Annotation:Texas Quickstep (1)

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TEXAS QUICKSTEP [1]. AKA and see "Black Jack (2)," "Cherokee Polka," "Joe King's Hornpipe," “Rachel (1)," "Rachael's Hornpipe," “Spanish Polka,” "St. Louis Quickstep?," "Texas Galop." American, Reel (cut time). USA; Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Thede): AA'BB' (Phillips). "Texas Quickstep" was recorded by fiddler Albert A.L. “Red” Steeley (1893-1969), from the Arlington, Texas, area, for Brunswick Records in Dallas, Texas, in October, 1928 (although not commercially released until April, 1929. Steeley, along with friend J.W. ‘Red’ Graham on banjo, were billed as “The Red Headed Fiddlers.” They were, however, originally from Alabama, Steeley having moved to Texas at around age 10. Steeley hailed from Scotsboro and his grandmother’s brothers were the famous Taylor brothers, Bob and ‘Alf’, fiddlers and politicians from Tennessee (one became Governor of the state). When the record was released in Canada (on both the Brunswick and Melotone labels), the duo was called “Les Deux Gaspesiens”, and “Texas Quickstep” re-titled “Reel de St. Urbain (Le).”

"Cherokee Polka" is a closely related tune, while "Rachel (1)" is an alternate title. “Rachael” or “Rachael’s Hornpipe,” has been attributed to Rachael Donelson Jackson (1767-1828), wife of President Andrew Jackson, according to the Texas Old Time Fiddling Association’s website [1], a notion rather more fanciful than factual without corroborating information^[1]. Claims are also made that "Texas Quickstep" derived from a tune called "St. Louis Quickstep," however, while there are 19th century tunes the title (or similar titles) none have proved to be a musical precursor to Steeley's tune.

The two-step part of Missouri fiddler Lonnie Robertson's "Hazy Hills Waltz" is a variation of "Texas Quickstep," according to the composer. North Dakota fiddler Joe Pancerzewski's "Joe King's Hornpipe" is the two parts of "Texas Quickstep"/"Rachel" with an added third strain.

See "Texas Quickstep (2)" for Canadian versions of the tune.

Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Jim Black (Beaver County, Oklahoma) [Thede]; Red Steeley & Kenny Baker [Stecher/Fiddler Magazine/Phillips].

Printed sources : - Fiddler Magazine, vol. 26, No. 2, Summer 2019; p. 46. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 143. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 10, p. 5. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; p. 145.

Recorded sources : - Brunswick 285 (78 RPM), Red Headed Fiddlers (1928). County 517, The Red Headed Fiddlers – “Texas Farewell” (reissue recording). Document DOCD-8038, "Texas Fiddle Bands vol. 1" (1999). 5 String Productions 5SP05002, The Hoover Uprights – “Known by their Reputation” (2005). Voyager VRCD347, “Vivian and Phil Williams, Live” (learned from a Bill Monroe recording). Decca DL7-5348 "Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen" (1972) (as "Texas Gallop).

See also listing at :
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Hear the Red Headed Fiddlers 1929 recording at Slippery Hill [3] and youtube.com [4]

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↑ The attribution is repeated by Charles Gardner in "The Origins of the Texas Style of Traditional Old-Time Fiddling", Francis Edward Abernethy [ed.] 2001: A Texas Folkore Odyssey, 2001, p. 64, again without citing a source for the information.

[1] The attribution is repeated by Charles Gardner in "The Origins of the Texas Style of Traditional Old-Time Fiddling", Francis Edward Abernethy [ed.] 2001: A Texas Folkore Odyssey, 2001, p. 64, again without citing a source for the information.

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