Eck Robertson at the Crossroads of American Fiddling

Chris Goertzen is professor emeritus of music history and world music at University of Southern Mississippi. His books include Fiddling for Norway: Revival and Identity; Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests; Made in Mexico: Tradition, Tourism, and Political Ferment in Oaxaca; George P. Knauff's "Virginia Reels" and the History of American Fiddling; American Antebellum Fiddling; and Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Crafts, the latter five published by University Press of Mississippi.

"Eck Robertson at the Crossroads of American Fiddling is a masterwork in the genre of vernacular American music." - Andrew Kuntz, contributor to Fiddler Magazine and editor of the Traditional Tune Archive Robertson was an extraordinarily influential figure in the world of American fiddling—indeed, in the larger picture of American music as a whole—who more than deserves a book of his own." - Paul F. Wells, director emeritus of the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University "Eck Robertson was both a great traditional fiddler and the inspiration for modern Texas contest fiddling. This is as complete, readable, and playable documentation of Eck Robertson’s life and music as we are ever likely to have the pleasure to read. The answers are all here. Goertzen has done it again!" - Harry Bolick, fiddler and coauthor of Mississippi Fiddle Tunes and Songs from the 1930s and Fiddle Tunes from Mississippi: Commercial and Informal Recordings, 1920–2018 "Goertzen’s abundant research into family history, archives, and discussion of Eck Robertson’s mentees and musical inheritors offers a gold mine of detail on numerous facets of Robertson’s biography and kaleidoscopic career, ranging from 1800s minstrelsy to modern ‘hot’ fiddling. The richness of this valuable documentation helps today’s readers understand the historical and evolving cultural landscapes of America." - Howard Wight Marshall, author of Keep It Old-Time: Fiddle Music in Missouri from the 1960s Folk Music Revival to the Present