Bitter Creek
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"Bitter Creek", also known as "Bitter Creek Breakdown", is an American reel in cut time and<br> G Major. The parts are played AABB (Brody, Phillips), ABB'C (Harper), ABCDD (Devil's Box) or<br> AABBCCDD (Christeson).<br> The tune was recorded in Dallas, Texas, for OKeh Records at the end of November, 1929, by<br> Texas fiddler Oscar Harper (1888-1952), accompanied by guitar player Doc Harper.<br> In 1942 Harper was recorded playing "Bitter Creek" by John Lomax for the Library of Congress.<br> Although "Bitter Creek" was a local Texas tune, it was popularized by fiddler Tommy Jackson<br> and quickly became widely disseminated. Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson also had an influential<br> version, played in five parts.<br> Bitter Creek, Nolan County, Texas, is a ghost town and no longer exists, although it is thought<br> to have been located south of present Sweetwater. In 1923 oil was discovered there, leading to<br> its brief existence; by the 1950's only five residents remained.<br> The tune was printed in Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983),<br> R.P. Christeson's Old Time Fiddler's Repertory, vol. 1 (1973),<br> The Devil's Box (1988),<br> Martin's Benny Thomasson Fiddle Transcriptions (1997) and<br> Phillips' Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1 (1994).<br> It was recorded by Benny Thomasson on Country Fiddlin' from the Big State (1970),<br> Art Stamper on The Lost Fiddler (c. 1982),<br> Oscar & Doc Harper (et al) on Dallas Bound: Old-Time Texas String Bands, vol. 2<br> (the four-part version of the tune),<br> Tommy Jackson on Square Dances Without Calls,<br> Oscar & Doc Harper (1929),<br> Clark Kessinger on Old Time Music,<br> Benny Thomasson on Say Old Man Can You Play the Fiddle?.<br>
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