How come it is that WHENEVER you see a Texas fiddler, there is ALWAYS at least 2 guitars accompanying (often plus a bass, I mean, how much rhythm do these cats need?)
Edited by - bsed55 on 06/26/2024 10:38:45
I think the traditional contest backup was a six string Spanish guitar and a four string tenor guitar, but maybe its grown a bit.
I've never seen anything about this, but I wonder if they were emulating the popular recordings of Arthur Smith and the Delmore Brothers, like this:
youtu.be/Qus1MhtwG4c?feature=shared
A little later Georgia Slim Rutland made some records with a similar rhythm sound:
youtu.be/1YOIGfXE9h8?feature=shared
BTW, that's the earliest recording I've found with "potatoes" used as an intro. Some people believe that the "Nashville shuffle" is the cornerstone of the "old time" sound, and I thought I'd see how far back it goes on recordings. It would be easier to hear as an intro, and you don't find it on the Skillet Lickers records, or Eck Robertson, the "Kessinger Brothers" or Arthur Smith. That Georgia Slim record is from 1948, and Grey Eagle on the other side doesn't use it - it just starts.
Sorry for a little thread drift, but its an interesting record.
Doug, you are a font of history!
one of the first jams i went to here on the south plains of Kansas i was at a jam and the mandolin player said, "give me some potatoes" and I didn't know what he was talking about. haha. a few months back i started a tune like that and my guitar player of 15 years started cracking up.
The "four potatoes" kickoff is prominent in the classic square dance albums recorded by Tommy Jackson in the 50's and early 60's. These were about the only fiddle records available for a long time and were very influential on a whole generation of fiddlers, at least here in Missouri.
quote:
Originally posted by bsed55How come it is that WHENEVER you see a Texas fiddler, there is ALWAYS at least 2 guitars accompanying (often plus a bass, I mean, how much rhythm do these cats need?)
All those people were local and signed up to accompany as long as he went back home asap. You know, back to what any Texan will tell you is the greatest state in the union. (Though they never seem to care to stay there.)
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