Let’s go to Missouri for this week’s tune, Scott No. 1, which comes from the playing of the fiddler Bill Driver (1881-1987). I am unable to find any information on who or what “Scott” refers to, but it is distinct from the tune “Scott No. 2.” A nice biography of Bill Driver can be found at the traditional tune archive. According to this biography, tune collector R.P. Christeson remarked,
“A gifted musician, he had a keen ear, kept steady time, and played vigorously. He was born at Eldridge in Laclede County, but I first heard him play in Iberia Miller County, in the late 1920's. My first recordings of Bill are from 1948 [many lost in a robbery]...Bill's was the best example of a strictly indigenous repertory that I know of; whereas Boone County fiddlers, for example, had their repertoires diluted with hornpipes, jigs and reels that came in via the phonograph, mail-order sheet music, or itinerant fiddlers, Bill stuck with the music and style of his locale. Although he won many local contests, he was never sponsored to appear in any that were statewide. He did play over WOS in Jefferson City once, and this appearance alone brought him mail from listeners in several states and Canada.’’
I picked up the tune at local jam sessions, but there are fine recordings available on youtube, including:
Walt and Clare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWPSFNdYt8I
Howard Rains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFA97OX2Gk4
Notation:
https://tunearch.org/wiki/Scott_No._1
I normally start the tune on the low part, but some versions start on the high part. If you start the tune on the high part you will be starting on the IV chord. I hope you like the tune!
Edited by - Jim_VA on 06/26/2026 01:47:09
High part starts on the V chord, not the IV. Roy Pilgrim fiddles a nice version with the Ozark Highballers.
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