Annotation:Beaumont Rag
X:1 T:Beaumont Rag N:From the playing of Eck Robertson (1887-1975, Borger, Texas) M:C L:1/8 R:Country Rag Q:"Fast" D:County 202, "Eck Robertson: Famous Cowboy Fiddler" (1963) D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/beaumont-rag Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:F D-|E2c2EEc2|Ec-cd cBAG|F2d2 F2d2|Fd-de dcAG| E2c2EEc2|Ec-cd cBAG|F2d2 F2d2|Fd-de dcA2| e-f3 fafa|fagf !fermata!dcAB|cdcA BAGD|F4- F3D-| EEcE EEcE|EEcd cBAG|FFdF FFdF|Fdde dcAG| EEcE EEcE|EEcd cBAG|FFdF FFdF|Fdde dcA2| e-f3 fafa|fagf !fermata!dcAB|cdcA BAGD|F8|| e-f3 fafa|fagf !fermata!dcAB|cdcA BAGD|F8|| a-|baba gagf|ed[A2e2] [c4e4]|agag fgfc|dcdA c3c-| cdeg- gage|cdeg- g2EF-|FGAc- cdcA|FGAc- c2-c(e/4f/4g/4a/4| b)aba gagf|ed[A2e2] [c4e4]|agag fgff|dcAB c3e-| feff gfgf|agfd- dcAB|cdcA BAGD|F4-F3||
BEAUMONT RAG. American, Country Rag (cut time). USA, Texas. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Brody): ABBC (Phillips/1989): ABC (Phillips/1995): ABCD (Silberberg): AA'BB'CC'D (Reiner). The tune was named for the then-booming oil town of Beaumont, which could be at times a rough-and-tumble place. "Beaumont Rag" was first recorded by Cleburne, Texas, fiddler Samuel Morgan Peacock in 1928, the leader of Smith's Garage Fiddle Band (Wolfe, 1997). Peacock was a barber by trade who died after collapsing on the sidewalk in front of his barber shop in 1932. Sam ran a large, 12 seat, barbershop in Corsicana, Texas, from around the turn of the 20th century, and was prosperous in his trade. The name of the band celebrated their patron Sheriff Smith’s business in Corsicana.
Cover version of "Beaumont Rag" soon were recorded. Peacock's fiddling on the tune was at a moderate tempo with bluesy inflections, as was the 1937 version of fiddler Huggins Williams' with the East Texas Serenaders, but the version recorded in 1929 by Terrell, Texas, fiddler Oscar Harper—-another barber--was at a faster clip that glossed over some of the 'bluesy' inflections of Peacock's playing. In 1939 Texas swing fiddler Bob Wills issued a very influential recording of the tune.
The parts are variable in length, some versions having 12 measures while others have sixteen. A fourth part is sometimes added to the tune which features double-shuffle bowing. See the related "Bob Mitchell," "Oklahoma Rag," "Possum Rag" and particularly "White River Stomp."
