Annotation:Grand Picnic

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 GRAND PICNIC. Old-Time, Breakdown or Reel. USA, Missouri. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is usually attributed to Joe Politte, a fiddler from the Old Mines, Washington County, area of Missouri, south of St. Louis. Politte was one of the few remaining fiddlers of his time who derived from the old French fiddling tradition from settlements along the mid-Mississippi valley. The tune has become a classic among Washington County fiddlers. It is on Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden's list of '100 essential Missouri fiddle tunes'. Gordon McCann (2008) suggests the tune is of French origin and very old, perhaps from the old French settlers who formed communities in northern Missouri in the early 18th century.  Sources for notated versions: Joe Politte, learned from Jules Boyer [Christeson, Phillips]; Ruthie Dornfeld (Seattle) [Songer]; Charlie Pashia (1909-1994, Old Mines, Missouri) [Beisswenger & McCann].  Printed sources: Beisswenger & McCann (Ozark Fiddle Tunes), 2008; p. 107. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 2), 1984; p. 62. Old Time Herald, vol. 4, No. 5; p. 27. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; p. 101. Silberberg (93 Fiddle Tunes I Didn't Learn from the Tractor Tavern), 2004; p. 18. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 86.  Recorded sources: Missouri Friends of Folk Arts 1001, Joe Politte - "I'm Old But I'm Awfully Tough" (1977).  See also listing at: Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources

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