Annotation:Crippled Turkey

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X:1 T:Cripppled Turkey N:Absie Morrison (1876-1964, Landis, Searcy County, Arkansas), recorded in N:1962 by Judith McCulloh M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/crippled-turkey Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:G g3a g3a|gfed B2d2|+slide+g3a g3a|gfed B2d2|B2 Bd B3A|G2 GG A2G2:| |:+slide+B2Bd B2 Ac|BABc B2Ac|BABc B2AA |G2 GG A2G2:|



CRIPPLED TURKEY. AKA - "Cripple Turkey." American, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is realted to "Say Old Man (Can You Play the Fiddle)," and perhaps a variant. It has become the basis for swing and contest improvisations in many versions. Recorded by Texas fiddler Bob Wills in 1936, but unreleased. There is a town called Turkey, Texas, where Bob Wills played at the Turkey Hotel, prior to removing to Fort Worth where his career took off. The title "Crippled Turkey" may be older than Wills; if so, I have not yet found that it predates him.


Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Absie Morrison (1876-1964, Searcy County, Arkansas) [Beisswenger & McCann].

Printed sources : - Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 102.

Recorded sources : - United Artists UA-LA 216-J2, Bob Wills - "For the Last Time" (1974).

See also listing at :
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Hear Absie Morrison's field recording at Slippery Hill [2]



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