KISS ME QUICK, MY PAPA’S A COMIN’
Kiss Me Quick, My Papa’s A Comin’
The 9th Ever LAOTS Old-Time Fiddle Lesson
This year’s Los Angeles Old-Time Social was another banging success! For those of you who missed it (or last month’s column) we showcased many talented guests including Brian Vollmer & Ben Townsend, Howard Rains & Tricia Spencer, LA’s own Triple Chicken Foot, Paul Rangell, members of Sausage Grinder, cloggers Ruth Alpert and Rebecca Stout, banjoist Steve Lewis, queen of all callers Susan Michaels and the list goes on! It was even extra special for Yours Truly. Three of my old-time music students/alumni performed in various bands at the Social too. It was proud papa time! I also had the honor of playing banjo with Howard & Tricia Spencer for the square dance. She is a powerhouse dance fiddler!
On Saturday, we presented many workshops in fiddling, banjo-plucking, clogging, dance-calling and guitar. I taught a beautifully crooked fiddle tune called Kiss Me Quick, My Papa’s A Comin. This month’s column is a long-overdue fiddle lesson. I first heard this tune from the playing of Bruce Greene on one of the greatest modern era, solo fiddle recordings: Five Miles of Ellum Wood. I’ve cited the importance of this collection in past columns. It is transformative. It is the essence of sublime old-time fiddling. His source for this tune was Kentucky fiddler Sammy Walker. Sammy was one of many Kentucky fiddlers who Bruce made field recordings of. Several recordings of Sammy Walker can be heard for free on the Digital Library of Appalachia website. These DLA audio tracks were recorded by Bruce in 1975 and 1976. I highly recommend you spend some time on that site.
Without further ado…
Kiss Me Quick, My Papa’s A Comin’
AABBBB
GDGD tuning
Tune source: Sammy Walker, KY via Bruce Greene
Enjoy!
David Bragger is a Los Angeles-based instructor and player of old time fiddle and banjo music. He also photographs, films, and collects the lore of traditional artists, from puppeteers in Myanmar to fiddlers of Appalachia www.myspace.com/davidbragger