Annotation:Georgia Wildcat Breakdown

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GEORGIA WILDCAT BREAKDOWN. AKA and see "McMichen's Breakdown." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, north Georgia. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Clayton McMichen, originally from Altoona, Georgia, was an accomplished and stylish fiddler who provided much of the musical finesse of the Skillet Licker recordings of the 1920's. By the early 1930's he was leading his own band, the Georgia Wildcats (whose members included Slim Bryant, fiddler Bert Layne, Pat Perryman, Jack Dunigan and pianist Perry Becktel), which introduced jazz elements into a country music base. The bands signature tune, "Georgia Wildcat Breakdown" had earlier been recorded by McMichen with the Skillet Lickers as "McMichen's Breakdown."

Source for notated version: Clayton McMichen (1900-1970) with the Georgia Wildcats (north Georgia) [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; p. 96.

Recorded sources: Crown Records (78 RPM), Clayton McMichen & His Georgia Wildcats (1932). Varsity 5010 (78 RPM), Georgia Wildcats - "Georgia Wildcat Breakdown" (1940).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]

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