Annotation:Cotton Patch Rag (1)

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X:1 T:Cotton Patch Rag (1) N:From the playing of Benny Thomasson (1909-1984, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Tx.) M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel Q:"Very Quick" N:Thomasson's playing is extremely improvisational after the first time through. D:Voyager VRCD 309, Benny Thomasson - "The Weiser Reunion" (1993) D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/cotton-patch-rag Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:C e2f2^f2|g^fga gecd|eged c_B-AG|FCA,C FGAB|(3cdc (3BcB (3ABc dA| BdBG ABA^F|GABd agBd|cGEC _B,CEG|ceag ece-f| g^fga (3age cd|ege^d =dcAG|FCA,C FGAB|c>d B>c (3ABc dA| BdBG ABA^F|GABd e^fga|bgea gdBG|[E2c2][E4c4]||

COTTON PATCH RAG [1]. American, Country Rag. USA, Texas. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB' (Silberberg): AA'BCC' (Phillips): AABCDEA (Brody). A tune by this title was composed in the 1st decade of the 20th century, during the 'Ragtime Craze'. Many believe "Cotton Patch Rag" was originally a Texas fiddle tune. Bluegrass fiddler Byron Berline relates: "I used to go to fiddle contests with my dad, but I never heard 'Cotton Patch Rag' played anywhere except in the states Texas and Oklahoma" (Frets Magazine). However, it has also been attributed to popular Grand Old Opry star, Tennessee's Fiddlin' Arthur Smith (1898–1971), although evidence for this assertion is wanting at present^[1]. In Texas-style fiddling the tune uses 'figure-eight bowing' in the 'B' part, while an added fourth part to the tune features 'double-shuffle' bowing.

Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Lewis Franklin (Texas) [Brody, Phillips, Reiner & Anick]; Glenn Berry [Silberberg]; John Hartford [Devil's Box].

Printed sources : - Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 75. Stephen F. Davis (Devil's Box), vol. 28, No. 3, Fall 1994; p. 43. "Byron Berline: The Fiddle," Frets Magazine, March 1983; p. 46. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 34. Reiner & Anick (Old-Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; p. 141. Silberberg (93 Tunes I Didn't Learn at the Tractor Tavern), 2004; p. 10.

Recorded sources : - American Heritage 515, Benny Thomasson – "You Be the Judge." Caney Mountain Records CLP 228, Lonnie Robertson (Mo.) – "Fiddle Favorites," c. 1971–72. County 707, Lewis Franklin – "Texas Fiddle Favorites." Elektra EKS 7285, The Dillards with Byron Berline – "Pickin' and Fiddlin.'". MGM 11657, Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith and His Cracker-Jacks (1954). Omac 1, Mark O'Conner – "A Texas Jam Session." Rounder 0068, Mark O'Conner – "Pickin' in the Wind." Stoneway 148, Earl Garner – "Fiddle Hoedown." Voyager 304, Herman Johnson – "More Fiddle Jam Sessions." Voyager 309, Benny & Jerry Thomasson – "The Weiser Reunion: A Jam Session" (1993).

See also listing at :
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Hear Benny Thomasson's 1972 recording at Slippery Hill [2]
Hear Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith and His Cracker-Jacks' 1954 recording at youtube.com [3]

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↑ Daniel Rothwell posits that the attribution to Fiddlin' Arthur Smith of Tennessee is due to a confusion with the 1954 recording of "Cotton Patch Rag [1]" by multi-instrumentalist Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith (1921-2014) of South Carolina, a different performer altogether.

[1] Daniel Rothwell posits that the attribution to Fiddlin' Arthur Smith of Tennessee is due to a confusion with the 1954 recording of "Cotton Patch Rag [1]" by multi-instrumentalist Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith (1921-2014) of South Carolina, a different performer altogether.

[1]