Seminary South Contest 1987

Seminary South Fiddle Contest, held in Fort Worth, Texas, 1987. Soooo many great fiddlers on this recording: Matt Hartz, Joey McKenzie, Terry Morris, Ricky Turpin, Marilyn Trotter, Jason Crisp, Carl Hopkins, Randy Elmore, Wes Westmoreland III, Bart Trotter, Wade Stockton, and Jimmie Don Bates. I really love how these old contest recordings capture the energy and camaraderie of the moment. This is a really fun one!

Download Link: Seminary South Contest 1987 (152 MB)

Texas Fiddle Favorites - Major Franklin, Louis Franklin, Norman Solomon

Essential of the essential. This out-of-print 1966 recording from County Records features Major Franklin, Louis Franklin, and Norman Solomon--three of my favorite fiddlers. Accompanists include: Omega Burden (guitar), Betty Solomon (piano), and Mike Solomon (guitar). If you like this, you should also head over to County Records and purchase Texas Hoedown Revisited. Together, Texas Fiddle Favorites (County 707) and Texas Hoedown (County 703) are like having the Old and New Testaments of Texas fiddle...or maybe it's the Old Testament and the other Old Testament!

Download Link: Texas Fiddle Favorites (55MB)

Terry Morris - Jam at Terry's July 1986

Well, that was quite a hiatus. So, finally, here is the recording of Terry Morris featuring the same crew as the Jimmie Don Bates jam session posted last October: Bobby Christman, Anthony Mature, Joey McKenzie, and Matt Hartz. I really like this particular setup of two guitars, one tenor guitar, and a bass.There's a lot to listen to in addition to the fiddling!

Download Link: Terry Morris - Jam at Terry's July 1986 (64 MB)

Jimmie Don Bates and Friends July 1986

This is the first part of a jam session that also featured Terry Morris. I'll post Terry's part at a later date. The "friends" aren't listed anywhere on the tape, but at various times I can hear: Bobby Christman, Anthony Mature, Joey McKenzie, and Matt Hartz.

Download Link: Jimmie Don Bates and Friends July 1986 (18MB)

Orville Burns - The Bartow Riley Recordings, 1971

The seminal Orville recording. Recorded by Bartow Riley in 1971 with Omega Burden, Pete Osborne, and Ollie Miller on guitar. As a bonus, we get Sally Johnson played by Louis Franklin on the last track, accompanied by Pete, Ollie, and Amy Burden on piano!

Download Link: Orville Burns - the Bartow Riley Recordings (43 MB)

Bar D Wranglers On Stage

Here's a really fun live record put out (probably in the early 1980's) by the Bar D Wranglers from Durango, Colorado, featuring Terry Morris on the fiddle. Many of us fiddlers from the Northwest grew up with this recording on heavy rotation, inspiring some to go on and become chuckwagon fiddlers themselves, including Tim Hodgson (Bar J Wranglers) and Tony Ludiker (Flying W Wranglers).

The Bar D Wranglers are still going strong and I encourage you to go see their chuckwagon show for an evening of great food and entertainment: www.bardchuckwagon.com.

Download Link: Bar D Wranglers On Stage (96MB)

Orville Burns with John Hartford

Here's a playlist with over two hours of Orville Burns fiddling with John Hartford on the banjo and Bobby Christman on guitar. The banjo overwhelms the audio at times, but it's still a great watch and listen. Orville plays some tunes here that likely aren't recorded anywhere else. You can tell these guys were really enjoying the opportunity to play together.

Orville Burns - fiddle
John Hartford - banjo
Bobby Christman - guitar
Mark Ralph - fiddle

Direct YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTtU3L7dFwuxMR7YhwLbmtBkcsFvoziLV