Parallel Anthology Track 29

Track 29: Jilson Setters - The Wild Wagoner  Victor 21353-A; Recorded in New York, 27.2.1928

No image of record label available.

Neither Anthology booklet assigns authorship, nor does www.78discography.com or victor.library.ucsb.edu.

Harry Smith's Anthology booklet says that this tune "can be located in any standard volume of American contemporary dance tunes".

According to the Old Weird America blog, "'Wagoner' is a very popular fiddle tune, a square dance’s favorite of the old days and maybe every old-time fiddler knows a version of it. It’s a tune in the key of C, a key less played than the regular A,G and D but if a fiddler knows one or two tune in C, it’s probably 'Wagoner' or 'Billy in the Low Ground'." However the blogger points out that this version of the classic tune is a "unique version, with a very unusual B part that modulate from C to D".

There are good grounds for treating this composition as public domain.

Parallel anthology main index page

Alternative Versions
Georgia Wagoner by Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers   recorded between 1926 and 1934 (according to album title: Spotify

Tennessee Wagoner by Ray Sosbee   recorded in 1951: Digital Library of Appalachia   Recorded from radio programme

Wagoner by John Morgan Salyer   recorded in 1940-1: Digital Library of Appalachia   Field recording

Wagoner One Step by Isham Monday   recorded in 1959: Digital Library of Appalachia: version 1 version 2   Field recording