TOTW 09/25/2026 – Bug in the Taters
I’ve chosen Bug in the Taters for this installment of TOTW.
The tune was first recorded by Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters in New York City on May 17, 1927. Hopkins (1889 – 1932) was born in North Carolina but spent most of his life in Washington D.C.
The music web site Last fm says the Buckle Busters (sometimes billed as the Hill Billies), formed in 1924, achieved popularity in the D.C. area then went on to became the first country musicians to perform in New York City, the first to play for a President of the United States, and the first to appear in a movie. The band continued to perform until Hopkin’s death in a 1932 auto accident. Read more here: https://www.last.fm/music/Al+Hopkins+...
The tune has a healthy internet presence and I’ve linked some of my favorites below.
Here’s the Buckle Busters source recording: https://www.slippery-hill.com/content/bug-taters
Here’s a twin fiddle version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_RXLMOun4
Here’s a String Band version: https://dumpsterdebbie.bandcamp.com/track/bug-in-the-taters
Here’s a dance band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97OXfOfVKhE
Here’s a Clifftop jam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE7BHZVNP2Y
Here’s a banjo solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdmm_kKCth4
The tune is a standard in our weekly jam group. When visiting jammers say, as they invariably do, “It sounds like Ragtime Annie”, the fiddler who introduced it to us always responds indignantly with “IT DOES BUT IT AIN’T!” Jam regulars have learned to anticipate and enjoy this exchange whenever we have a guest.
I could not find a tab for the tune, but an online tutorial by Hilarie Burhans can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grgk9-r8xeY
And a transcription of the tune in standard notation is here: https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Bug_in_the_%27Tater
Readers are encouraged to post observations, opinions, performances, and tabs contributing to this thread.
Edited by - Mtngoat on 09/25/2026 02:50:43
Thanks so much for sharing. Will lurk here in the hopes someone posts a tab.
I have added tab for what I hear in MTNGOAT's video for this tune.
Bug in the Taters Tab - Details and Ratings - Banjo Hangout
David
David, thanks for the tab, Hope someone posts a performance.
Good tune, four parts!! After listening to the fiddling of Al Hopkins and trying all his "anticipatory notes", I figured to leave most of them out and keep it more square sounding, as it's a dance and jam tune. It was a challenge to get some of the intricate fiddle melody by listening again and again and slowing it down. I liked Hilarie's tutorial and Pat's solo banjo. Hilarie has such an amazing way of learning from a recording and playing at speed. Thanks for the helpful tab, David.
Great tune!!!
Janet, thanks for the tab and performance. I hadn't considered the tune for a dance but now that you mention it, maybe we will give it a try.
quote:
Originally posted by MtngoatJanet, thanks for the tab and performance. I hadn't considered the tune for a dance but now that you mention it, maybe we will give it a try.
You're welcome. When listening to the original on Slippery Hill, there's a caller. You wouldn't believe how many times I heard him call on my Anytune app in slow-down, repeat mode, "Circle to the right" while trying to hear some fiddle notes.
quote:
Originally posted by JanetBGood tune, four parts!! After listening to the fiddling of Al Hopkins and trying all his "anticipatory notes", I figured to leave most of them out and keep it more square sounding, as it's a dance and jam tune. It was a challenge to get some of the intricate fiddle melody by listening again and again and slowing it down. I liked Hilarie's tutorial and Pat's solo banjo. Hilarie has such an amazing way of learning from a recording and playing at speed. Thanks for the helpful tab, David.
The lineup on Bug In The Taters was Charlie Bowman fiddling, Elbert Bowman on guitar, Jack Reedy playing 3-finger banjo, and Al Hopkins doing the calls.
Originally posted by BobTheGamblerThe lineup on Bug In The Taters was Charlie Bowman fiddling, Elbert Bowman on guitar, Jack Reedy playing 3-finger banjo, and Al Hopkins doing the calls.
Thank you much, Bob. I only knew that Al Hopkins was associated with the term "hillbillies." Now I've looked him up and learned more. He played piano
I was thinking that the caller had a slight southern drawl, but they were recording in NYC, so I didn't want to assume. Hopkins came from North Carolina and probably did have a drawl.
Janet and Pete, I recall hearing an old Doc Roberts recording that had dance calls. Maybe that was a production technique sort of like the laugh track on TV sitcoms.
quote:
Originally posted by MtngoatJanet and Pete, I recall hearing an old Doc Roberts recording that had dance calls. Maybe that was a production technique sort of like the laugh track on TV sitcoms.
That sounds right, Mtngoat, since it was recorded in NYC at the Brunswick studio, which was on the top floor of a building and had expanded to have three recording rooms. Am I also learning now that Bob is really Pete?!
quote:
Originally posted by MtngoatJanet and Pete, I recall hearing an old Doc Roberts recording that had dance calls. Maybe that was a production technique sort of like the laugh track on TV sitcoms.
There's tons of old string band 78s with dance calls, but most are not really a complete dance you could do. They were usually just a member of the band doing the calling. On that particular Doc Roberts session his guitar accompanist Asa Martin is doing the calls. They definitely were not a "production technique" in the sense of some canned or prerecorded thing.
Phil Jamison has done a lot of documentation and research on the subject, and you can read more here:
Edited by - BobTheGambler on 09/30/2026 04:31:57
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