All the tunes for the old-time Tune of the Week presented since 2008 are in this updated TOTW pdf (through Dec. 13, 2024). I'll also keep it on my website at https://www.mybanjoworld.com/tune-history. If you have any trouble I can email it to you as a word document or excel spreadsheet.
Please remember that you are the volunteers who make this happen. Contact me via the Hangout or at janetburton13@gmail.com to present a tune or with any questions or concerns. And please know that we can have a very simple presentation -- just the tune title and a sample would be enough to get us started. Thanks for your participation!
Edited by - JanetB on 12/17/2024 19:21:57
Wow, thanks for compiling this, Janet! And with links to each TOTW. A great resource has just gotten better.
This post is a test to see whether I can facilitate an email announcement each week if you subscribe to this topic. I’ll include the link here, too. Sail Away Ladies (Luther Davis)
Edited by - JanetB on 08/05/2018 23:07:18
thanks, Janet, for all you do.
jim
Thank you Janet, this is great.
The new TOTW for 8/10/18 is a 3-part Cripple Creek as notated in Marion Thede’s The Fiddle Book, first published in 1967. You can hear the lively Canote Brothers as well as this week’s presenter, Stephen Rapp. TOTW, 8-10-18, Cripple Creek (3-part)
Edited by - JanetB on 08/10/2018 17:33:43
Our TOTW for 8/17/18 is Reuben's Train. Andy Alexis has done a thorough job of looking at the history of this old song, including recordings and his own video with some original lyrics included. TOTW, 8/17/18, Reuben's Train
The new tune this week is Frosty Morn with a focus on Doc and Merle Watson's lively version, as well discussion of Dwight Diller's slower take, plus similarities to Cold Frosty Morning. Cyndy, our presenter, plays Frosty Morn like she knows it inside-out! Check it out at TOTW, 8/24/18
TOTW for 8/31/18 is Texas Gals with a source recording that goes all the way back to the days of Okeh Record's popularizing of Al Hopkins and the Hill Billies in the 20's. Thanks to presenter Tim Rowell for posting an easy-to-follow tab, too. TOTW, 8/31/18, Texas Gals
The new tune is TOTW, 9/7/18, Shaking Down the Acorns by yours truly.
Half Shaved is the new TOTW for 9/14/18 by RG Hocutt. With versions by Dent Wimmer and Wade Ward it looks to be an interesting exploration.
Quince Dillon's High D, the TOTW for 9/21/18, has fascinating Civil War history. There's nobody like Carolyn Faubel to introduce us to this tune with her rich experience in Civil War reenactment and her old-time music family tradition.
A very old song comes to us this week with keen research by Marc Nerenberg, who also performs various versions. Here's a modal song with intrigue to check out -- TOTW, 9/28/18 -- Pretty Polly.
Janet this is incredible, my banjo journey has taken such a giant leap forward this past couple months. I’ve only started 3-4 years ago and I’ve just realized I have a lifetimes worth of songs to pick and listen to! Thank you !
Our newest old-time tune is really old -- going back to the minstrelsy days of the 1840's, presented by Richard Radkin. I'm reminded of the Blue Tail Fly by the TOTW, 10/5/18 -- Get Up in the Morning.
A newer tune is in our scope this week. Lew Hendrix has contacted its composer and described the genesis of Early Times. Lew also shows us how to put together a harmony for this happy tune: TOTW, 10/12/18, Early Times.
Today's new tune to explore is from West Virginia, entitled Ragged Shirt. We all have at least one, don't we, and we're quite fond of them. Our presenter, Rudy, brings in two source recordings -- Ralph Roberts and Bobby Taylor. Though their versions are different they have some commonality, too. Enjoy checking out TOTW, 10-19-18, Ragged Shirt.
Jim Peterson has posted a melancholy modal tune called Vance No More with a sad ballad behind it. It's crooked, but in such a way that it may just be a breathing pause as it's played. I've enjoyed learning TOTW, 10/26/18, Vance No More, as I enjoy learning any of Kentucky fiddler John Salyer's tunes.
Julieanne Johnson is back for another round after eight years. Still a popular tune and Mark T. explores Virginia fiddler Emmett Lundy's version. If you can play it or have a favorite recording, please share on the TOTW, 11/3/18, Julieanne Johnson.
A new old-time tune is our current week's focus. I've had Newman's Own Organics snacks, a company whose profits go to charitable groups, and recognize the daughter who is the namesake of Sweet Nell. Pat Lyons shows us how to play it and offers tab, so take a look at TOTW, 11/9/11, Sweet Nell
This Friday's Tune of the Week is a crooked John Salyer tune, TOTW, 11/16/18, Kentucky Winder. Our presenter, adam schweigert, tells us it's crooked only at the end of a part, which gives the feeling of "skipping ahead every time it comes back to the top." Some of my favorite fiddlers play this, such as the source Kentuckian, John Salyer, and the talented Rayna Gellert and Tatiana Hargraves, as well as the Stairwell Sisters.
Edited by - JanetB on 11/16/2018 11:14:50
Tune of the Week aficionados are treated to a tune learned directly by Carl Baron from a delightful source fiddler, West Virginian Melvin Wine. I, for one, am grateful to learn from someone who played with Melvin, someone I never met, but whose music I delight in. Check out TOTW, 11/23/18, Calhoun Swing.
Tune of the Weekers, we have another Gaither Carlton tune presented by Jack Beuthin, one that's also on Slippery Hill via the monumental work by Milliner and Koken of American Fiddle Tunes. Only several hundred more tunes to go and I'll know them all! Jack says this tune is like Barlow Knife and you can easily learn it: TOTW, 11/30/18, Sheep's in the Meadow.
Stephen Rapp has introduced us to a catchy tune in the key of D with a plaintively long title. He plays a smooth version with his friends, fiddler Paul Kirk and guitarist Bill Braun, and also adds a solo banjo video with tab. You know me, I can't wait to get started on this great little tune. TOTW, 12/7/18, Boys, My Money's All Gone.
Lew Hendrix has claimed this week's new tune for us old time musicians with his modulating clawhammer rendition: TOTW, 12-14-18, The Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor. It feels like a must-know tune for our repertoire.
Edited by - JanetB on 12/14/2018 16:40:28
Andy Alexis has given us the Christmas gift of a hymn based on a song, Star in the East, from William Walker's The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. It goes farther back than the 1854 edition with lyrics from 1811 written by the Church of England Bishop Reginald Heber. Because Andy uses an unusual tuning he included Falls of Richmond to also explore in gDGGD. TOTW, 12/21/18, Brightest and Best.
