I’ve chosen “Walking in the Parlor”, said to have been revered West Virginia fiddler French Carpenter’s (b 1899) favorite tune, for this installment of TOTW.
The Fiddler’s Companion says WITP is known from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Arkansas but strangely does not include Kentucky and Tennessee on the list. This leaves an unlikely gap in the mapped distribution of the tune and is especially curious given that musicians from these two states have produced numerous recordings of WITP, some of which are presented below. You can read more on the Fiddler's Companion .
Here are several recordings of traditional musicians, in chronological order, performing Walking in the Parlor. At least a couple of different strains of the tune are represented.
The first recording of WITP featured a 1924 fiddle solo by Alabama native Dr. D. D. Hollis (b 1861). That recording is here: Hollis
Al Hopkins (b 1889) and his Hillbillies, a professional string band with roots in North Carolina, produced the second recording of WITP, with John Rector on banjo, in 1926. You can find it here: Hillbillies
A 1959 home recording of Virginian Norman Edmonds (b 1889) and the Old Timers String Band with Rufus Quesinberry on banjo is here: Old Timers
Virginia old-time greats Wade Ward (b 1892) and Glen Smith (b 1888) recorded this 1967 duet: Ward and Smith
A 1972 recording of Kentucky’s Vernon (b 1893) and Zora Judd is here: Judds
A 1982 recording of Tennessee’s Roan Mountain Hilltoppers with Creed Birchfield (b 1905) on banjo is here: Hilltoppers
A 1993 recording of West Virginia fiddler Wilson Douglas (b 1922) with Kim Johnson on Banjo is here: Douglas
A 1994 recording of West Virginian Frank George (b 1928) is here: George
A 2009 recording of West Virginia fiddler Lester McCumbers (b 1921) with possibly Mac Traynham on banjo is here: McCumbers
The best known revivalist version is probably this 1973 recording by the Highwoods Stringband with Mac Benford on banjo: Highwoods
Two clawhammer tab versions are online. David/Julian has a tab here: Clawhammer UK , and the Banjo Hangout Tab Archive has a version here: Hangout Tab .
Walking in the Parlor is a great tune that seems, like a lot of the traditional repertoire, to have lost favor in jam circles lately. I hope this TOTW exposure will rekindle some interest in what Tennessee old-time banjo player Pap Brewer (b 1906) called “the best dance tune that’s ever been invented.”
