Old-Time TOTW
Old-Time TOTW #323 is Sugar in My Coffee from the playing of Oklahoma fiddler Ed Thomas. The tune is found in the Fiddle Book by Marion Thede.
Since I haven't been able to identify Ed Thomas, I will give some information about Marion Thede.
In addition to a being a much-sought after lecturer, Ms. Thede's list of accomplishments is great and includes: fiddle contest judge, supervisor of the Federal Music Project (Shawnee, OK), member of the American Federation of Musicians, violinist/violist with the OK Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Philharmonic Symphony, and summer Lyric Theater Orchestra; she was on the national board of advisors for the national Folk Festival Association (Washington, D. C.), member of the OK Writers Association, organizer and head of the Oklahoma Folk Council; she held membership in the International Folk Music Council (London, England), the International Musicological Council (Basle, Switzerland), American Folklore Society, American String Teachers, Music Education National Conference, Mu Phi Epsilon, and Alpha Gamma Delta.
The Fiddle Book was published in 1967, but a 1937 newspaper article states that Marion "made a study of fiddle music of Oklahoma" and wrote a book on them that was to be published by the University press at Norman, OK. This did not happen, but had Marion's book been published in the late 1930s, it would have been the first book of its kind to focus exclusively on American fiddle tunes from a specific region with notations. George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels (1839) was the first collection of southern fiddle tunes, but it was arranged for piano and made no attempt to document any actual fiddlers. It wasn't until 1944 that Samuel Bayard published his book, Hill Country Tunes. Like Thede, Bayard notated fiddle tunes and mentioned the source musician for each tune, but he did not feature as many as Thede.
The tune is also known as "Sugar in My Coffee-o" and is perhaps associated with Missouri fiddling, though Kentucky fiddler Clyde Davenport (and others) played a version of the tune. Ed Thomas' version is actually closer to Davenport's than versions from Missouri. The A part is pretty much the same as the A part of Josie-o/Josie Girl from Charlie Acuff. Most fiddlers today play Acuff's A part as the C part. Thede gives the lyrics:
Go there once and go no more
If they don't give no sugar in my coffee-o.
How in the world's the old folks know
That I'll take sugar in my coffee-o?
Sugar's high and sugar's low
But I'll take sugar in my coffee-o.
How in the hell's the old folks know
That I'll take sugar in my coffee-o?
Joining me is friend Mark McNulty on guitar (Oberlin, OH).
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Paul Kirk has been playing bowed string instruments since 1980 and has been teaching them privately, in classroom settings, and in workshop formats since 1988. He studied music theory, composition, music education, music history, and musicology at Cleveland State University. While at CSU, Paul played violas da gamba, krummhorns, and recorders in early music ensembles. He was a founding member of Good Company: A Vocal Ensemble and has founded many of his own bands over the years including A Hundred Thousand Welcomes Celtic Ensemble, Knives and Forks English Country Dance Ensemble, and Down the Road Old-Time String Band. He has composed over 500 folk tunes in a variety of styles.
Paul has closely studied the music from Appalachia, the history of American old-time fiddling, source fiddlers, as well as the social aspects of the music. Since July 1, 2018, he has been creating and sharing videos each Sunday through his Old-Time Tune of the Week series on YouTube. Paul puts a great focus on fiddle bowing patterns and techniques and has devised practical methods for teaching with excellent results. One of his specialties is teaching old-time fiddle to crossover students, especially those coming from a background in classical violin and other musical traditions.
In 2022, Paul was designated as a master old-time fiddler and received a Traditional Arts grant from the Ohio Arts Council to work with an apprentice of his choice.
Paul taught viola, choir, music history, and assisted with drama and art for ten consecutive summers at orchestra and fine arts camps for The Music Settlement when it was known as Cleveland Music School Settlement