Annotation:Wimbush Rag

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X:1 T:Wimbush Rag M:C| L:1/8 R:Country Rag D:OKeh 45339 (78 RPM), Theo & Gus Clark (1929) D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/content/wimbush-rag Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:D [A3a3]b affd|d2ee fa-af|[A3a3]b affd|d2ee [df]fd2| [A3a3]b affd|d2 e2 fa-af|[A3a3]b affd|d2 e2 ffd2|| [DA]-|[D3B3]c BAFA-|A2Ac BAFA|[M:3/2]B2B2-BAFA [A2f2][A2e2] |[M:C|]f2d2-d2[D2A2]-| [D2B2][D2B2]- [DB]AF2|A2 Ac BAFA|[M:3/2][DA]-[DB]-[DB]c BAFE FDED|[M:C|]B,2D2-D2[D2A2]-| [M:3/2][D2B2][D2B2]- [DB]AFA [A2f2][A2e2]|[M:C|][A2f2]d2- d4||

WIMBUSH RAG. American, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The original source for this "crooked" tune was fiddler Theodore and Gus Clark of Barrow County, Georgia, in which the town of Wimbush is located. "Wimbush Rag", backed with "Barrow County Stomp," was recorded in 1929, the only recording the brothers made. Theo died around 1971 and Gus in 1978; both were white farmers and lifelong residents of Barrow County [c.f. liner notes to Hart & Blech, "Build Me a Boat"]. Despite the title, the tune is not a "rag" but is rather a reel or breakdown. Unusual or more modern sounding string band tunes were sometimes called 'blues' or 'rag' in their title, in part for the cache. The Clarks played on a radio station in Athens as the Ted Clark Trio or Ted Clark Band during the '30s. Theo learned at least part of his repertory from his mother, who was also a fiddler^[1].

Additional notes
Source for notated version : - the Canebrake Rattlers [Phillips].

Printed sources : - Clare Milliner & Walt Koken (Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes), 2011; p. 730. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 172.

Recorded sources : - Document DOCD 8021, Theo & Gus Clark - "Georgia String Bands vol. 1." Marimac 9006, Major Contay and the Canebrake Rattlers - "When the Yankees Came Down" (1986). OKeh 45339 (78 RPM), Theo & Gus Clark (1929). Smithsonian Folkways SFW40206_106, The Dust Busters with John Cohen - "Old Man Below" (2012). Voyager VRCD-354, Hart & Blech – “Build Me a Boat.”

See also listing at :
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Hear Theo & Gus Clark's recording at Slippery Hill [2]
See/hear various versions on youtube.com [3][4]
See banjo tab at Taterjoes.com [5]

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↑ Information on the Clarks from Chris Williarns, who was on the staff of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, relayed at the 1998 National Folk Festival. While browsing the Document Records recording at a sales booth he recognized his his maternal uncle (Theo Clark), and relayed some information. See liner notes to Hart & Blech, "Build Me a Boat" for the story [6].

[1] Information on the Clarks from Chris Williarns, who was on the staff of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, relayed at the 1998 National Folk Festival. While browsing the Document Records recording at a sales booth he recognized his his maternal uncle (Theo Clark), and relayed some information. See liner notes to Hart & Blech, "Build Me a Boat" for the story [6].

[1]