J.D. "Dudley" Vance. 1930-32, by Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975).TENNESSEE BREAKDOWN [1]. American, Reel (cut time). USA, Tennessee. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). “Tennessee Breakdown was recorded in 1927 by fiddler Dudley Vance (1880-1962) and his group the Tennessee Breakdowners. Vance, a regionally popular fiddler from Bluff City, Washington County, in the north-eastern corner of Tennessee (near the North Carolina border), traveled 150 miles to a recording session in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where the Breakdowners recorded six sides for OKeh Records (although only two were released). The recordings, including the several test pressings that were not issued, were preserved by the Vance family. Gus Meade identifies "Tennessee Breakdown" as a version of version of “Sally Goodin,” particularly noticeable in the second strain.
This, or another tune with with the same name, may have been composed by Vance's contemporary, southwestern Tennessee fiddler Jess Young. The title "Tennessee Breakdown" appears in a list of traditional Ozarks Mountains fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954; there is no way of knowing whether this is the same tune or not.
Additional notes Source for notated version : - Little City String Band [Phillips].
Printed sources : - Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 238.
Recorded sources : - County Records 525, Vance's Tennessee Mountaineers - "Fiddlers Convention in Mountain City, Tennessee" (1972). OKeh 45151 (78 RPM), Vance's Tennessee Breakdowners (1927). Old Homestead OHCS 90174, Marion Sumner with Jesse McReynolds - "Fiddle Fantastic" (1986). Yodel-Ay-Hee 072, Rafe & Clelia Stefanini - "Never Seen the Like" (2008). Megan Lynch Chowning & Adam Hurt - "Inside Out" (2016).
See also listing at : Hear Vance's Tennessee Mountaineer's 1927 recording at Slippery Hill [1]
