Annotation:Mineola Rag
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MINEOLA RAG. Old-Time, Country Rag. USA, east Texas. D Major ('A' and 'B' parts) & G Major ('C' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBC (Brody): AA'BB'C (Phillips, Silberberg). Composed and titled by the East Texas Serenaders [1] for the town of Mineola, Texas (where the group’s cello player, Patrick Henry Bogan, worked for the Post Office). The Serenaders were a popular string band in the 1920's, who featured a rare cello among the usual lineup of guitar and fiddles. The tune shows the ragtime influence on old-time music, and contains segments borrowed from other popular ragtime pieces. The original key was probably E flat major, as (unusual for old-time string band music) the Serenaders played many tunes in flat keys. The Serenaders recorded the tune in Dallas, Texas, in November, 1930.
Sources for notated versions: Daniel Williams and the East Texas Serenaders (east Texas) [Brody, Phillips]; Hank Bradley [Silberberg].
Printed sources: Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 190. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 87. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 99.
Recorded sources: Adelphi 2004, Delaware Water Gap- "String Band Music." Brunswick 562 (78 RPM), The East Texas Serenaders (1930). County 410, East Texas Serenaders- "1927-1936" (1977). County 527, East Texas Serenaders- "Old-Time Fiddle Classics, vol. 2." Yazoo 2067, East Texas Serenaders - "Times Ain't Like They Used To Be, vol. 7: Early American Rural Music
Classic Recordings From the 1920s & 30's (reissue CD).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Hear the East Texas Serenader's 1930 recording on youtube.com [3]
See/hear Walk Koken & the Orpheus Supertones play the tune on youtube.com [4]