Rural Valley Melodies, our 5th recording of traditional Pennsylvania old-time music from the Bayard collections, features tunes collected from fiddlers and fifers in and around Armstrong County. While our previous recordings included tunes from throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, we thought notable contributions from Armstrong County and nearby areas to the north and east of Pittsburgh warranted attention. Samuel Preston Bayard and his collaborators visited these communities and many others during their travels all over the southwestern region of the state in the early to mid-1900s. They collected over 1000 tunes and songs from traditional fiddlers, fifers and singers, preserving music that otherwise would have been lost to future generations. Most of the tunes were published in two works, Hill Country Tunes (1944), and Dance to the Fiddle, March to the Fife (1982). The bulk of them came from musicians living in southern counties close to the West Virginia and Maryland borders – Washington, Greene, Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland. Bayard also found worthy music further north however, including tunes from the beautiful countryside around Rural Valley in Cowanshannock Township, home of well-respected fiddlers such as Bert Stear, a prominent Rural Valley businessman, and Curtis R. Cooper, who was born there in 1884. The unusual and beautiful version of “Bummer’s Reel” on this recording comes from Curtis Cooper.

     In particular we were drawn to the tunes from Armstrong County fiddler A.J. Hogg. Arthur Jesse Hogg was born in Slippery Rock Township, Pa., in 1887, lived in Rural Valley, and worked as a school teacher and principal in Armstrong and Butler Counties. Both he and his brother Calvin were well known in the area as fiddlers and sources of tunes. In 1921, the Butler Eagle reported on their double wedding in Wick, Pa.: 

“...the very noisy and enjoyable affair was arranged by the young folks to properly celebrate the marriage of two popular and highly esteemed young men …. After a short honeymoon trip to Slippery Rock and back in the farm wagon hitched to the grocer’s truck, the bridal couples were at home to their friends with a fine lunch, after which the crowd danced to music furnished by the grooms who are violinists of talent.” 

     In addition to the tunes on this recording – “Old Number Third”, “The Mountain Hornpipe” and “Old Jakey Buzzard” – other tunes from A.J. Hogg can be found on our previous albums, including “Scotch Hornpipe”, “Old Mother Gum” and “The Erie Extension”. 

     We also feature tunes from Armstrong County fiddler Walter Neal, of Mayport, Pa. – “Rustic Dance”, “Under the Greenwood Tree” and an unusual version of “Cluck Old Hen”. Our earlier albums included his sublimely titled “Running Through the Rain to Keep Your Hair Dry”, and “Who Hit Nellie With the Stovepipe?”. 

     Along with music from Armstrong County fiddlers, we’ve included tunes from fiddlers Joseph H. Pardee and Isaiah Steffy of Indiana County, just southeast of Armstrong. Our version of “The Jay Bird” comes from fifer Harry P. Elliott of Clarion County, just to Armstrong County’s north. The fife reprise of this tune is my effort to pay him tribute and acknowledge the rich fifing tradition reflected in the Bayard collections. 

     We hope you enjoy listening to this sampling of additional tunes from the Bayard collections. We also sincerely hope that you’ll pick them up yourself – along with other Pennsylvania tunes we’ve recorded – and enjoy playing them at jam sessions, get-togethers and dances, helping to keep them alive as part of the greater tradition of Appalachian music. No doubt that was Bayard’s intention. 

    Richard Withers, Forest Hills, Pa., October 2019