Master Royce Franklin at his very best. I worked on SOM for a week, following Royce around Weiser trying to learn his take on the tune. When I finally got part of it I played it for Royce. He said, "Where'd you get that?? Show me that again!"
Man - This is the STUFF! Thanks to the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown (which you will read about in your history books), I have diagrammed the first 64 measures, a little less than half the tune. Royce only repeats one 8-bar section in those 68. He constantly mixes and modifies four-bar patterns in interesting ways. Thanks for posting this! If he’s still alive I’d love to meet Royce Franklin and shake his hand - in fact BOTH hands!
Thanks. Royce played guitar backup reacting to what he heard the fiddle doing. His stuff changed accordingly. During one of my Weisers I spent the whole week learning to play one of his variations in Say Old Man. Toward the end of fiddle week when I played for Royce what I'd been working on he said, "Where'd you learn that? Show that to me again!" Both Royce and brother Ray were wonderful human beings, always generous with their talents in music and always tolerated my questions to them. When I asked Royce where he came up with his accompaniment lines he told me he started playing string bass for his father, Major Franklin, at dances in Texas. When Royce picked up the guitar he applied those bass lines to guitar and came up with chords on top of the bass notes. My favorite Ray Franklin story is him asking me to help backup a young fiddler during her eight AM contest round. By 8:06 we were finished playing and Ray invited me out to the Weiser High School's back parking lot for a little refreshment. When Ray opened the trunk there were six half-gallons of Jim Beam. We had a good visit and talked a lot about fiddle tunes, fiddlers and all. I'm saddened to report that both Franklin brothers have passed on. I miss them.
Tony! This I love! I'm remembering you fondly from the early Weiser years (where I witnessed you whack MOC!) and your visits to the Bay Area. Keep on the sunny side, my friend. Now, carry on…xo
I love Dick's version of "I Don't Love Nobody!" When I was young, I learned a rendition that my teacher transcribed from him. Years later, I transcribed his IDLN from the "Texas Fiddle Legends" film he made w/ Benny Thomasson. This rendition at the end of the round is another unique version. "Liza Jane" shows how he always kept the tune at the forefront of a breakdown. A lot of younger fiddlers would do well to study his approach to waltzes. Thanks for posting! Hoping for more DB. . .
I had the pleasure of judging a fiddle contest once with Mr.Barrett. I felt like a fish out of water! He is a phenom. Understands the Texan style better than anyone I know. Gives equal time to his students, who also soak up both him and Lisa's talents!
I tabbed out three choruses of Royce Franklin's comping on this (more or less). You cannot put a URL in a RU-vid comment, but if you find the Fiddle Hangout website address, and put /topic/13057 after the .com, it will come up. The title of the thread is "guitar backup" and the tab is on p. 2 of the thread.
Kimber is brilliant. I send this clip out to folks all the time. Also, her bluegrass band, Della Mae rocks--check em out. Would love to hear her and Elana James play a duet...
Many years ago, the whole Ludiker family did a couple of fundraiser concerts in eastern Washington, and we got to hear Kimber play as a kid (was good then too), as was her brother. He played the bass, just for kicks, by ear, without music or hardly any rehersal. Picked it perfectly. The whole Ludiker family did "In the Mood" which got them a standing, screaming ovation...
