Brushy Fork of John’s Creek

A traditional Old Time breakdown in A mixolydian, played in cross-A tuning (AEae), associated primarily with eastern Kentucky fiddlers Hiram Stamper (1892/93–1992, Knott County) and John Morgan Salyer (1882–1952, Magoffin County). Stamper learned it from Shade Slone, a Civil War veteran who said the title commemorates a skirmish on Brushy Fork of John’s Creek in Pike County, Kentucky near the war’s end; Stamper’s son Art recorded a version under the name “The Long Fork of Buckhorn.” Key recorded versions include John Morgan Salyer’s 1941–42 home recordings (Berea College Appalachian Center AC003, vol. 1), Bruce Molsky on Lost Boy (Rounder 0361, 1996), and Dirk Powell and John Hermann on Yodel-Ay-Hee 003 (1992).