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| Texas Shorty |
Blogger: Grant Wheeler
This audio was originally recorded sometime around 1985-86 by Bill McNeil in one of the contestant warm-up rooms that flank the stage at the Fiddler's Frolics in Hallettsville, Texas. Audiences can always expect to witness fierce competition at this contest, but as can be heard on this recording, there was some incendiary fiddling going on back stage, as well. As Bill so eloquently states at the 1 minute 8 second mark on the very first track:
This audio was originally recorded sometime around 1985-86 by Bill McNeil in one of the contestant warm-up rooms that flank the stage at the Fiddler's Frolics in Hallettsville, Texas. Audiences can always expect to witness fierce competition at this contest, but as can be heard on this recording, there was some incendiary fiddling going on back stage, as well. As Bill so eloquently states at the 1 minute 8 second mark on the very first track:
"Aww...SOOEY!"
The fiddlers are the incomparable Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor and the late, forever great, Terry Morris. The faded hand writing on the cassette lists a first string, dream team trio of backup pickers: Bobby Christman and the legendary Franklin Brothers power duo, Royce and Ray. (Other guitarists pinch hitting here are there on a few tunes are Shorty's brother Robert Chancellor and Gerald Jones. And you don't have to listen too closely to hear the gleefully maniacal laughter and thumping stand-up bass lines of Alfred Eugene Mouledous.)
Shorty (Tracks
1-11) lights the fuse, laying a blistering 4 minute long smack down
on "Tug Boat" and later serves up a few deep cut tunes like
"Liverpool Hornpipe" and "Old Sport," and gets his swang
on with "Kansas City Kitty" and "Brown Skin Gal."
Terry (Tracks 12-16) keeps it cookin' doing what Terry does; pulling rabbits out of his hat on standards "Sally Johnson" and "Dusty Miller" and executing exquisite acrobatics on "Wednesday Night Waltz". We close out the set of tunes with a bonus track of Terry taking a second run at "I Don't Love Nobody."
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| Terry Morris |
Thanks to Brother Sumner
for re-discovering the cassette tape from which this audio
was digitized and to Brother Matthew for filling in some details about this
recording. This music lives on and continues to inspire when it is shared.
Aww...Sooey.
In memory of Royce
Franklin...gentleman picker extraordinaire.
