carlb - Posted - 05/30/2025:  05:33:31

My Tale

     I've sung folk songs since I started talking and have had enough experiences to know about square dancing, American, English, Yiddish and other folk songs, as well as instrumental music from the U.S. and many other cultures. So when I left Colorado, in January of 1972, and moved to Charlottesville, VA, I figured I would play old time music (guitar only) while I was there for a postdoc. Within a month I had met Mark Campbell (only banjo at that time), and together we met Armin Barnett in August and, with his former wife Connie, formed the "The Yellow Mountain String Band". Armin taught us, and had probably learned, Henry Reed's "Frosty Morning" from the playing of Alan Jabbour (who collected Henry Reed's tunes). The following June, I made my first visit to Glenville, WV, the West Virginia State Folk Festival (about the same time I was starting to learn clawhammer banjo). There I fell in love with Melvin Wine's fiddling and after that kept returning to visit him, a few times a year, to learn his tunes on banjo, so I could play with him. His first LP was entitled "Cold Frosty Morning" where he played with his sons, Grafton (4-string plectrum banjo) and Denzil (guitar) (Poplar LP 1 (29145), Carl Fleischer, 1976) and is the tune for this week's TOTW.

     Melvin at 1977 Vandalia with Denzil

youtube.com/watch?v=RBvlHHCXUQA

     When I moved to southeast Pennsylvania, a few years later, I started playing fiddle and purchased Miles Krassen's "Appalachian Fiddle" (Oak Publications, 1973). Since I read music, I used to it aid me in learning tunes I didn't already know like: "28th of January", "Row's Division" and "Mountain Hornpipe". At that time I had completely ignored that he called the Henry Reed tune "Cold Frosty Morning" instead of "Frosty Morning". In later years, when the confusion got to me, I decided to look for the oldest misnaming of the Henry Reed tune. There it was, right in my own house for years, and I had ignored the discrepancy. So my guess is, that this edition is what caused the misnaming of the Henry Reed tune, which grew and grew and grew to the present day.

     The source of Melvin's version is a bit elusive. He said he learned it from his father. In 1997, Drew Beisswenger wrote a doctoral thesis "Fiddling Way Out Yonder: Community and Style in the Fiddle Music of Melvin Wine". Drew wrote that "......a melody similar to Melvin's is published by Roberts (p. 185)" (Roberts, Leonard, "Sang Branch Settlers: Folksongs and Tales of a Kentucky Family", Austin University of Texas Press, 1974) and may have minstrel origins. Those of you who can read music can judge for yourselves (notation below).

     The tune is in aEAC#E and is not too difficult. I do slide a fair amount, sometimes on the 4^th string all the way to the 5^th fret. There is another recording out there on banjo, as well as my take below.

Hilarie Burhans

youtube.com/watch?v=vIkhD8LRNmk

Jimmy Triplett video from 2008

youtube.com/watch?v=5WPMY-0V9CQ

     Melvin's "Cold Frosty Morning" was also discussed during a presentation, of what I consider the misnamed Henry Reed tune, in a TOTW in 2010

banjohangout.org/archive/183241

Cold Frosty Morning from Melvin Wine

Cold Frosty Morning notation from Roberts book

Noah Cline - Posted - 05/30/2025:  08:10:26

In my mind, I distinguish this tune as the "happy" Cold Frosty Morning. I should learn it. I think I first heard it on Chris Wig's "Gate to Go Through" album, it being the opening track. From what I remember of the liner notes, he referenced Melvin. Thanks for sharing, along with the Roberts source. 

Edited by - Noah Cline on 05/30/2025 08:11:18

jsinjin - Posted - 05/30/2025:  09:52:53

That’s my teacher! (Hilarie). I’ve asked her about this song in lessons but we (together) decided to get through some more songs before attempting that one.

dbrooks - Posted - 05/30/2025:  18:09:28

jsinjin - You are lucky to have such a fine teacher ad Hilarie.

David

ndlxs - Posted - 05/31/2025:  06:37:10

Are there more words than the one line you posted? Just curious. The Roberts book title results in zero google hits.

ndlxs - Posted - 05/31/2025:  06:40:20

I did find a used copy and I ordered it.

jsinjin - Posted - 05/31/2025:  07:15:46

quote:

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Originally posted by dbrooks

jsinjin - You are lucky to have such a fine teacher ad Hilarie.



David

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She is fabulous!   I meet with her in a private lesson every week and have her full Patreon subscription.   

carlb - Posted - 05/31/2025:  12:30:43

quote:

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Originally posted by ndlxs

Are there more words than the one line you posted? Just curious. The Roberts book title results in zero google hits.

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Yes, but they're all rather racist, so I won't post them. Note, I did white out a word in the notation picture except for the first letter. In my search for Robert's book, I found it in many university libraries all over the state of Pennsylvania. I called one and they emailed me pdfs of the the pages I wanted.

ndlxs - Posted - 05/31/2025:  12:37:02

Thanks, I have no use for racist titles/lyrics either. I just asked because I wrote some words of my own to the first part; not great poetry but I think they work. I am a little leery about doing videos of my own songs publicly without performing them in person and/or copyrighting them first. There is a non-zero but low chance of them getting away from me.

Andy Alexis