Annotation:Denver Belle
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DENVER BELLE. American, Reel (cut time). USA, Ky. C Major ('A' part) & G Major ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Silberberg): AABB' (Phillips). "Denver Belle" is part country rag, part breakdown. The city of Denver, Colorado, was named for James Denver, soldier and administrator on the western frontier. Ultimately the name can be traced to a place-name near Norfolk, England, where Denver was derived from Dena faer, the 'crossing place of the Danes' in the marshy land close the the Great Ouse (Matthews, 1972). Silberberg and Phillip's parts are reversed from one another. A different tune by this name (as played by Frazier Moss) is a version of "Duck's Eyeball (1)" or "Wait in the Kitchen 'Till the Cook Comes In."
Source for notated version: Paul Warren [Phillips]; Carthy Sisco [Silberberg].
Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 68. Silberberg (Fiddle Tunes I Learned at the Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 33.
Recorded sources: Arhoolie C-334, Kenny Baker - "Masters of the Folk Violin" (1989). County 2705, Kenny Baker - "Master Fiddler." County 730, Kenny Baker - "Baker's Dozen: Country Fiddle Tunes" (1971). Heritage XXXIII, J.P. Fraley (Rush, Ky.) - "Visits" (1981). Rounder 0037, J.P. & Annadeene Fraley - "Wild Rose of the Mountain" (12973). Rounder 0216, John McCutcheon - "Step by Step" (1986).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index [1]
Hear J.P. Fraley's recording at Slippery Hill [2]
Hear Kenny Baker's recording at Slippery Hill [3]