Annotation:Sam and Elzie's
X:1 T:Sam and Elzie's S:Vivian & Phil Williams (Seattle) M:C| L:1/8 Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:D (3dcB|A2F2[F2A2]Ac|dcde fedc|B2G2 [G3B3]A|BAGA BcdB| A2F2[F2A2](3ABc|d2[d2f2][A3a3]a-|af e/f/e d2:| |:e2|[d3f3]g f2d2|[d3g3]a g2e2|[d3f3]g fedf|edcB A2e2| [d3f3]g f2d2|[d3g3]a gefg|a2f2 efe2|d3e d2:|
SAM AND ELZIE. AKA – “Sam and Elsie,” "Wilson's Tune." AKA and see “Crooked Road (2).” Bluegrass, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The tune has origins (as far as can be ascertained) in southern Illinois, although popularized on the West Coast by the Canote Brothers and fiddler Vivian Williams. Vivian obtained the tune from the relative of a playing partner, banjoist Harley Bray, who ad the tune from his older brother Wilson. Wilson got it from their father, old-time square dance fiddler Monte Monroe Bray, used to hear it at dances around Oscaloosa, south-central Illinois, in the late 1920's. Sam and Elzie were a father and son fiddle/guitar duo who played for square dances in the region, and there were song words to go with the melody. A version called "Crooked Road (2)" can be found in the volume Dear Old Illinois (No. 51), played by Stelle Elam (Brownstown, Illinois, about 30 miles northwest of Oscaloosa.)
Stuart Williams notes that source Harley Bray was a member of the 1950's and 60's bluegrass band Red Cravens and the Bray Brothers, a young band who played the Midwest, often with fiddler John Hartford. The band was a regular on radio station WHOH of Clinton, Illinois, and at festivals such as Bean Blossom (Indiana).
