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Sandy River Belle
Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; W.Va., Virginia.
ARTIST: "Sandy River Bell" by "Dad Blackard's Moonshiners" Victor 21130 Issued: December 1927 (Listen on-line at Honking Duck)
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: Blue Ridge Highballers 1926;
RECORDING INFO: Blue Ridge Highballers on Columbia 15089 – D; Recorded: March 23, 1926 Issued: August 1926; Austen, Seth. Appalachian Fiddle Tunes for Finger Style Guitar, Kicking Mule KM 174, LP (1982), trk# 8; Bird, Elmer. Home Sweet Home, Windy Ridge WR-10002, LP (1982), trk# A.04; Bird, Elmer. Bumble Bee Waltz, Hurricane --, LP (1985), trk# A.05; Blackard, Dad;'s Moonshiners. Mountain Songs, County 504, LP (196?), trk# A.01 [1927/08/03]; Blackard, Dad;'s Moonshiners. Bristol Sessions. Vol 1, Country Music Foundation CMF 011C1, Cas (1987), trk# B.03 [1927/08/03]; Block, Allan. Alive and Well and Fiddling, Living Folk LFR 104, LP (197?), trk# 13; Doherty, Mick;, Steve Einhorn and Dan Compton. Simple Gifts, Doherty, Compton, Einh.., Cas (198?), trk# 4a; Feldmann, Peter. Good Fellow, Hen Cackle HC 502, CD (1998), trk# 10 Fennigs All-Star String Band. Hammered Dulcimer, Front Hall FHR-001, LP (1973), trk# 3; Grey, Sara. Sara Grey, Folk Legacy FSI-038, LP (1970), trk# A.03; Hammond, Lorraine Lee. Dulcimer Player News, Dulcimer Player News, Ser, 14/3, p11(1988); Hanks, Larry. Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail, Long Sleeve LS 104, LP (1982), trk# A.06b; Hollow Rock String Band. Hollow Rock String Band, Rounder 0024, LP (1974), trk# B.10; Juggernaut String Band. Greasy Coat, Wildbeest WB 004, LP (198?), trk# 3a; Kretzner, Leo; and Jay Leibovitz. Pigtown Fling, Green Linnet SIF 1019, LP (1979), trk# A.01; Milnes, Gerry; and Lorraine Lee Hammond. Hell Up Coal Holler, Shanachie 6040, CD (1999), trk# 12; Pendleton, Buddy. Virginia Breakdown, County 705, LP (1966), trk# A.02 Schnaufer, David. Delcimore, Collecting Dust CD 0699001, CD (1999), trk# 8c; Seymour, Wayne; and Fred Reynolds. Virginia Carolina Sampler, Flying Cloud FC 007, LP (1988), trk# B.08; Shannon, Sharon. Out the Gap, Compass 7 4398 2, CD (2005), trk# 3 [1994/05]; Shelor Family. Eight Miles Apart, Heritage (Galax) 022, LP (1979), trk# 13 [1973/08/07]; Smith, Raymond; & Bob Cowan. In the Hills of Home, Marimac 9010, Cas (198?), trk# 4 (Lowe's Tune); Smith, Paul. Devil Eat the Groundhog, Rounder 0409, CD (1999), trk# 17; Stoneman, George. Clawhammer Banjo, County CD 2716/701, CD/ (2002/1966), trk# 14 [1964/10]; St. Regis String Band. Fiddling Celebration, Soaring Hawk SH 002, LP (1980), trk# A.07a; Sweeney, Ed. American Sampler, North Star NS0033, Cas (1991), trk# 19; Williams, Mumford "Doc". Old Originals, Vol. 1, Rounder 0057, LP (1978), trk# 19; Williams, Vivian. Fiddler, Voyager VLRP 323-S, LP (1978), trk# 13;Carlton, Gaither. Clawhammer Banjo. Vol 2 [More Clawhammer Banjo], County CD 2717/717, LP (2003/1969), trk# 5; Freight Hoppers. Where'd You Come From, Where'd You Go?, Rounder 0403, CD (1996), trk# 1 (Sandy River); Kessinger, Clark. Clark Kessinger, Fiddler, Folkways FA 2336, LP (1966), trk# 15 (Sandy River); Martin, Marcus. Anglo-American Songs and Ballads, Library of Congress AFS L21, LP (196?), trk# A.02a [1946] (Sandy River); Rosenbaum, Art (Arthur). Art of the Mountain Banjo, Kicking Mule KM 203, LP (1975), trk# 1.03; (Sandy River); Rosenbaum, Art (Arthur). Rosenbaum, Art / Art of the Mountain Banjo, Centerstream, Fol (1981), p39; Wright, Oscar And Eugene. Oscar & Eugene Wright, Rounder 0089, LP (1978), trk# 10b (Stoney Ridge Stomp); Haley, Ed. Grey Eagle (Vol. 2), Rounder 1133/1134, CD (1997), trk# 1.12 (Sally Will You Marry Me); Silberberg, Gene. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not.., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p170 (Sally Will You Marry Me); Wine, Melvin. Hannah at the Springhouse, Marimac AHS 2, Cas (1989), trk# 3 (Sally Will You Marry Me); Chapman, Owen "Snake". Walnut Gap, Rounder 0418, CD (1999), trk# 2 (Rippling Waters); Smith, Paul. Devil Eat the Groundhog, Rounder 0409, CD (1999), trk# 31 (Rippling Waters); Smith, Paul. Kentucky Old-Time Banjo, Rounder 0394, CD (1999), trk# 7 [1997/10/13] (Rippling Waters);
RELATED TO: Sally Will You Marry Me; Rippling Waters; Tugboat; Ladies on the Steamboat; Rippling Waters
OTHER NAMES: "Tug Boat Song" Hammonds; Sandy River; Stoney Ridge Stomp
SOURCES: Folk Index; Kuntz, A fiddler’s Companion; Brody, David (ed.) / Guitar Pickers Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1984), p129; Burke, John. Burke, John / Book of Old Time Fiddle Tunes for Banjo, Amsco, sof (1968), p72; Carlin, Bob. Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p144a; Fennigs All-Star String Band. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p249; Kaufman, Alan. Kaufman, Alan / Beginning Old-time Fiddle, Oak, sof (1977), p52; Krassen, Miles. Krassen, Miles / Appalachian Fiddle, Oak, sof (1973), p64; Krassen, Miles. Krassen, Miles / Clawhammer Banjo, Oak, sof (1974), p52; Pendleton, Buddy. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p250; Perlman, Ken. Perlman, Ken / Melodic Clawhammer Banjo, Oak, Sof (1979), p25; Pickow, Peter. Pickow, Peter / Hammered Dulcimer, Oak, Sof (1979), p 34; Rose City Aces. Songer, Susan; & Clyde Curley (eds.) / Portland Collection. Contra..., Portland Collection, Fol (1997), p174; Silberberg, Gene. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not.., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p173 Frank George & Henry Reed (W.Va.) [Krassen]; St. Regis String Band (N.Y.) [Spandaro]; Buddy Pendleton [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 250. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; pg. 52. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 64 (Krassen's version has the A and B parts reversed from Brody's version). Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 215. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 174. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 29. County 504, Dad Blackard's Moonshiners - "Mountain Songs." County 705, Buddy Pendleton- "Virginia Breakdown" (learned from his great-uncle, Dad Blackard, who recorded it in 1927). Green Linnet GLCD 3127, Sharon Shannon - "The Best of Sharon Shannon: Spellbound" (1999). Folk Legacy FSI-38, "Sarah Grey with Ed Trickett" (1970). Rounder 0057, Doc Williams- "Old Originals, Vol. 1" (1978). Ruthie Dornfeld - "Egyptian Dominoes."
NOTES: The Shelor Family of Virginia (also known as Dad Blackard 's Moonshiners), consisted of Joe "Dad" Blackard on banjo and vocals; his daughter, Clarice Shelor, and her husband Jesse and his brother Pyrus. According to Jesse's son, James Shelor, Dad Blackard made up the "Moonshiners" name on the spot while in Bristol, because they had to have some name for the recording (Bristol Sessions 1927).
"A fairly common tune in the Galax area" (Krassen, 1973). Ken Perlman (1979) states the tune comes from the region around the small Blue Ridge town of Meadows of Dan, Patrick County, Virginia. Tom Carter and Blanton Owen (1976) state that "Sandy River Belles" is so frequently played in Patrick County that it could be considered an old-time anthem for the area. Its popularity, they say, extends north through Franklin and Floyd Counties and into West Virginia. (Kuntz)
In Cecil Sharp's Appalachian collection, sung to the second part of the tune (the high part) are some lyrics sung by Lucy Cannady, Endicott, VA, 22/8/1918:
Sandy River bells keep jingling, jingling [x3]
I've got no use for Sandy River Bells. [submitted by Brian Peters]
The Gandydancer String Band performed Sandy River Belle in 2010 and talked about Hammonds version (West Virginia) of Sandy River Belle titled "Tug Boat Song". They said "Sandy River Belle" refers to a boat going up the river. They add this additional verse:
Sandy River Belle, going up the river
Sandy River Belle, going up the river
Sandy River Belle, going up the river
Going away to leave you now.
Here are the lyrics: SANDY RIVER BELLE- Dad Blackard's Moonshiners "Sandy River Bell" by "Dad Blackard's Moonshiners" Victor 21130 Issued: December 1927 (Fiddle/Banjo play melody)
Sandy River Belle, I'm going away to leave you,
Sandy River Belle, I'm going away to leave you.
Sandy River Belle, I'm going away to leave you,
Going away to leave you now. (Repeat throughout after fiddle breaks)
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