The Cumberland Ridge Runners play Goofus
The Cumberland Ridge Runners, staples of Chicago’s National Barn Dance pull off some of the most impressive instrument switching I’ve ever seen in this 1935 performance. Fiddler Slim Miller holds it all together while the guitar, mandolin, and bass change hands every 16 measures. You can find this clip on the excellent Yazoo video Times Ain’t Like They Used to Be
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Great band, but I wish they’d played the bridge.
Comment by Moe — 12/27/2007 @ 8:59 am
Very astute observation, Moe. The bridge for this tune is pretty hip, a series of dominant chords descending chromatically. It’s fairly common for published music to be transformed and (sometimes) simplified when it enters an oral tradition. In this case, though, it may have been simplified to fit the needs of the instrument switching routine they were performing.
Comment by Kenneth Rainey — 12/27/2007 @ 9:51 am