Key of A – aEAC#E.
This week’s tunetorial is a tune Dan started playing early on and most likely got from Joe LaRose when he was up in Northern Ohio. We liked to put an F#m chord instead of a D in several spots and ended it on the F#m. For drama? For making ours “different?" Not sure anymore but we still like it that way.
Dan has several recorded versions in his collection including Dan Gellert and Shoofly, Steve Rosen and Acie Cargill, The Possum Trot String Band, Boogertown Gap and of course, his own with The Boiled Buzzards. AFS L29, Folk Music of the United States: Songs and Ballads of American History and of the Assassination of Presidents from the Archive of American Folk Song contains two 1949 recordings of Bascom Lamar Lunsford playing Booth Killed Lincoln. Some play it with the F#m, others keep to the D chord.
A printed version can be had in Dan's book Old Time Favorites for Clawhammer Banjo (MB 30224 – A fiddle version of this book is also available as MB 30225).
You can purchase the video lesson (for unlimited streaming and download) here on the Banjo Hangout for $6.
Dan and I would love to hear any feedback you have on these videos, so feel free to post or email us. Our goal here is provide a steady, affordable way for people to learn a new clawhammer tune weekly (or as often as they'd like).
It would be great to hear some of your versions so far so post them here for all to hear!