Nebraska fiddler Bob Walters is little-known outside Missouri Valley fiddle circles, but that’s about to change with the new release of eighty of Bob’s best tunes on “Bob Walters, The Champion: Classic Missouri Valley Fiddling from Dwight Lamb’s Collection.”
Long before the days of the iPod or even the portable tape recorder, Dwight Lamb was collecting recordings from Bob Walters on wire recorders, reel-to-reels, or whatever the latest technology might be. Now we’re lucky to have his amazing collection of Bob Walters recordings cherry-picked into this giant two-CD set which demonstrates both Mr. Walters’ mastery of the instrument and his breadth of repetoire. The set includes reels, waltzes, polkas and quadrilles, and even a few more rare birds, and tunes are sourced all the way from Kentucky to Canada and beyond.
Standouts include some familiar tunes like Bill Cheatum and Dusty Miller, along with contest favorites like The Inimitable Reel and Friendship Waltz, as well as less commonly known gems like the masterful Silver Lake Quadrille and The Prodigal Son. Instrumentation includes plenty of solo fiddle and guitar/fiddle, as well as Goldie Walters’ stellar pump organ playing and a few featuring Dwight playing along on his accordion.
Dwight Lamb and Bill Peterson worked with Mark Wilson of Rounder Records to produce this new CD. The CD set costs $20, including postage and is available by writing to Missouri Valley Music, 511 South Pleasant, Canton, South Dakota 57013, or e-mail missourivalleymusic [at] sio [dot] midco [dot] net and be invoiced through PayPal. Check out a couple of sample tunes below.
Posted on August 20th, 2009
First and third Thursdays of each month, September-May • 5-8 p.m.
Sessions will resume in September, 2009.
Boone County Historical Society Museum in Nifong Park in southeast Columbia (on US 63 South, take AC exit, go west on Grindstone Ave., and then south on Ponderosa to museum). Map.
Due to popular demand (that’s right), in September 2009, after a year’s hiatus, the Little Dixie Old-Time Fiddle Club will return to the Boone-Walters Historical Museum in southeast Columbia, Missouri. Our emphasis is on traditional fiddle music. All levels of experience are welcome, but we ask that everyone observe “jam session etiquette.”
For more information, contact the Boone County Historical Society by calling 573-443-8936 or Howard Marshall 573-642-6226.
Posted on June 3rd, 2009
“Mizzou,” the Missouri Alumni Association’s magazine, has a feature article about Missouri fiddle and dance in this summer’s edition. You’ll see some familiar faces in the excellent photos, like Kenny Applebee, Howard Marshall, Vesta Johnson, Richard Shewmaker, and Frances and Willie Harlan.
Posted on May 10th, 2009
Fiddlers Howard Marshall of Fulton (left) and Richard Shewmaker (right) of Columbia won first place in the Senior and Junior division, respectively, at the old-time fiddlers contest in Troy, Missouri, May 3, 2009. The trophies awarded at this contest were unique and very special — miniature violins made by a local artisan. (Photo by John Shewmaker)
Posted on May 3rd, 2009
We’re sorry to report that Elvin Campbell, a long-time guitarist for Dwight Lamb and Cyril Stinnett, passed away on Sunday, March 15, 2009, in Fremont, Nebraska. He was 84.
Though Elvin was a fiddler himself, he preferred the role of guitarist and found his niche as Dwight Lamb’s preferred guitarist throughout his contest days in the 60s and 70s. He supported Dwight and Cyril Stinnett on their trips to the National Fiddler’s Contest in Weiser, Idaho in the mid 1960s. Elvin supplemented Dwight’s playing with a spare and elegant style of his own. Playing in the Missouri Valley repetoire requires a flexible, well-rounded guitarist who can play comfortably in many keys, change keys smoothly, and generally make it all sound easy, and Elvin qualifies on all counts.
Be sure to visit Elvin’s page to hear some of his top-notch guitar playing.
First and third Thursdays of each month, September-May • 5-8 p.m.
