X:1
T:Tennessee Mountain Fox Chase
N:From the playing of fiddler J.D. "Dudley" Vance (1880-1962),
N:with Vance's Tennessee Breakdowners (1927)
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Reel
Q:"Fast"
N:Occassionally Vance adds beats to cadence, esp. in the first strain.
D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/content/tennessee-mountain-fox-chase
Z:Andrew Kuntz
K:C
ed|cdcA GcAc|cded cded|cdcG Aceg|1age[de]- [c2e2]:|2aged c2||
|:ea|g2ea g2ea|g2 eg agea|g2 ea g2 eg|aged c2 :|
|:eg|a2 g2- gagd|J[e6e6] e2|a2 g2-gage|d2 [c2e2]-[ce]deg|
a2 g2- gagd|([ee]-[de]-[e2e2])- [ee]dcA|d2[e2e2]- [ee]dcA|c4- c2:|]
J.D. "Dudley" Vance. 1930-32, by Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975).TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN FOX CHASE. AKA - "Washington County Fox Chase." American, Reel (cut time). USA, Tennessee. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Silberberg): AABBCC' (Phillips): AA'BB'CC' (Reiner (Anick). Hunting motifs have lent themselves to descriptive musical pieces in several genres of traditional music on both sides of the Atlantic (c.f. the various “Fox Chase” tunes). “Tennessee Mountain Fox Chase” was recorded in 1927 by fiddler Dudley Vance (1880-1962) and his group the Tennessee Breakdowners. Vance, a regionally popular fiddler from Bluff City, Washington County, in the north-eastern corner of Tennessee (near the North Carolina border), traveled 150 miles to a recording session in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where the Breakdowners recorded six sides for OKeh Records (although only two were released). The recordings, including the several test pressings that were not issued, were preserved by the Vance family. The unreleased sides included the “Tennessee Mountain Fox Chase," which the family later shared with revival record labels such as County and Rural Rhythm. The melody has since become, “a darling number of the old time revival,” according to Kerry Blech, who opines that it was “a brilliant tune, exceedingly well-played” [1]. The reel is labelled “Washington County Fox Chase” in the “Roots N' Blues - The Retrospective: 1925-50” (1992) collection, a title that Vance himself employed and was used at the original sessions.
Vance took first prize in Mountain City, Tennessee, fiddlers’ convention held in May, 1925, beating Charlie Bowman and Uncle Am Stuart, who came in second and third, respectively. The contest has been made famous by a much-reproduced photograph of some of the contestants, including the elderly Uncle Am. Vance himself is in the back row, a short man and nearly obscured. It was two years later that Vance, along with his brother Sam and banjo player Will McNamara recorded for OKeh, and it was to be their only commercial recording venture. In later years Vance operated a music park and resort in East Tennessee. A young Ralph Blizzard was influenced by Vance (along with Charlie Bowman and John Dykes) who lived not far from him.
Several years later, around 1930-32, Vance’s likeness, posed while playing the fiddle, was drawn by Appalachian artist wikipedia:Thoma_Hart_Benton_(painter) (1889-1975) in a pencil, ink and sepia wash picture. Vance is mentioned in Benton's autobiography, An Artist in America (1937).
Additional notes Source for notated version : - Dudley Vance (Bluff City, Washington County, Tennessee) [Reiner & Anick]; Kirk Sutphin with the Hollow Rock String Band [Phillips]; Greg Canote (Seattle) [Silberberg].
Printed sources : - Clare Milliner & Walt Koken (Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes), 2011; p. 651. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 140. Reiner & Anick (Anthology of Fiddle Styles), 1989; p. 104. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 157.
Recorded sources : - County 525, Fiddlin' Dud Vance and his Tennessee Breakdowners - "A Fiddlers' Convention in Mountain City, Tennessee" (1972). County Records CD3511, Fiddlin' Dud Vance and his Tennessee Breakdowners – “Rural String Bands of Tennessee” (reissue recording). Rounder 0211, Norman Blake - "Lighthouse on the Shore" (1984). Yodel-ay-hee Records #108327, Critton Hollow Stringband - "Poor Boy" (1979). Wildgoose Records, Rattle on the Stovepipe – “8 More Miles” (2005). Brad Leftwich & the Humdingers - "The Humdingers" (2007).
See also listing at : Hear Vance's Tennessee Breakdowner's 1927 recording at Slippery Hill [1]
