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"The Oil City Quickstep", also known as "The Beggar's March" or "Op'ry Star" is an American
march or reel in G Major. The parts are played one part or AB.
Bayard states he has not heard the tune outside of Pennsylvania. The "Oil City Quickstep" was the most popular title for the tune in his collecting experience, although "Beggar's March" and "Op'ry Star" were also common titles. Bayard printed a set that is a version of this tune from the playing of fiddler Sarah Armstrong as "Drunken Hiccoughs" in his Hill Country Tunes (1944). The A & B parts are reversed. It was collected from John Nicholson in Fayette County, Pa. (1949) and Fred Miller & Glenn Gelnette in Jefferson County, Pa. (1949), Frank Blair in Jefferson County, Pa. (1952), Harry Queer in Westmoreland County, Pa. (1957) who called the tune "Op'ry Star"), all by Samuel Bayard. It was printed in Bayard's Dance to the Fiddle (1981). |