Annotation:Ranger Waltz (The)

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RANGER WALTZ, THE. AKA - "Ranger's Waltz." Old-Time, Waltz. USA; North West, Missouri. D Major ('A' part), G Major('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The “Rangers Waltz” was composed by Quentin Ratliffe, the sax player for the Mom and Dads [1], a four-piece dance band (drums, saxophone, piano and accordion) from Spokane, Washington, who formed in the 1950’s and who recorded the waltz in 1971. Vivian Williams says the group “played the basic ‘Grange Hall Dance’ repertoire of waltzes, schottisches, varsouvienne, three-step, foxtrots, and two steps, and their records were very popular regionally and in Canada in the 1970's.” "Ranger's Waltz" is now one of the ‘100 essential Missouri fiddle tunes’ according to Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden.

Sources for notated versions: Charlie Walden (Columbia, Missouri) [Christeson]; LeRoy Haslag (b. 1940, Loose Creek, Missouri) [Beisswenger & McCann].

Printed sources: Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 187. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 2), 1984; No. 204, p. 157.

Recorded sources: Warner Special Products ‎– OP 1507, The Mom and Dads - "20 Favorite Waltzes" (1980).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Hear the Mom and Dad's recording on youtube.com [3] [4]




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