Annotation:Bear Creek Sally Goodin'

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BEAR CREEK SALLY GOODIN'. AKA - "Walls of Jericho (2)." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Ozarks region. A Major. AEac# tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'. This melody may be an amalgam of several tunes, and even the title may represent a collision in tradition. As the title suggests there is a resemblance to "Sally Goodin'" or "Old Sally Goodin." A melody called "Bear Creek" or "Bear Creek's Up" is found in areas of the South and Southwest (Bear Creek place-names are relatively widespread). This traditional Ozarks Mountain region fiddle tune was recorded by folklorist/musicologist Vance Randolph in the early 1940's for the Library of Congress. Ozark fiddler Bob Holt's father used to play this tune under the title "Walls of Jericho," although that name is usually attached to a different tune, although both melodies feature plucked strings (it may be that the titles were simply confused by the elder Holt). Hildred Smith, writing in a 1929 issue of Ozark Life mentioned that "Bear Creek Sally Goodin'" was a famous Ozark dance tune (Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, p. 350). Beisswenger & McCann identify "Old Charlie Deckard," "White River" and "Broken-Legged Chicken" as similar tunes.

Source for notated version: Bob Holt (1930-2004, Ava, Missouri) [Beisswenger & McCann].

Printed sources: Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 60.

Recorded sources: Rounder CD -0435, Bob Holt - "Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks, vol. 1 (1999. Various artists).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]

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