Draggin' The Bow CD with Charlie Walden & John Stewart

All 31 tracks from my Draggin' The Bow CD. 


 Recorded in 1985. Download this track and the entire album from:

https://charliewaldenmusic.bandcamp.com/


When I was coming up as a fiddler in Central Missouri the older gentlemen I learned from played a wide variety of music. In addition to the standard hoe-downs and waltes, I heard lots of great rags, swing numbers, schottisches and 6/8 tunes. John and I have attempted to put together a program on this recording that includes some of that "other" music. 

One of the exponents of these other types of tunes was a fine player from Jefferson City named Jimmy Gilmore. We enjoyed hanging out with Jimmy because you never knew what he was going to play (or say) next. He was one of the few old-time fiddlers I ever met who would admit to being able to read music and was equally comfortable playing Sweet Georgia Brown as he was The Grey Eagle. Jimmy had a vibrato on waltzes you could drive a Mack truck though and a great sense of humor to boot.. This recording is dedicated to Jimmy Gilmore. --- Charlie Walden 


Thanks to my long-time musical collaborator John Stewart for providing the up-town and hillbilly guitar work on this recording.

Learn to play Red Fox Waltz with Patt & Possum

This set of videos will teach you to play a basic and then a fancier version of Red Fox Waltz. This was one of the first tunes I learned from Taylor McBaine when I started playing. In keeping with that, I've also included a video of Taylor playing this classic waltz.

Prairie Hill Contra Dance with Patt & Possum - March 3, 2016

Highlights from the Prairie Hill Contra dance at Pewaukee, Wisconsin, on March 3, 2016. Music by Charlie Walden - fiddle & Patt Plunkett - piano with Roger Diggle calling.

KDHX Folk School Fiddle Workshop - April 2016 with Patt & Possum

Highlights of a fiddle workshop given by Charlie Walden at the KDHX St. Louis Folk School on April 9, 2016. The taught included Red Fox Waltz, Kentucky Waltz and Valse Gisele. Go get the sheet music for these tunes at http://www.charliewalden.com/Dots.htm.

April 2016 Childgrove Contra Dance

Highlights of the April 10, 2016, Childgrove Contra Dance with Charlie Walden on fiddle and Patt Plunkett on piano. Ted Steels calling the figures.

Bethel Missouri 1989 Main Stage Performances (audio only)

Performances of traditional Midwestern fiddling and other music recorded on the main stage at the 1989 Mid-America Old Time Fiddlers Convention. June 8-11, 1989. At Bethel, Shelby County, Missouri.

Vesta Johnson - Missouri Fiddler

Video clips of veteran Missouri fiddler Vesta Johnson.

Bob Holt - Ozarks Fiddler

Various clips of Ozark fiddle great Bob Holt, of Ava, MO.

Learn to play Fever in the South with Charlie Walden

Charlie Walden teaches this great old hoe-down from Vee Latty, which originated Callaway County in Central Missouri and is likely part of the old repertoire from Black fiddlers in Missouri.

Learn to Play Boys Around The World

In this set of videos I'll show you how to play a classic Missouri Valley fiddle tune from Cyril Stinnett and Dwight Lamb call The Boys Around The World. Key of A in standard tuning. 

1997 - Charlie Walden Raw Fiddle Cuts

Clips from a videotape I made for a friend in the late 90s. Just some old-time reels and hoe-downs.

1997 Bethel Fiddle Youth Fiddle Camp and Contest

Highlights of the annual Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp held in June each year in Bethel, Shelby County, MO.

Gryphon Strings - Palo Alto Fiddle Workshop 2015 with Patt & Possum

Excerpts from a Missouri-Style fiddle workshop held in Palo Alto, CA, on January 31, 2015, at Gryphon Strings. Tunes incles Norma Lou's Waltz, Lamplighter's Hornpipe, Harrington Valley Two-Step (by Calvin Vollrath), and Casey's Hornpipe. Presented by Charlie Walden - fiddle and Patt Plunkett - piano.

Valentine's Day Dance 2015 with Patt & Possum

Here's a little excerpt from the Valentine's Day Dance 2015 at Fizz in Chicago. The event was the brainchild of Old Lazarus Harp - Folk Collective.

University of Chicago Folk Festival 2015 with Patt & Possum

From the Sunday afternoon square dance at the 55th Annual University of Chicago Folk Festival. February 15, 2015. Music by Charlie Walden - fiddle & Patt Plunkett - piano (aka Patt & Possum) with calling by Bill Sudkamp. Here renditions of Buck Fever Rag, Lucky Trapper, Jimmy Walker Two-Step and Forked Deer. PnP are joined on Forked Deer by a whole gaggle on fine Midwestern fiddlers - Genevieve Koester, Cliff Harrison, Megan Greene and the inimitable Chirps Smith.

Palo Alto Contra Dance 2015 with Patt & Possum

Patt & Possum play the Palo Alto Contra Dance, January 31, 2015. With our pal Barb Rosner on bass.

Patt's Piano Workshop

Examples of piano accompaniment for Midwestern and Canadian fiddle tunes by Patt Plunkett.

September 2014 Child Grove Dance

Great fun at this Child Grove dance at the Monday Club on Sunday (Sept.28th, 2014) in St. Louis, MO. With Tres Buckhannonos (Emily, Dennis & Cuzzin Curt - piano, guitar and mandolin) and Andy Gribble on bass.

St. Louis Folk School Fiddle Workshop (October 31, 2015)

From a workshop presented at the KDHX St. Louis Folk School on October 31, 2015. With Patt & Possum - Charlie Walden (fiddle) and Patt Plunkett (piano). The workshop focused on tunes that can be attributed to African American fiddle players of the early 20th Century from Callaway and surrounding Central Missouri counties.

Callaway County in Mid-Missouri, in addition to once being a hotbed of Civil War secessionists, is known for its many great old-time fiddlers.  Among these was legendary African-American Bill Katon of Tebbetts, the namesake of Katon’s Hornpipe. While I never knew Katon, as he passed away in 1934, I heard many stories about him and a lot of the old-timers could play his tunes or tunes referenced to other Black musicians in Callaway County. So we’ll explore this tradition with tunes I derived from Jake Hockemeyer, Taylor McBaine and Keith Orchard.

IOTFA Old-Time Fiddle Workshop - 2014

Excerpts from my IOTFA Fiddle Workshop held at Effingham, Illinois, on October 18, 2014.  I teach Tennesse Rag, Country Waltz and Johnny Con't Come Home Drunk.  -- Charlie Walden