Annotation:Benton's Dream

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BENTON'S DREAM. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Surry County, western North Carolina. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'. Composed by Mt. Airy, Surry County, N.C., fiddler Benton Flippin (b. 1920). Susan Songer notes that Flippen wrote the tune some time in the 1960's while at neighboring Mt. Airy fiddler Tommy Jarrell's house, just fooling around on the fiddle. Jarrell said "That's a good tune" and dubbed it "Benton's Dream."

Source for notated version: Benton Flippen (Mt. Airy, N.C.) [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 22. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 27.

Recorded sources: Green Linnet SIF1088, Patrick Street – "No. 2 Patrick Street." Rounder, Benton Flippen – "The Smokey Valley Boys" (1973). Rounder 0213, The Tompkins County Horseflies – "Chokers and Flies" (1985).