Description
For generations, the name Stoneking has been synonymous with excellent music in west central Missouri. Lee (1907-1989) was among the best, although his fiddling is not as widely known as that of his son Fred. Lee began learning from his own father around the age of seven. He played for countless dances and shows, and won many contests. His playing was clean, smooth, and strong right up to the end of his life. His bowing was elegant and rhythmically precise, and his arrangements were beautifully conceived and distinctively his own. These recordings, made on a visit by Brad Leftwich, Linda Higginbotham, and Kenny Jackson in 1985, include tunes not represented elsewhere, as well as samples of his fine up-picking banjo style. – Brad Leftwich
Lee Stoneking, fiddle (tracks 1-39), banjo, (tracks 40-49); Kenny Jackson, guitar (tracks 1-11, 13-49); Brad Leftwich, banjo-ukulele (tracks 1-11, 16), banjo (tracks 17-35, 37-39), fiddle (track 49); Linda Higginbotham, banjo ukulele (tracks 17-35, 37-39).
Additional Notes: A Visit with Lee Stoneking and An Evening with Lee Roy Stoneking
Track List
FRC708 – Lee Stoneking – Missouri Fiddling and Banjo Playing
- Bitter Creek (1:36)
- Twinkle Little Star (2:38)
- Sally Johnson (1:02)
- Blackberry Waltz (2:19)
- Blackberry Two-Step (1:15)
- Cleve Barnhart’s Schottishe (1:21)
- Oklahoma Redbird (1:39)
- Rustic Dance Schottische (1:10)
- Schottische in key of D (0:53)
- Fishers’; Hornpipe [key of G] (1:25)
- Fishers’; Hornpipe [key of D] (0:34)
- Thelma Stoneking talks about Lee’s repertoire (0:35)
- Clucking Hen (1:51)
- Great Big Taters in Sandyland (0:39)
- Long Gone Lonesome Blues (0:59)
- What a Friend We Have in Jesus (0:48)
- Alabama Gals [fiddle] (1:02)
- Leather Britches (2:04)
- Birdie in the Snow Bank (1:58)
- Echoes of the Ozarks [Lee Stoneking’s version] (1:32)
- Chicken Reel (1:29)
- Martha Campbell (0:45)
- Angus Campbell (2:25)
- Eighth of January (1:34)
- Durang’s Hornpipe (1:29)
- Willott’s Hornpipe (1:29)
- Pop Goes the Weasel (0:52)
- Cackling Hen (1:50)
- My Dream Waltz [Lee Stoneking] (2:28)
- Rolling Stone Breakdown [Lee Stoneking] (1:21)
- Bill Cheatum (2:17)
- Adrian’s Reel (1:28)
- Sally Goodin (1:17)
- Fire on the Mountain (0:55)
- Big Sandy River (1:27)
- Orange Blossom Special (2:36)
- Shortening Bread (0:57)
- Arkansas Traveler (1:19)
- Old Indiana [Lee Stoneking] (1:47)
- Cripple Creek (0:31)
- Sweet Marie (0:54)
- Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister? (0:38)
- On a Cold Winter’s Night (1:12)
- Banjo tune in key of A (0:55)
- Floating Down the Mississippi (0:57)
- Little Orphan Annie (1:01)
- How Old Are You My Pretty Little Miss? (0:51)
- Ain’t She Sweet (1:03)
- Alabama Gals [banjo] (1:12)
