Annotation:Nancy Dalton
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NANCY DALTON. AKA - "Nancy Dawson (2)." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. D Major. Standard or ADae (Monday/Titon) tunings (fiddle). AABB. The tune was in the repertoire of Monroe County, south-central Kentucky, fiddler biography:Jim Bowles (1903-1997) who learned it from local musicians. Fiddlers Isham Monday (1879-1964) and Sammie Walker (1910-1987), both of whom were also from Monroe County, played the tune and called it "Nancy Dawson;" (Monday's 1959 field recording is in the Western Kentucky University archive). As a variant of a larger tune family, it was not widely known outside the Monroe County region, however, Jeff Titon (2001) identifies it as a member of the "Old Dubuque" family of tunes which is more widespread. Of the three performances, Monday's is the most archaic sounding, followed by Bowles's version; the youngest member of the trio, Sammie Walker, had a version markedly more influenced by more modern styles of fiddling. The family includes "Dubuque," "Hell Up Coal Holler (2)," "Old Dubuque" and "Duck River" (see notes for those tunes).
Source for notated version: Pat Kingery [1] (Ky) [Phillips]; Isham Monday (1879-1964, Tompkinsville, Monroe County, Ky., 1959) [Titon]; Greg Canote [Silberberg].
Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 161. Silberberg (93 Tunes I Didn't Learn at the Tractor Tavern), 2004; p. 32. Titon (Old-Time Kentucky Fiddler Tunes), 2001; No. 107, p. 136.
Recorded sources: Marimac 9060, Jim Bowles - "Railroading Through the Rocky Mountains" (1994). Merriweather Records 1001-2, Pat Kingery - "I Kind of Believe it's a Gift" (c. 1986).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Hear Sammie Walker's 1982 field recording by John Harrod at Slippery Hill [3]
Hear Isham Monday's 1959 field recording by D.K. Wilgus at Slippery Hill [4] and at Berea Sound Archives [5]
Hear Jim Bowles' 1994 recording at Slippery Hill [6]