Due to a minor glitch in my Tune of the Week calendar (I evidently thought that 2015 was some sort of rare "anti-leap year" with 364 days, the missing day being January 30), I am posting a quick back-up tune.
That tune is Sherburn's Breakdown, which comes to us from the fiddling of John Ashby.
JOHN ASHBY
John Ashby (1915-1979) was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, to a family with roots in the area stretching back to the late 1600s. His father and grandfather - along with many uncles - were musicians, and John went on to become one of the pre-eminent fiddlers in that part of Virginia. In the 1930s he helped found the Free State Ramblers, a band that for decades was a mainstay of old-time music in the region.
In 2007 the Old-Time Herald published a long article on John, which can now be read it its entirety on the Field Recorders Collective site: http://www.fieldrecorder.com/docs/notes/ashby.htm
It is all well worth reading but I will just excerpt a few highlights here:
John began playing fiddle when he was 11 years old. His early influences were his Uncle Joseph, from whom he learned Broad Run Picnic, named for a river flowing through Fauquier County, and John L. Sullivan, from whom he learned the Ashby tune played today by most old-time fiddlers, Johnny Don't Get Drunk.
John is said to have composed Ashby's Breakdown, Going to the Free State, and the Fauquier County Hornpipe.
John Ashby, with cousin Irving on banjo and neighbor Edgar Payne or brother Marshall on guitar, began playing together about 1930. By the early 1940s the band had developed into a group they named the Free State Ramblers. This classic band that played from the 1940s through about 1956 consisted of John on fiddle, cousin Moffett Ashby (Jr) on guitar, John's brother Marshall on bass, Morrison Greene on mandolin, and Bill Robinson on banjo. Bill Robinson played a two-finger picking style and a frailing style. Moffett tells that after playing the two-finger style for a while Bill switched to "beating" the banjo. Moffett recalls that Robinson began coming to dances and saying that he "forgot" his banjo. Instead, he would pull out his whistle during the "Paul Jones" (mixers) to tell folks when to stop and change partners. They eventually discovered that the store had repossessed the banjo. Bill was known to "stretch a tale," to exaggerate and tell tall tales.
As musicians, the Free State Ramblers gained an excellent reputation in the 1940s. Early in their career they competed in their first fiddle convention in Front Royal and John won first place. John and the Ramblers played at Constitution hall from 1938 to 1943 for the National Folk Festival. At the peak of their career, in 1946 they traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, and won the band competition. After winning another contest sponsored by Connie B. Gay in Warrenton, they played occasionally over Connie B. Gay's radio show on WARL in Washington, DC, for the two years from 1947 to 1949. They would travel from Warrenton to Washington, play 2-3 numbers, and head home. Moffett tells about the time they were hired to perform at a major hotel in Washington, DC and dressed in the stereotype of country musicians by wearing overalls instead of their usual suits. When they got there, the doorman refused to let them in, until they finally convinced him that they were hired to perform.
The name "the Free State Ramblers" has a colorful history. Sherburn Farm, the center of Ashby property, is located about 3 miles from Orlean in an area of about 12 square miles called The Free State. The first settlers had long-term leases from Lord Fairfax. However, in 1806 this land was purchased by Chief Justice John Marshall. When he tried to collect rent, his new tenants refused to pay rent, taxes, or to attend schools or church. They declared themselves independent of the U.S. and named a King. John Ashby's uncle Charlie was King of the Free State in the late 19th century. Eventually, after 25 years, the Free Staters lost in court.
Although he played music every weekend for house parties and dances, music did not pay the bills. John farmed and worked as a carpenter by trade. On the staff at Airlie estate for about 11 years, he worked with other Free State craftsmen to renovate the buildings. The founder of the Airlie Foundation, Dr. Murdoch Head, remembered him as a man of "quiet dignity, good humor, and absolute integrity"
Toward the end of his life John received national recognition. In 1978 he won first place for old-time fiddler and best all-around performer at the Galax (VA) Old time Fiddler's Convention. He played at the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap Farm Park in Northern Virginia in 1978. John Chilton Ashby died in May 1979. He was 64 years old.
SHERBURN'S BREAKDOWN
The tune is in the key of G. Its name comes from Sherburn Farm, the historic homeplace of John's branch of the Ashby family since it was deeded to his grandfather Nimrod Ashby around 1840. I have not yet discovered who the Sherburn was that originally gave his name to the property.
Audio and Video
John Ashby and the Free State Ramblers recorded three albums for County Records in the 1970s. Sherburn's Breakdown can be found on the last of those, 1979's "Fiddling by the Hearth": https://myspace.com/johnashby/music/song/sherburn-s-breakdown-19682968-19484153
The Foghorn String Band included the tune on their 2003 album "Rattlesnake Tidal Wave": http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Foghorn+Stringband+Sherburn%27s+Breakdown
The MossyRoof site has a sound clip of Greg Canote, Jere Canote and Candy Goldman playing the tune: http://stringband.mossyroof.com/SherburnsBreakdown.mp3
There is a YouTube video of the Soda Rock Ramblers performing the tune during a 2012 Flagstaff, AZ, contra dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5K1wigE6rw
Tablature
Mossy Roof site has tab by Maya Whitmont: http://stringband.mossyroof.com/Sherburns_Breakdown.png
Ken Torke has tab on his TaterJoe's site (he learned the tune from Candy Goldman and the Canotes, so it has a lot in common with their version): http://taterjoes.com/WCMC/SherburnsBreakdown.pdf