Cold and Frosty Morning

“Cold Frosty Morning” is a traditional old-time breakdown in A major, documented from the playing of central West Virginia fiddler Melvin Wine (1909–2003) of Copen, Braxton County, who carried it as part of his family’s repertoire. Wine played it in AEae cross-tuning with a pronounced backbeat and frequent double stops. It is transcribed in the Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes (p. 122) and was recorded by Wine on the LP Cold Frosty Morning: Traditional Fiddle Tunes From Braxton County, West Virginia (Poplar LPU 40390, 1976) and the cassette Hannah at the Springhouse (Marimac AHS2, 1989); a 1989 performance survives in the Berea College sound archives. This is a separate tune from the widely played A-Dorian “Frosty Morning” associated with Henry Reed. Reed called it “Frosty Morning” but his version is often referred to as “Cold and Frosty Morning”, contributing to confusion between the tunes.