John Hartford
The Speed of the Old Long Bow
A Tribute to the Fiddle Music of Ed Haley.
Song Titles
JOHN HARTFORD - Fiddle and vocal
BOB CARLIN - Banjo
MIKE COMPTON- Mandolin
ROBERT GATELY - String Bass
DARREN VINCENT - Guitar and Percussion
Produced by Bob Carlin
Recorded 6/11 - 12/1997 by Wes Lachot and Mark Howard at Eleven-O-Three Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
Mixed by Wes Lachot and Bob Carlin at Overdub Lane, Durham, North Carolina
Cover Photography: Olan Mills
The top fiddle was once owned by Laury Hicks, the bottom fiddle by Ed Haley.
Art Direction by John Hartford and Luanne Price Howard
Notes by John Hartford with suggestions by Bob Carlin and Brandon Kirk.
The Ed Haley Harts Creek Research Team: Brandon Kirk, Billy Adkins, Billie Mullins and John Hartford.
All tunes by Ed Haley/John Hartford Music, BMI, except for "Dunbar" and "Lost Indian," by Ed Haley/Happy Valley Music, BMI.
To hear Ed Haley and learn more about these tunes, consult FORKED DEER(Rounder 1131/1132) and GREY EAGLE(1133/1134).
Liner Notes
Thanks to:
Joe, Vilas & Wirt Adams, Billy & Fralein Adkins, Bob Adkins, Doska Adkins, Virgil Alfrey, Enslow & Bernice Baisden, Sol Bumgardner, Mae Brumfield, Brad Leftwich & Linda Higginbotham, Fletcher Bright, Owen "Snake" Chapman, Slim Clere, Roger Cooper, Jake, Luster & Stump Dalton, Lynn Davis, Jim Day, Bob Dingess, Harvey & Maude Dingess, Wilson Douglas, Buddy Emmons, Carolyn Fraley, Danielle Fraley, J.P. Fraley, Larry Franklin, Eunice Ferrell, Mamie Ferrell, John Flavell, Frank & Jane George, Steve Green, Bruce Greene, Pat & Bill Grey, Ike Hager, Adriene, Allison & Andrea Haley, Clyde Haley, David Haley, Jimmy (Jimmy & the Flats) Haley, Mona Haley, Noah Halev, Pat Hulse Haley, Patsy Cox Haley, Scott Haley, Steve & Ruth Haley, John Harrod; Marie Hartford, Dr. Paul Holbrook, Mark Howard, Randy Howard, Roy Huskey, Jr., John Rice Irwin, Alan Jabbour, Tina Liza Jones, Abe Keibler, Bob Kessinger, Brandon Kirk, Lawrence & Mima Kirk, Harry, Phyllis, Nathan & Philip Kirk, Shelby Kirk, Cecil & Doran Lambert, Chilson Leech, John Lozier, Ron Lucas, Grace Marcum, Benny Martin, Maxine McClaine, Jim McCoy, Gerry Milnes, Bruce Molsky, Don Morris, Andy Mullins, Billie Mullins, Dobie Mullins, Jeronimo Mullins, Loretta Mullins, Violet Mullins, Al Murphy, Mark O'Connor, Doug Owsley, Julia LaBelle, Dustin & Sara Phillips, Ugee Hicks Postalwait, Harold & Sarah Postalwait, Daisv Ross, Texas Shorty, Bonita Heath, Agnes Fae Smith, James N. Stewart, Jack Strickland, Jerry Sutphin, Bobby Taylor, Cora Teel, Brady & Alvy Thompson, Tootsie Tomblin, Charlie Walden, Curly Wellman, Henry & Iris Williams, Mark Wilson, Dr. Charles Wolfe, Melvin Wine, Jim Wood, Jr.,Jim Wood, Sr, and George H. Woolford.
In Memory of:
Turly Adams, Elmer Bird, Dood Dalton, John Duffy, Annadene Fraley, Beverly Haley, Jack Haley, Lawrence Haley, Ralph Haley, Brooks Hardway, Laury Hicks, Roy Huskey, Jr., Clark Kessinger, Bob Martin, Gus Meade, Bill Monroe, Joe Mullins, Roxie Mullins, Asa Neal, Molly O`Day, Dale Porter, Benny Thomasson and Bill Vernon.
Special thanks to Marie and Dustin for putting up with my mono mania.
This album is dedicated to Pat: Mrs. Lawrence Haley
As much as I'd like to sound like Ed Haley, I don't, but I love the tunes and I love trying to sound like him and I love the feelings and carefree music we made on this album.
His son, Lawrence, would say "It don't sound like Pop but it's ok."
I want so much for you to know of the feelings and story behind this music, that I've sung some things about it to the tunes. I got so into Ed Haley that I just wanted to surround myself with "Things Ed Haley." These are the tunes that Ed played, we heard on old recordings that we have remastered and re-released on two Rounder CD's - Volume 1, Forked Deer and Volume 2, Grey Eagle.
We previously made an album of 'tunes we hadn't actually heard him play on recordings' called "Wild Hog In The Red Brush." We developed a special kind of approach on that album that we've progressed further on this collection.
Bill Evans was asking about it the other night so we've decided to include as near as we can the "recipe." It's loosely based on a big band device of changing the texture every eight bars.
For lack of a better name, we call this a "window" rhythm section. We've tried to find a better name but this one won`t go away. I really don't like it cause it sounds too much like computers.
Everybody has a bunch of things they can do on their instruments you can l)play rhythm on the down beat, 2) play rhythm on the off beat, 3) play a figure, like boogie woogie, 4) play a figure, like high or low bass runs, 5) play unison lead, 6) play harmony, 7) deaden your strings and play rhythm things, 8) play 4/4 chromatic runs, 9) play straight open chord rhythm, 10) play closed chords, 11) always play just one note like the tonic or 12) you can just lay out.
So every eight bars (a window) you change what you're doing or lay out (less is more). You might have five or six instruments and never more than three playing at the same time. The first window might be just the mandolin, the second window just the banjo, the third, the mandolin doing something different and also adding the guitar.
The next window might be everyone and then for contrast, just the fiddle. If it's a tune you haven`t heard before you might want to listen for a window or two before you dive in. Or you can play something with anything the first time you hear it even if it's one note or just something chromatic. An entrance or exit should sould on purpose and not fading in or out and we are trying to make each window real different from the one before.
Yoa can also lay out two windows (l6 bars) if you need to, to change instruments or leave the stage for some reason like adjust the PA system, sell a t-shirt or kick some body's posterior.
The figure or lick does not have to, be the same through the whole window as lone as it works consistently as window.
It's probably a good idea to lay out every third window anyway to keep it from getting too busy.
Generally, try and build with one, then two, then three instruments and then maybe, all of them and then lay out for pacing
The groove is all important and should never he lost.
Also, we have followed the old time fiddle band device of letting the "off" chords - seven flat chords and minors - happen only in the melody lines, not in the rhythm section.
We also decided in recording that carefully worked out beginnings and endings hindered the energy.
This album is a snap shot of what I was doing at that given moment. Even after it's wrapped up I keep, searching with my fingers for the sounds in my head and when I find more, I tend to want to erase everything I've done up to that moment but I can't and such is the pain of the musician.
- John Hartford
RO-0438
Released: 1998
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