Blackberry Blossom

G major breakdown composed by Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith (1898–1971) of Tennessee, recorded on January 22, 1935 in New Orleans with Alton and Rabon Delmore on guitars, and released on the Bluebird label (B-5896). Smith performed the tune on the radio without a title and, according to Charles Wolfe’s The Devil’s Box, asked listeners to submit name suggestions. In Smith’s original recording the B part moves to E major, an unusual harmonic shift; later versions changed this to E minor, which is the relative minor of G and produces a more conventional harmonic structure. The tune has been widely recorded; notable later versions include Norman Blake (Blackberry Blossom, Rounder, 1977) and Doc Watson.