, Fiddler's Grove, and many others. Annadeene, daughter of a coal miner, taught herself to play guitar and was a regular on WCMI radio in Ashland, Kentucky when she was only thirteen years old. Annadeene Fraley died in 1996, and J.P. died in 2011 in Denton, KY at 87 years old.” (Notes for “Galleynipper” album (June Appal Recordings) – taken from Bandcamp)

The tune is featured in three tune books: David Schnaufer’s “Swing Nine Yards Of Calico” for Appalachian Dulcimer, Alan Kaufman’s “Beginning Old Time Fiddle” and the Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes.

Here is the link to the entry for the tune on the Traditional Tune Archive: Swing Nine Yards of Calico - Traditional Tune Archive

Here is a recording of the original tune on Slippery Hill: Swing Nine Yards of Calico | Slippery-Hill

Here is a video of the tune being played by Betty Vornbrock and Billy Cornette: AFTM Midwinter Fest - Betty and Billy - Swing 9 Yards of Calico.MOV - YouTube

In the video, Betty mentions that this is “…one of his daddy’s old tunes…”, suggesting that JP’s father was the source, and this is the only clue I can find as to the tune’s origin. There is a suggestion on the Traditional Tune Archive that it could be related to the tune “Hunky Dory” but this isn’t verified. The title may be a reference to the length of cloth that people typically need when making a dress (which also may be the source of the phrase “the whole nine yards” - although that seems highly disputed).

I only found one passage online that mentions ‘nine yards of calico’ specifically: “The best “Mixture” for a sick heart is nine yards of calico, fine broadcloth, four armsful of humanity, a parson’s certificate of matrimony, a pair of canary birds and a bundle of green-house hollyhocks” (Nebraska Palladium (Bellvieu, Nebraska), November 15, 1854, page 1.)

Here is my version and tab. The A part isn’t repeated, but the B part is. It’s taken at a fairly steady pace on the original recording, so there’s no need to play it fast. Throwing in some ornaments on bars 2 and 6 of the B part makes it sound more likely the fiddle version. Hope you enjoy it and I look forward to hearing other versions.

Edited by - gentrixuk on 11/04/2022 04:57:05

Swing Nine Yards Of Calico

Wild Rose Of The Mountain

VIDEO: Swing Nine Yards Of Calico
(click to view)

 

janolov - Posted - 11/04/2022:  12:57:51

Thanks for a nice tune. However, I became also interested in your banjo. The fifth string peg seems to be at the peg head. Is it a special fifth string nut or screw at the fifth fret or is the fifth string tuned to g/a at full length?  

Bob Buckingham - Posted - 11/04/2022:  13:28:48

I played that tune with JP. Sure do miss him and host of other old timers.

gentrixuk - Posted - 11/04/2022:  13:36:08

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Originally posted by janolov

Thanks for a nice tune. However, I became also interested in your banjo. The fifth string peg seems to be at the peg head. Is it a special fifth string nut or screw at the fifth fret or is the fifth string tuned to g/a at full length?  

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Hi Jan. Its a tunneled 5th string - it runs in a narrow tube under the fretboard up to the peghead and you play it the same as a regular 5th string.

gentrixuk - Posted - 11/04/2022:  13:45:29

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Originally posted by Bob Buckingham

I played that tune with JP. Sure do miss him and host of other old timers.

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Thanks Bob. I hope the arrangement does justice to his tune. Do you know anything else about where he got the tune from?

Don Borchelt - Posted - 11/04/2022:  17:12:16

quote:

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Originally posted by gentrixuk

This week’s tune of the week is “Swing Nine Yards of Calico”, which comes from the playing of J.P. Fraley (1923-2011). It features on his 1973 album, recorded with his wife Annadeene Fraley, “Wild Rose Of The Mountain” (Rounder 0037).

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A fine choice for TOTW. Mark, and a great write up.  And I love your arrangement and your performance, you definitely did the tune great justice.  I was inspired to sit down and work it out myself in three finger style, instead of doing my chores, today.  I've attached the MP3 file, below.  I am picking my 1922 Vega Whyte Laydie with a short scale semi-fretless conversion neck, in an A variant tuning (aEABE).  I love Fraley's elegant and graceful playing, that entire album is exquisite. 

Edited by - Don Borchelt on 11/04/2022 17:12:56

Swing Nine Yards of Calico

 

Bob Buckingham - Posted - 11/04/2022:  18:21:23

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Originally posted by gentrixuk

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Buckingham

I played that tune with JP. Sure do miss him and host of other old timers.

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Thanks Bob. I hope the arrangement does justice to his tune. Do you know anything else about where he got the tune from?

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We may have talked about it but its been many years and we kind of rambled from one tune to the other and one story to the other back then.

gentrixuk - Posted - 11/05/2022:  03:05:58

quote:

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Originally posted by Don Borchelt

quote:

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Originally posted by gentrixuk

This week’s tune of the week is “Swing Nine Yards of Calico”, which comes from the playing of J.P. Fraley (1923-2011). It features on his 1973 album, recorded with his wife Annadeene Fraley, “Wild Rose Of The Mountain” (Rounder 0037).

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A fine choice for TOTW. Mark, and a great write up.  And I love your arrangement and your performance, you definitely did the tune great justice.  I was inspired to sit down and work it out myself in three finger style, instead of doing my chores, today.  I've attached the MP3 file, below.  I am picking my 1922 Vega Whyte Laydie with a short scale semi-fretless conversion neck, in an A variant tuning (aEABE).  I love Fraley's elegant and graceful playing, that entire album is exquisite. 

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That's great Don. Love the slides.

JanetB - Posted - 11/05/2022:  12:33:04

Another wonderful choice, Mark, and a good tab and sweet performance, helping me to learn.  Don's work on the tune is a fun listen and I'm glad to not be alone in these efforts to learn a TOTW.  J.P. Fraley tunes are always a worthwhile study. I decided to add J.P.'s embellishments and try it at his tempo.  He was fast!  Perhaps Bob can tell us about that aspect of playing with him.

In the liner notes of Wild Rose of the Mountain it states: "Learned from his father, Richard Fraley, who used to sing: Sunday comes, I must go, Swing nine yards of calico. Alva Green of Sandy Hook, Kentucky claimed to know a piece called 'Forty Yards of Calico' but then performed for us the melody he usually called 'Hunky Dory' (cf. Rounder CD 11592); possibly Alva had confused the two tiles.  The fiddle is tuned AEAE, a common tuning for the key of A, and the cross-tuning principally used by J.P."

I'm curious about calico, having read about it long ago in the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House books.  It was a cheap material because of being less processed.  I've always thought the modern little flowers are cute on calico clothing, but the undyed cloth may have been the title's reference.  To "swing nine yards" is still a puzzling phrase, but your reference to alleving a sick heart may be saying that it's theraputic to buy sewing material and get busy on a project.

Edited by - JanetB on 11/05/2022 12:34:44

VIDEO: Swing Nine Yards of Calico
(click to view)

Swing Nine Yards of Calico (CH) tab

RG - Posted - 11/05/2022:  16:56:08

Here's an explantion (of sorts) for the origin of "Swing nine yards of calico."  Apparently in the mid 19th Century, "nine yards of calico" became slang or synonymous with women, so "swing nine yards of calico" meant to dance with a woman...

Edited by - RG on 11/05/2022 17:00:14

gentrixuk - Posted - 11/06/2022:  02:44:04

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Originally posted by RG

Here's an explantion (of sorts) for the origin of "Swing nine yards of calico."  Apparently in the mid 19th Century, "nine yards of calico" became slang or synonymous with women, so "swing nine yards of calico" meant to dance with a woman...

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Thanks! This is all starting to add up. I just found another clipping that uses the phrase in the same way here:

newspapers.com/clip/3422452/ni...f-calico/

Calico is made from partially processed cotton, and it was a cheaper alternative to more expensive fabric at that time. Apparently in the US 'calico' usually referred to the material that was printed with patterns rather than the plain fabric, so it sounds like it would be a good choice for making dancing dresses that weren't going to break the bank.

Edited by - gentrixuk on 11/06/2022 02:44:36