Annotation:Fifty Years Ago Waltz
Tune properties and standard notation
FIFTY YEARS AGO WALTZ. AKA and see "Blue Valley Waltz." Old-Time, Waltz. D Major (Phillips): D Major ('A' part) & G Major ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). One part (Phillips). Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden thinks the title refers to a wedding anniversary, and remarks that the waltz was shortened for contest play in the 1970's by great competitors like Herman Johnson. The melody was recorded for Paramount records by Alabama fiddler Y.Z. Hamilton (1888-1936) who had a local reputation in the Birmingham area, not only as a fiddler but as a ragtime piano player (despite having three fingers missing on his right hand).
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 254.
Recorded sources: Decca 5213 (78 RPM), Curly Fox (Ga.) {1936}. Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers Association 002, Taylor McBaine (b. 1911, Mo.) - "Boone County Fiddler." Paramount Records (78 RPM), Y.Z. Hamilton (Ala., 1888-1936), 1925.
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]