Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje is professor emerita, former chair of the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and former director of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. She is author of numerous articles and books, including Fiddling in West Africa: Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures, which won both the Alan Merriam Prize and the Kwabena Nketia Book Prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology.

• AcknowledgmentsAbout Fiddling Is My Joy Companion on eScholarshipPrologueSection One—Pre–Twentieth Century: The Beginnings and Rise in Popularity of Black Fiddling IntroductionChapter 1—The Earliest Evidence: Black Fiddling During the 1600s and 1700sPolydor Gardiner Rhode IslandCaesar, Cato, and Robert Prim ConnecticutOthello and Sampson Massachusetts Cuffee, Jamaica, and John Marrant New YorkPeter Philadelphia Derby, Peter, Robert, Sambo, Simeon Gilliat, Devereux Jarratt, and George Walker VirginiaClarinda South CarolinaChapter 2—A General Overview: Black Fiddling During the 1800sChapter 3—A Regional Perspective: Black Fiddling During the 1800sThe Snowden Family Band OhioJames Thomas TennesseeBen Guyton Alabama George Morris West VirginiaAugustus "Gus" Cochran AlabamaSolomon Northup New York, LouisianaGus Rhodes AlabamaThe Owens Family MississippiCharles Lipscomb TexasSection Two—Early Twentieth Century: The Decline in Prominence of Black Fiddling IntroductionChapter 4—Black Fiddling and Secular Music in the Rural SouthCentral Appalachian Mountains and Neighboring RegionsChapter 5—Maryland, Virginia, West VirginiaWilliam Adams Jr. MarylandGeorge Leonard Bowles VirginiaCarl Choice Martin VirginiaPosey Foddrell VirginiaStephen Tarter VirginiaMert Perkins West VirginiaJilly Grace West VirginiaChapter 6—KentuckyOwen Walker James "Jim" D. Booker Jr. Arnold Shultz Ella Shultz GriffinShell Coffey and Charlie BusterWilliam "Bill" LiversChapter 7—TennesseeFrank Patterson Jr.John Lusk Bennie "Cuje" BertramWalter GreerJoel RiceChapter 8—North CarolinaMadison BooneJoseph ThompsonSouthern Appalachian Mountains and Neighboring RegionsChapter 9—South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, MississippiHenry J. Bryant South CarolinaAndrew Baxter GeorgiaFort Valley College Music Festival Georgia Elbert J. Freeman GeorgiaJoe Kinney Rakestraw GeorgiaAlfred Thomas GeorgiaGeorge Hollis GeorgiaEarnest Mostella AlabamaSidney Hemphill MississippiRobert "Bob" Pratcher MississippiThomas Jefferson Dumas MississippiThe Ozark MountainsChapter 10—MissouriAce Donell Sr.William "Bill" KatonWilliam "Bill" Alexander Driver Jr.South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and Neighboring RegionsChapter 11—Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,Mississippi, ArkansasFred Perry FloridaEddie West AlabamaBo Chatmon [Carter], Harry Chatmon Mississippi Lonnie Chatmon Mississippi Henry "Son" Simms MississippiBlind Pete ArkansasChapter 12—Louisiana, TexasJames "Butch" Cage Mississippi/LouisianaMorris Chenier LouisianaDouglas Bellard LouisianaJoseph "Bébé" Carrière Louisiana Calvin Carrière Louisiana Canray Fontenot LouisianaCharlie Thomas TexasOscar William Nelson TexasTeodar Jackson TexasEpilogueHoward Armstrong TennesseeReferences Cited: Print Sources, Interviews, Personal/Email CommunicationReferences Cited: Discography, Film and Video, Radio, WebsitesIndex

"A monumental contribution to the history of secular Black music and to the overlapping complete history of American fiddling." - Chris Goertzen, author of Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Arts"I have been waiting for a book like this for several decades and am impressed by DjeDje’s broad intercontinental, cross-cultural vision and her authoritative research. Fiddling Is My Joy: The Fiddle in African American Culture not only embraces the complex, fascinating relationships among Black fiddle traditions in West Africa and those that emerged in the United States, it does so masterfully, comprehensively, and over the sweep of several centuries." - Kip Lornell, author of Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States"The details of the Black American fiddle tradition, the frequency of Black-white musical exchange involving fiddle and banjo, and the number and geographical distribution of Black fiddlers have been treated by music scholars only in passing, or presented in narrow case studies, resulting in a fragmented picture. Thus, an overall portrait of Black American fiddling has remained obscure until DjeDje’s remarkably comprehensive research which, gathered together in this volume, offers original argument as well as overwhelming evidence from a great many sources." - Jeff Todd Titon, professor emeritus of music at Brown University and author of Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes

Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje is professor emerita, former chair of the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and former director of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. She is author of numerous articles and books, including Fiddling in West Africa: Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures, which won both the Alan Merriam Prize and the Kwabena Nketia Book Prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology.

• AcknowledgmentsAbout Fiddling Is My Joy Companion on eScholarshipPrologueSection One—Pre–Twentieth Century: The Beginnings and Rise in Popularity of Black Fiddling IntroductionChapter 1—The Earliest Evidence: Black Fiddling During the 1600s and 1700sPolydor Gardiner Rhode IslandCaesar, Cato, and Robert Prim ConnecticutOthello and Sampson Massachusetts Cuffee, Jamaica, and John Marrant New YorkPeter Philadelphia Derby, Peter, Robert, Sambo, Simeon Gilliat, Devereux Jarratt, and George Walker VirginiaClarinda South CarolinaChapter 2—A General Overview: Black Fiddling During the 1800sChapter 3—A Regional Perspective: Black Fiddling During the 1800sThe Snowden Family Band OhioJames Thomas TennesseeBen Guyton Alabama George Morris West VirginiaAugustus "Gus" Cochran AlabamaSolomon Northup New York, LouisianaGus Rhodes AlabamaThe Owens Family MississippiCharles Lipscomb TexasSection Two—Early Twentieth Century: The Decline in Prominence of Black Fiddling IntroductionChapter 4—Black Fiddling and Secular Music in the Rural SouthCentral Appalachian Mountains and Neighboring RegionsChapter 5—Maryland, Virginia, West VirginiaWilliam Adams Jr. MarylandGeorge Leonard Bowles VirginiaCarl Choice Martin VirginiaPosey Foddrell VirginiaStephen Tarter VirginiaMert Perkins West VirginiaJilly Grace West VirginiaChapter 6—KentuckyOwen Walker James "Jim" D. Booker Jr. Arnold Shultz Ella Shultz GriffinShell Coffey and Charlie BusterWilliam "Bill" LiversChapter 7—TennesseeFrank Patterson Jr.John Lusk Bennie "Cuje" BertramWalter GreerJoel RiceChapter 8—North CarolinaMadison BooneJoseph ThompsonSouthern Appalachian Mountains and Neighboring RegionsChapter 9—South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, MississippiHenry J. Bryant South CarolinaAndrew Baxter GeorgiaFort Valley College Music Festival Georgia Elbert J. Freeman GeorgiaJoe Kinney Rakestraw GeorgiaAlfred Thomas GeorgiaGeorge Hollis GeorgiaEarnest Mostella AlabamaSidney Hemphill MississippiRobert "Bob" Pratcher MississippiThomas Jefferson Dumas MississippiThe Ozark MountainsChapter 10—MissouriAce Donell Sr.William "Bill" KatonWilliam "Bill" Alexander Driver Jr.South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and Neighboring RegionsChapter 11—Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,Mississippi, ArkansasFred Perry FloridaEddie West AlabamaBo Chatmon [Carter], Harry Chatmon Mississippi Lonnie Chatmon Mississippi Henry "Son" Simms MississippiBlind Pete ArkansasChapter 12—Louisiana, TexasJames "Butch" Cage Mississippi/LouisianaMorris Chenier LouisianaDouglas Bellard LouisianaJoseph "Bébé" Carrière Louisiana Calvin Carrière Louisiana Canray Fontenot LouisianaCharlie Thomas TexasOscar William Nelson TexasTeodar Jackson TexasEpilogueHoward Armstrong TennesseeReferences Cited: Print Sources, Interviews, Personal/Email CommunicationReferences Cited: Discography, Film and Video, Radio, WebsitesIndex

"A monumental contribution to the history of secular Black music and to the overlapping complete history of American fiddling." - Chris Goertzen, author of Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Arts"I have been waiting for a book like this for several decades and am impressed by DjeDje’s broad intercontinental, cross-cultural vision and her authoritative research. Fiddling Is My Joy: The Fiddle in African American Culture not only embraces the complex, fascinating relationships among Black fiddle traditions in West Africa and those that emerged in the United States, it does so masterfully, comprehensively, and over the sweep of several centuries." - Kip Lornell, author of Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States"The details of the Black American fiddle tradition, the frequency of Black-white musical exchange involving fiddle and banjo, and the number and geographical distribution of Black fiddlers have been treated by music scholars only in passing, or presented in narrow case studies, resulting in a fragmented picture. Thus, an overall portrait of Black American fiddling has remained obscure until DjeDje’s remarkably comprehensive research which, gathered together in this volume, offers original argument as well as overwhelming evidence from a great many sources." - Jeff Todd Titon, professor emeritus of music at Brown University and author of Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes

Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje is professor emerita, former chair of the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and former director of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. She is author of numerous articles and books, including Fiddling in West Africa: Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures, which won both the Alan Merriam Prize and the Kwabena Nketia Book Prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology.

• AcknowledgmentsAbout Fiddling Is My Joy Companion on eScholarshipPrologueSection One—Pre–Twentieth Century: The Beginnings and Rise in Popularity of Black Fiddling IntroductionChapter 1—The Earliest Evidence: Black Fiddling During the 1600s and 1700sPolydor Gardiner Rhode IslandCaesar, Cato, and Robert Prim ConnecticutOthello and Sampson Massachusetts Cuffee, Jamaica, and John Marrant New YorkPeter Philadelphia Derby, Peter, Robert, Sambo, Simeon Gilliat, Devereux Jarratt, and George Walker VirginiaClarinda South CarolinaChapter 2—A General Overview: Black Fiddling During the 1800sChapter 3—A Regional Perspective: Black Fiddling During the 1800sThe Snowden Family Band OhioJames Thomas TennesseeBen Guyton Alabama George Morris West VirginiaAugustus "Gus" Cochran AlabamaSolomon Northup New York, LouisianaGus Rhodes AlabamaThe Owens Family MississippiCharles Lipscomb TexasSection Two—Early Twentieth Century: The Decline in Prominence of Black Fiddling IntroductionChapter 4—Black Fiddling and Secular Music in the Rural SouthCentral Appalachian Mountains and Neighboring RegionsChapter 5—Maryland, Virginia, West VirginiaWilliam Adams Jr. MarylandGeorge Leonard Bowles VirginiaCarl Choice Martin VirginiaPosey Foddrell VirginiaStephen Tarter VirginiaMert Perkins West VirginiaJilly Grace West VirginiaChapter 6—KentuckyOwen Walker James "Jim" D. Booker Jr. Arnold Shultz Ella Shultz GriffinShell Coffey and Charlie BusterWilliam "Bill" LiversChapter 7—TennesseeFrank Patterson Jr.John Lusk Bennie "Cuje" BertramWalter GreerJoel RiceChapter 8—North CarolinaMadison BooneJoseph ThompsonSouthern Appalachian Mountains and Neighboring RegionsChapter 9—South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, MississippiHenry J. Bryant South CarolinaAndrew Baxter GeorgiaFort Valley College Music Festival Georgia Elbert J. Freeman GeorgiaJoe Kinney Rakestraw GeorgiaAlfred Thomas GeorgiaGeorge Hollis GeorgiaEarnest Mostella AlabamaSidney Hemphill MississippiRobert "Bob" Pratcher MississippiThomas Jefferson Dumas MississippiThe Ozark MountainsChapter 10—MissouriAce Donell Sr.William "Bill" KatonWilliam "Bill" Alexander Driver Jr.South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and Neighboring RegionsChapter 11—Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,Mississippi, ArkansasFred Perry FloridaEddie West AlabamaBo Chatmon [Carter], Harry Chatmon Mississippi Lonnie Chatmon Mississippi Henry "Son" Simms MississippiBlind Pete ArkansasChapter 12—Louisiana, TexasJames "Butch" Cage Mississippi/LouisianaMorris Chenier LouisianaDouglas Bellard LouisianaJoseph "Bébé" Carrière Louisiana Calvin Carrière Louisiana Canray Fontenot LouisianaCharlie Thomas TexasOscar William Nelson TexasTeodar Jackson TexasEpilogueHoward Armstrong TennesseeReferences Cited: Print Sources, Interviews, Personal/Email CommunicationReferences Cited: Discography, Film and Video, Radio, WebsitesIndex

"A monumental contribution to the history of secular Black music and to the overlapping complete history of American fiddling." - Chris Goertzen, author of Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Arts"I have been waiting for a book like this for several decades and am impressed by DjeDje’s broad intercontinental, cross-cultural vision and her authoritative research. Fiddling Is My Joy: The Fiddle in African American Culture not only embraces the complex, fascinating relationships among Black fiddle traditions in West Africa and those that emerged in the United States, it does so masterfully, comprehensively, and over the sweep of several centuries." - Kip Lornell, author of Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States"The details of the Black American fiddle tradition, the frequency of Black-white musical exchange involving fiddle and banjo, and the number and geographical distribution of Black fiddlers have been treated by music scholars only in passing, or presented in narrow case studies, resulting in a fragmented picture. Thus, an overall portrait of Black American fiddling has remained obscure until DjeDje’s remarkably comprehensive research which, gathered together in this volume, offers original argument as well as overwhelming evidence from a great many sources." - Jeff Todd Titon, professor emeritus of music at Brown University and author of Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes