Annotation:Did You Ever See the Devil Uncle Joe?

Back to 

 DID YOU EVER SEE THE/A DEVIL, UNCLE JOE. AKA - "Did You Ever Go to Meetin', Uncle Joe?" AKA and see "(Miss) McCloud's Reel," "Miss McLeod's/MacLeod's Reel [1]," "Hop High Ladies (the Cake's All Dough)," "Hop Light, Ladies," "The Cake's All Dough," "Green Mountain [1]," "Walk Jaw Bone [1]," "Billy Boy [2]." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; southwest Va., eastern Ky. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB'. A version of a wide-spread reel originally from the British Isles, called "Miss McLeod's Reel." There are many floating verses attached to this melody in American tradition. A play-party verse was sung by Fiddling Powers in his 1927 recording (compare with Dan Tate's "Cindy"): Railroad, steamboat, River and canal; Hadn't been for Kaiser Bill, There never wouldn't have been no hell. The earliest recording of this tune appears to be by Henry Whitter, called "Hop Light Ladies and Shortenin' Bread" (OKeh 40064, 1924).  Source for notated version:  Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 71.  Recorded sources: Conqueror 8136 (78 RPM), Doc Roberts (Ky.). OKeh 45268 (78 RPM) {1927}, Fiddlin' Cowan Powers 1877-1952? (Russell County, southwest Va.). Rounder Records 0058, John Patterson - "Old Originals, vol. 2" (1978).

Back to