Annotation:Little Burnt Potato

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LITTLE BURNT POTATO. AKA - "Burnt Potato," "Frank's Two-Step." American, Canadian, English, Irish; Single Jig. USA; New England, New York, Missouri. Canada; Maritimes, Ontario. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Begin): AABB (Brody): AA'BB' (Barnes, Bayard, Carlin, Messer, Miller & Perron, Perlman, Phillips). "Little Burnt Potato" was popularized by Canadian Maritime radio and TV fiddler Don Messer. The tune has been characterized as Irish in origin, although in fact it is the composition of Canadian fiddler Colin J. Boyd, who was himself of Scottish descent. Boyd was born in West Lakeville, Nova Scotia, in 1891, and learned to play the fiddle as a child, inspired by his uncle Hughie MacGillivary (whose fiddle he inherited). Like many in the community, he learned and spoke Gaelic. Due to a declining ecomony, Boyd found work in 1909 in Ontario, then moved to Boston for the years 1911-1916 where he studied violin and learned to read music. It was during his Boston years that he composed "Little Burnt Potato." Boyd had the distinction of being the first Nova Scotian fiddler to record in 1932, in Montreal for the Brunswick label. He later settled in Ontario, and passed away in 1975.

Colin J. Boyd

"Little Burnt Potato" is Boyd's adaptation of an old Scottish jig passed on to him by Dan “The Ridge” MacDonald, formerly of Mabou, Cape Breton, and then Antigonish, Nova Scotia, according to Mary Boyd (liner notes to Shanachie Records, CB-1). His jig proved popular and has been widely disseminated, and has been interpreted in a number of styles. It has been a staple of New England contra dances. "Little Burnt Potato" was in the repertoire of Cyril Stinnett (1912-1986), a fiddler who epitomized the "North Missouri Hornpipe Style," and who knew many Canadian tunes from listening to late-night radio when northern stations came in loud and clear. New Hampshire fiddler Omer Marcoux's version is a combination of "Blackberry Quadrille (1)" and "Little Burnt Potato." British Borders musicians regard it as a two-step, and it was also recorded by the Kilfenora Ceili Band as "Frank's Two-Step."

Source for notated version: Bradley Grimshaw (northern N.Y.; 1958) [Bayard]; Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa) [Begin]; transplanted French-Canadian fiddler Omer Marcoux {1898-1982} (Concord, N.H.), who identified the tune as "Irish" [Miskoe & Paul]; Francis MacDonald (b. 1940, Morell Rear, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].

Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; p. 5 (appears as "Arnold's Circle," the name of a dance set to the jig). Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 573, p. 510. Begin (Fiddle Music in the Ottawa Valley: Dawson Girdwood), 1985; No. 1, p. 15. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 170. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 235, p. 137. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 157, p. 106. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 24. Miskoe & Paul (Fiddle Tunes of Omer Marcoux), 1994; p. 45. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 131. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 371.

Recorded sources: Apex 26273-B (78rpm), Don Messer & His Islanders (1943). F&W Records 6, The Fireside String Band-- "Square Dance Tunes for a Yankee Caller." Fretless 119, Rodney and Randy Miller- "Castles in the Air." Fretless 122, William Santos- "Ole Time Fiddling 1976." Shanachie Records, CB-1, Colin J. Boyd - "Pioneer Scottish Fiddler" (1979).

See also listing at:
Hear Don Messer's recording at the Internet Archive [1]

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