I had the most remarkable weekend at the annual fiddle festival in Pembroke in the Ottawa Valley. Fortunately I knew some people who were going, and who knew the lay of the land. In particular, I’d like to thank Charlie Walden and Patt Plunket and… Read More
Time for a fix of music from the Ottawa Valley featuring Mac Beattie and his Melodiers. Here’s Little Shack up the Pontiac…. https://youtu.be/EII7b-XjcwI Here’s one I’ve shared before – but it’s so good it deserves to played over and over again – Old Tyme Fiddler’s… Read More
Time for some Canadian Old Time music. Here’s a few selections by Mac Beattie and his Ottawa Valley Melodiers. Join me in my time machine. We’re going to the Ottawa Valley in the days of the log drives. The Log Driver’s Song A Little Shack… Read More
It’s about time I featured a tune by Ottawa Valley fiddle great Reg Hill. Mr. Hill was known both as a great fiddler on his own and as the fiddle player for the Mac Beattie’s group, the Ottawa Valley Melodiers. Here he is playing the… Read More
Time for a Daily Dose of Mac Beattie and the Ottawa Valley Melodiers….yo hip, hip ho….. And how about a Canadian train wreck tune, Train Wreck at Almonte Here’s Mac Beattie’s tribute to fiddle great Ward Allen http://youtu.be/Mwn8f8UJlJw And another tribute number, to Canada’s great… Read More
I came across a remarkable video this evening, shared by doghousedonnie It features some home movie footage of a Saturday night wedding celebration at Keon’s Hotel in Chapeau Quebec and a live recording of the wonderful Mac Beattie and his Ottawa Valley Melodiers performing Saturday… Read More
I know it was only the other day I posted some fiddle music, but I’ve been revisiting some old time Canadian fiddle music on the YouTube machine, and if you don’t mind I’m going to share a little bit more with you tonight. I think… Read More
The Maple Leaf Two-Step, from 1953, was Ottawa Valley fiddle great Ward Allen’s first recording, a 78 rpm record on Alvina. I started learning this one on triple row button accordion in between trick-or-treaters tonight, based on a score I stumbled upon on a fiddle… Read More
I’ve posted this tune before, maybe even several times. Why? Because it stops me in my tracks every time, and before he’s done Mr. Allen has my eyes welling up. Turn it up loud. Here’s Ward Allen performing his masterpiece, Maple Sugar.
I used to have a recording, on an old cassette tape, of Mac Beattie singing his Log Driver’s Song (not to be confused with the Wade Hemsworth tune Log Driver’s Waltz). While I was busy concentrating on something apparently more important, the melody popped into… Read More
27th Street 