Joe Delk has been playing great, traditional, danceable country music for more years than I care to think about (we graduated high school the same year). And, as can be seen from the previous post, through his music and other activities, he is working hard at promoting and preserving our western way of life. So The Westerner will be honoring the Delk family this week for all of their contributions to our musical heritage and to our ranching & rural heritage.The man who started it all was Joe's father, Forrest Delk (1917-1996), who learned to play the fiddle at age 7. In 1934 he was asked to play for a dance at Apache Grove, Arizona and after he and his musician friends arrived it came a hard rain, all the creeks ran full and nobody could get to the dance. Going home the next day they had to cross all the creeks which had washed out, and from that day on his band was known as "The Gully Jumpers." Take a gander at the OLD TIMER record label I've posted and you will see they are listed as "Fiddlin' Forrest Delk And His Gully Jumpers." They played for dances for over 60 years.
When it came to picking today's selection I just couldn't make up my mind. I have listened to Forrest's recording of "Ragged Annie" over and over and I find something new and exciting each time I hear it. But "Wagner" is such a different fiddle tune and offers an excellent example of Forrest's fiddling skills, making it hard to pass over. So to hell with it, today you'll get a "Double Dose of Delk", and in both instances hear some grand fiddling.
Both cuts were recorded in 1949 in Los Angeles, Ca. for Coast Records. They are taken from the original 78s and are on the 2 cd collection "The Recordings Of Forrest Delk & His Gully Jumpers", available from Joe Delk (575) 644-3082.
1 comment:
What a great find!! I knew the Delks during my newspaper writing days in Silver City. I was unaware of the existence of Forrest's recording(s), though.
JR (outdoorpressroom.com)
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