"Somewhere in Dixie"

by Shirley Spaulding

She made a few sides for Edison Labs in 1921 and '22, and never recorded again as far as I know, but she was a star pupil of the banjo master Bill Bowen and she was considered to be the "foremost female banjoist in the USA". The flip-side of this record, "A Footlight Favorite", can be heard at Thomas Edison's Attic Radio Show, and this side was recorded on the same day - September 15 of 1922. This recording was dubbed onto cylinder and released by Edison in that format as well. The tune is joyous, something you might hear on someone's back porch, and the piano accompaniment by John Burkhardt is subtle but accurate. The disc from which this was sampled had been played a few times, enough to put some wear on the louder notes near the end, and removing the odd click and pop was all that was needed (besides the usual disc rumble).
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