Muddy Roads

Muddy Roads

Traditional Old-Time, Breakdown, North Carolina.

ARTIST: From Johnson CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: Early 1900’s

RECORDING INFO: Folkways FA 2366, "The Watson Family." Folkways FTS 31036, Roger Sprung- "Grassy Licks." Rounder CD 0371, Mac Bendord and the Woodshed All-Stars - "Willow" (1996. Learned from Gaither Carleton). OTHER NAMES: Related to “Tater Patch”. Used for "Salt River". Benford, Mac; and the Woodshed All-Stars. Willow, Rounder 0371, CD (1996), cut#12d. 3. Sprung, Roger; & his Progressive Bluegrassers. Grassy Licks, Verve/Folkways FV 9037, LP (196?), cut# 13. Diller, Dwight. Piney Woods, Diller YP-007, Cas (199?), cut#A.02

SOURCES: The Watson Family (North Carolina) [Brody]; Plank Road String Band (Virginia) [Spandaro]; Gaither Carlton (North Carolina) [Frets]; Ken Kosek [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 198. Frets Magazine, "Mike Seeger: Traditional Music," July 1987; pg. 66. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old-Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1982/1988; pg. 8. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 160. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 7.

NOTES: G Major ('A' part) & D Major ('B' part). Standard. AB (Frets, Phillips): ABB (Johnson): AABB (Brody, Kaufman, Spandaro). Kaufman, Alan. Beginning Old-time Fiddle, Oak, sof (1977), p72. Kaufman (1977) credits "the late" Gaither Carlton (Deep Gap, N.C.) with popularizing the melody.

Got Uncle Joe, got Uncle Willie,
Went out hunting for the wild willy-nilly.
Didn't get one; got ten or twenty,
Take 'em into town and make lots'a money.
Muddy roads, muddy roads!