Annotation:Jeff Davis (1)

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 JEFF DAVIS [1]. Old-Time, Breakdown. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABBBBIn the repertoire of Bert Layne (Ga.) of the Skillet Lickers. The title refers no doubt to the only President of the Confederate states, Jefferson Davis.  Source for notated version: Blaine Smith [Phillips]. Blaine Smith was recorded in the field in his home in Flat Top, Tennessee, when he was age 63. He played in a band with his mother-in-law, Florrie Stewart (who was age 75), and Willie Brandon (age 48). They had played for years for dances, until they died out in his area. He played an oversize fiddle, like a viola, that a neighbor had given him for tearing down an old house, and played in a straight-forward, unornamented style.  Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 123.  Recorded sources: Pine Breeze 003, Blaine Smith - "A Bottle of Wine and a Gingercake: Traditional Music from Southeast Tennessee" (1977). Marimac 9054, The Ill-Mo Boys - "Fine as Frog Hair" (1995).

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