“Last Gold Dollar“ is a traditional tune that was first recorded by Bill Hensley in 1940 in North Carolina.
https://www.slippery-hill.com/content/last-gold-dollar-0
...and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0SWf_vvkIM / From the Digital Library of Appalachia - “Old Time Fiddling From The State of North Carolina”
Bill Hensley (1873–1960) was a North Carolina–Tennessee mountain fiddler whose playing preserved an older, pre-commercial Appalachian style. He was born in Happy Valley near Johnson City, Tennessee, later moving to North Carolina as a child. Hensley’s father, grandfather, and uncles Mac and Rube Hensley were all fiddlers.
Blind Wiley Laws and Governor Bob Taylor of Tennessee were also major influences; Hensley even acquired his main fiddle (“Old Calico”) from Taylor.
Hensley grew up playing for log raisings, corn huskings, quilting parties, hog killings, and other community events where music was functional rather than performative. That places him squarely in the pre radio, pre festival tradition — a carrier of local repertoire rather than a commercial entertainer. But he did play festivals and other events.
While the search results don’t list specific tunes, the documentation and photos place him in the older, modal-heavy, droning Appalachian style — closer to pre 1910 regional fiddling than the later contest or radio styles. His association with Ben Shahn’s FSA photography also signals that he was considered a representative of authentic mountain fiddling.
And for those who like to have the notation: Annotation:My Last Gold Dollar - The Traditional Tune Archive
I learned the version I play from Martin Fox and Jeff Winegar on their CD “The Way it Was”
My fiddle is cross-tuned in the key of D (Adae). Recorded with my phone.
Edited by - tonyelder on 12/22/2025 13:27:21
Thanks, Tony. Not much time for listening to all of them, but I'm listening to yours. Nice fiddling. Reminds me of The 8th of January...maybe the tunes are cousins.
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