Another John Cuninghame Recording

[Jody Stecher]

Here's a recording of John P Cunninghame on March 3, 1918, nearly 98 years ago, playing Olympian March. I sent The Really Nice Man a sound file complete with authentic "Period" sizzles and pops but he had another file that has been de-sizzle-fied and it should appear below if I've followed his instructions properly. I'll be hearing it this way for the first time. Anyway JPC was certainly a very good player.

Jody’s original recording of OLYMPIAN MARCH (with snap crackle and pop!)

...and the cleaned up, pitch and tempo corrected version:

OLYMPIAN MARCH played by J.P. Cuninghame

[Joel Hooks]

That is some hot playing!  Sort of stops suddenly though. 

Nice punchy bass solo on that one.

[Jody Stecher]

Home made cylinders. Everything stops when there's no more space. 

Joel Hooks said:

That is some hot playing!  Sort of stops suddenly though. 

Nice punchy bass solo on that one.

[Chris Cioffi]

As with a lot of these old tunes, this is the same as another classic banjo tune that I can't name off hand, but it's a somewhat "common" one for our genre......Vess and Ruby played this one a lot....

Hearing JPC thumb on the bass string....no doubt where Tarrant Jr got his facility and tone doing the same thing from......

Quite a performance....llistening now, but haven't gotten to the cleaned up one yet....

Nothing wrong with the raw one...I like it fine.......

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Ok, not a criticism for folks working to clean up the music, but to me personally, the life of the performance is gone as is the tone and touch of the banjo and player in the cleaned up version....and it has the whole computer digital cell phone sounding background.

I prefer the naked originals......

However, again, I am not criticising the effort to clean up the records...it's just my preference and my acclimation to living with original records.

[Chris Cioffi]

Gosh, maybe I'm wrong again.....this tune may be in my head from one of William Ball's LP's, meaning it's likely a Morley tune.....regardless, I've heard it a thousand times somewhere....and I THOUGHT by a different name.....

Now I'll be up all night playing all my records to find out......thanks, Jody....(roll eyes).......

[Jody Stecher]

Yes, it's a Morley tune. Some of his compositions had different names when published than when composed. It is indeed on the Bill Ball CD of Morley tunes, called Pompadour.

Chris Cioffi said:

Gosh, maybe I'm wrong again.....this tune may be in my head from one of William Ball's LP's, meaning it's likely a Morley tune.....regardless, I've heard it a thousand times somewhere....and I THOUGHT by a different name.....

Now I'll be up all night playing all my records to find out......thanks, Jody....(roll eyes).......

[Chris Cioffi]

DOH!

[Jody Stecher]

To clarify: the collection is called Pompadour. The tune is still called Olympian March. Pompadour is also the name of a banjo solo composed by Joe Morley and the CD takes it title from it. 

Chris Cioffi said:

DOH!

[Chris Cioffi]

It is the same name on one of Bills' LPs....meaning "Olympian March" is on "Banjo Highlights" LP.

I don't have the Pompador CD.

My biggest problem for the last 20 years is remembering (even when I can actually play them and/or can remember what key they are in):

-titles of classic banjo tunes I know but can't remember which tune goes to them

And

-titles of fiddle tunes I know but can't remember which tune goes to them

Somehow the same old 3 chord bluegrass titles I never misplace....

...wish it were the other way 'round......

We now return you to you regularly scheduled forum thread........

[Richard William Ineson]

Alan Middleton transcribed the Olympian March some time ago and it may be available from the Clifford Essex Co. The recorded version differs from the final version, in the bass melody section but otherwise it's the same, I think. It's a good march and worth playing.