Annotation:Red Hills Polka

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RED HILLS POLKA. Old-Time, Polka. USA; Illinois, Missouri. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The tune is was sourced to an elderly woman from Red Hills, Illinois, who had no title for it so called it after her home town. Gordon McCann has information that it may have been derived from a German march. According to an entry on the Mudcat forum [1] the tune was learned by the Allen Street Stingband from an elderly woman they met at a festival, who played it for them. One of the band members managed to record the tune, but did not get either the title or the source's name; lacking any other title for the unknown polka, they named it after the Illinois festival site, the Red Hills State Park.

Source for notated version: Bob Holt (1930-2004, Ava, Missouri), learned from the Allen Street Band (Springfield, Mo.) who had it from Gary Harrison [Beisswenger & McCann].

Printed sources: Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 67.

Recorded sources: Rounder CD 0432, Bob Holt – “Got a Little Home to Go to” (1998).

See also listing at:
See two versions of the tune in standard notation at taterjoes.com [2]

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