Charlie Daniels’ story of a roadhouse encounter gone wrong is a classic country “talkin’ blues”. The song itself simply repeats a simple eight-bar progression in C: C C F FG G C (C G) Or, in numbers: 1 1 4 45 5 1 (1 5) Follow strict alternate picking: downstroke on the downbeat, upstroke on […]
Picker’s Delight: Sugarfoot Rag
Sugarfoot Rag was first recorded as an instrumental by guitarist Hank Garland, and scoring him a hit at the age of 18. He went on to be one of the top session guitarists in Nashville, working most notably with Elvis Presley (that’s him on “Little Sister”) along with a who’s who of the top country […]
Flatpicking fiddle tunes: “The Red-Haired Boy”
“The Red-Haired Boy” is a popular fiddle tune, a traditional melody most likely of Irish origin. The term “fiddle tune” is a general description for instrumental folk tunes from the British Isles and elsewhere that have been passed down from player to player for generations. This was once music for dancing, and many of the […]
