No, not the song Blue Mule made famous by Old & In The Way. Different Blue Mule, that.
The Old Timey Blue Mule (aka, Old Blue Mule) is an Ozark tune and may have a heritage that extends as far back as the Civil War. I first heard Blue Mule on the Shades of Death Creek album (20213) by the New Bad Habits (Lynn “Chirps” Smith, Tim Foss, Dave Landreth & Andy Gribble). Until I did some research for TOTW, I thought the tune came from Bob Holt, the Missouri fiddler known for his lightning fast speed. As it turns out, Blue Mule was in the repertoire of several source players from Missouri and Arkansas including Cyril Stinnet, Troy Lee, and Glen Rickman. The Traditional Tune Archive mentions that Blue Mule was “a regionally popular tune formerly seldom heard in other parts of the country.” In the field recording made by Gordon McCann (1977), Mr. Rickman states that Blue Mule goes back to the Civil War and that there was both a “Union” version (2 parts) and a “Rebel” version (with a third part).
Recordings above mentioned source plays:
Troy Lee - http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/ref/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/827
Glen Rickman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcI-XcDdm8I
Cyril Stinnet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twycqc5hpI0&t=8s
Bob Holt - I couldn't find a publicly available recording but you can preview Bob Holt''s version on iTunes. It's on the "Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks, Vol. 1: Along the Eastern Crescent" album.
Some recordings by contemporary players:
Wilmer Kerns - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBUnuyuAgzs
Jeremy Myers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InQJrqC0mdg
Fiddlin' Banjo Billy Mathews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubs5SbdWzbw
Carl Barron - http://www.fiddlehangout.com/myhangout/media-player/audio_player2.asp?musicid=13087&archived=
Lastly, I’ve included my clawhammer attempt at Blue Mule, and a tab to go with it.
Please share anything you might know about this tune, and certainly add to the collection of recordings. I’d be curious to know how widely this lively tune is played.
