X:1
T:Happy Jack [1]
N:From the playing of Pete McMahan (1918-2000, Columbia, Missouri)
N:who had the tune from his mentor, a legendary local dance fiddler from
N:around Bluffton, Montgomery County, Missouri, by the name of Clark Atterbury.
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Reel
D:MSOTFA 001, Pete McMahan - Ozark Mountain Waltz
D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/happy-jack
Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz
K:C
ef|gagf g2bg|ageg- g2eg-|gage gabg|aged c2ef|
gagf g2bg|ageg- g2ga|baba gabg|1aged c2:|2aged c4||
+slide+[e3e3][ee]- [e2e2][e2e2]-|[ee]dcA G2[G2c2]|[e3e3][ee]- [ee]dcA|GcAG c2c2|
+slide+[e3e3][ee]- [e2e2][e2e2]-|[ee]dcA G2ef|gfga gfed|[c3e3][ce]- [c2e2]||
|:EF|GGcG [G2c2][G2c2]|[GA]-[Gc][Gc][Gc] [G2c2][GA]-[Gc]|[GB][GB][G2B2] [GA]-[GB][G2B2]|[GA]-[GB][GB][GB] A2GB|
AG[G2c2][GA]-[Gc][G2c2]|[GA]-[Gc][Gc][Gc] ([Gc]B)([GA]B)|[GB][GA][G2B2][G2A2][G2B2]|[G3c3]c [G2c2]:|]
Clark Atterbury, fiddle, Americus, Montgomery County, Missouri.
HAPPY JACK [1]. American, Reel (cut time). USA; Arkansas, Missouri. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozarks Mountains fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. It is on Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden's list of '100 essential Missouri fiddle tunes'. Howard Marshall informs that the tune is associated with and was popularized in Central Missouri by The Fiddlin' Sheriff, George Morris, of Columbia, Missouri. He used this as the theme song for his live radio show over KFRU-AM (Columbia) in the 40s and early 50s." Apparently Morris was never a sheriff, despite his moniker, however he was a very influential fiddler in his region of the state in the mid-20th century and influenced many key players such as Pete McMahan (1918-2000), Taylor McBaine (1901-1994) and Jake Hockemeyer (1919-1995). McMahan says he learned the tune from an influential mid-east Missouri dance fiddler named Clark Atterbury.
Additional notes
Printed sources : - E.F. Adam (The Old Fiddlers Favorite Barn Dances Tunes), St. Louis, 1928; No. 57, p. 22.
Recorded sources : - Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers Association 001, Pete McMahan - "Ozark Mountain Waltz" (1987). Voyager VRCD 344, Howard "Rusty" Marshall & John Williams - "Fiddling Missouri" (1999. Learned from Pete McMahan & Charlie Walden).
See also listing at : Hear Pete McMahan's recording at Slippery Hill [1]
Hear/see Charlie Walden teach the tune at youtube.com [2]
