Annotation:Leake County Two-Step

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LEAKE COUNTY TWO-STEP, THE. Old-Time, Two-Step. USA, Mississippi. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Silberberg): ABB' (Phillips): AABB (Songer). The melody is played at a decidedly moderate pace, slower than a breakdown. It was recorded for OKeh records in Jackson, Mississippi, by Freeny's Barn Dance Band, an excellent ensemble consisting of Leslie Freeny and Hendrix Freeny on fiddles, Cleveland Freeny on mandolin, tenor banjo player S. Carlton Freeny, and guitarist Fonzo Cannon. Kerry Blech remembers the Rhythm Gorillas of Kent, Ohio, played this tune extensively in the early 1980's, and Blech himself popularized it in Seattle when he moved there in 1984. "Limber Neck Blues" is a related melody.

Sources for notated versions: Leslie Freeny with Freeny's Barn Dance Band (Miss.) [Milliner & Koken, Phillips]; Peter Boveng [Silberberg].

Printed sources: Milliner & Koken (Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes), 2011, p. 378. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 75. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 89. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 123.

Recorded sources: OKeh 45524 (78 RPM), 1930, Freeny's Barn Dance Band (twin fiddle band from Leake County, Mississippi). Red Mountain - "Throw the Old Cow Over the Fence" (2008).

See also listing at:
Hear the recording by Freeney's Barn Dance Band at Slippery Hill [1]