Annotation:Kitty Sharpe's Champion

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KITTY SHARPE'S CHAMPION (JIG). American, 'Sand' Dance (cut time). G Major ('A' & 'B' parts), C Major ('C' part) & E Minor or G Major ('D' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDDEE (Cole): AA'BB'CC'DE. The first part is similar to "Inimitable Reel." The tune is labled a 'jig,' referring to a type of syncopated old time banjo tune rather than the more familiar Irish 6/8 jig. New York musician, researcher and writer Don Meade identifies Kitty Sharpe, like Kitty O'Neil, as a 'Bowery hoofer'--a variety stage dancer of some fame in 19th century New York City. He suggests that the tune was "composed by the same hand that authored 'Kitty O'Neill's Champion.'"

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 84. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; no. 426, p. 48. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 84.

Recorded sources:

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