Photograph by Michael P. Smith ©Historic New Orleans Collection, 2007.0103.2.232.
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
In the years following the birth of recorded sound, Black fiddling has taken on a variety of musical and stylistic approaches that continue to pervade every genre of the world’s music. The fifty recordings included on this playlist, made between 1926 to 2025, span a vast ensemble of musicians who come from both rural and urban backgrounds.
In Louisiana, there historically has been a rich variety of Black fiddlers, from musicians who began in family string bands eventually making their way to the popular stage, to more localized musicians who would find their music preserved and appreciated in a much later era. Fiddlers like Lonnie Johnson and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown made careers not only as fiddlers but as blues guitar players, showcasing the versatility provided by a strong foundation in fiddle playing. Others, such as the Carriere Brothers, acted as tradition bearers in the distinctly and joyous Black Creole tradition from which zydeco emerged.
This tradition continues into Mississippi, going from the extremely popular Mississippi Sheiks’ 1930s recordings to the fiddle stylings of Sid Hemphill, who found local prominence in the Hill Country of upper Mississippi before being recorded by folklorist Alan Lomax in the 1940s. The span of Southern Black fiddlers also reaches into Memphis, Tennessee, considered by many to be the “Northern tip” of Mississippi, where many fiddlers like Will Batts migrated from points south to the urban center to play in smaller jug bands, and others like Charlie Pierce found positions in larger orchestras (Pierce also played with composer W.C. Handy in his band).
"When it came to the more urban styles of fiddling, I had been drawn to the grace, beauty, and uninhibited sense of wonder as the players would reach for new heights in melody and improvisation. By contrast, the rural styles focused on fewer notes and more syncopated rhythm, driving the tunes with fire and grit, placing the tradition clearly outside of the more conventional Euro-classical aesthetic. It toed the thin line between “violin” and “fiddle” and enthusiastically danced along its border, elevating the Black experience into the voice of one of the world’s most highly regarded instruments."
In the book, Fiddling is My Joy (University Press of Mississippi, 2025), Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje writes that the art of fiddling in the Black community began to fade in the years following WWII, partially due to the sheer difficulty of learning the fiddle or violin, compared to fretted instruments such as the banjo or guitar that have a much shorter learning curve. The context of community-based fiddling at functions like square dancing also began to lose currency in the wake of newer genres of unique Black-identified popular music forms that developed after the turn of the twentieth century.
Though the Black fiddler has been sidelined in recent decades, Dr. DjeDje’s book comes at a time when a new era of Black fiddling has emerged and should also be celebrated. Since the 1960s, Black music has evolved past the original innovations of jazz, blues, and gospel to include rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, jump blues, soul, funk, hip-hop, and modern classical. On the world’s stage, Black fiddling has taken hold in different parts of Africa and the Caribbean. A new generation, raised on all of these styles, has begun to make its presence known, creating a third phase in the Black fiddling story.
Even though I myself do not play fiddle, the instrument has greatly influenced my musical career and is a part of my heritage. Recently, I discovered that on my father’s side, my great-great grandfather, Jim Flemons, was a fiddler in the Eastern part of Texas. This revelation of my family’s story only strengthens my efforts to bring this tradition into the forefront of the American consciousness.
[Read this: "Reincarnation: Cedric Watson and Butch Cage"]
Over the course of my career as a musician and scholar, I’ve kept an ear out for new sounds that tell the story of Black fiddling. This playlist is made up of recordings of powerful fiddle music I’ve created and collected from my experiences.
Photo by Lissa Gotwalls, courtesy of Dom Flemons
Carolina Chocolate Drops with Joe ThompsonLeft to right: Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, Joe Thompson, Justin Robinson.
My first work on the Black fiddle tradition evolved from a 2005 meeting with the legendary fiddler Joe Thompson at The Banjo Gathering at Appalachian State University. Up to that point, my experiences with fiddle music had come from musicians in the folk, bluegrass, old-time, and Irish music communities, and they were all white. My only exposure to Black fiddling had come from older recordings by the Mississippi Sheiks, Bob and Miles Pratcher, Butch Cage, Jim and Andrew Baxter, and Son Simms. These fiddlers fueled my imagination, but they were all dead, far removed, and not accessible in person. When I had the opportunity to play music with Thompson, I was thrilled to be able to meet a living tradition bearer of the North Carolina piedmont style. His raw, scratchy sound and repertoire of tunes such as “Georgia Buck” and “Old Cindy Gal” set a sound in my mind that has never let go of its grip. To hear him play fiddle was to realize that Black string band music was something distinct in approach and technique, something I needed to study. When it came to the more urban styles of fiddling, I had been drawn to the grace, beauty, and uninhibited sense of wonder as the players would reach for new heights in melody and improvisation. By contrast, the rural styles focused on fewer notes and more syncopated rhythm, driving the tunes with fire and grit, placing the tradition clearly outside of the more conventional Euro-classical aesthetic. It toed the thin line between “violin” and “fiddle” and enthusiastically danced along its border, elevating the Black experience into the voice of one of the world’s most highly regarded instruments.
Shortly after the Gathering, I made my way to North Carolina from my home state of Arizona to begin training in string band music, musically and academically. I would not have made the trip without folklorist and drummer Sule Greg Wilson, who is also referenced in Fiddling is My Joy. Together, he and I have made it our mission to bridge the gap between the early Black musical traditions of the past and the current movement of Black roots music now prevalent in the mid-2020s.
After making my way out to North Carolina, I began my first collaborations with two Black fiddlers, Justin Robinson and Rhiannon Giddens, and together we would later create the group, The Carolina Chocolate Drops. The group took its name from the early Black string band, The Tennessee Chocolate Drops, which featured both Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong and Carl Martin, two Black fiddlers included in Fiddling is My Joy.
Since starting the band, we’ve opened a world of new appreciation for the Black string band tradition, became the first all-Black string band to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, and won a Grammy for “Best Traditional Folk,” paving the way for Black roots music in the modern mainstream.
Tintype photo by Timothy Duffy, courtesy of Dom Flemons
Tintype photo taken for liner notes tothe album, “Dom Flemons presents Black Cowboys” (2018). Left to right: Dom Flemons, Brian “B.E.” Farrow, Dante’ Pope
For my solo projects, I have also worked extensively with Black folk fiddlers, Ben Hunter and Brian (B.E.) Farrow—both of whom approach their art with a historical appreciation for the tradition. With each album, I have written and arranged pieces that showcase Hunter’s and Farrow’s skills while pushing the boundaries of traditional Black fiddling. We heavily leaned on the recorded legacies of Eddie Anthony (from Peg Leg Howell and His Gang), Big Bill Broonzy, Lonnie Johnson, Clifford Hayes, and Will Batts to draw inspiration and create exciting new music for a modern audience.
Moving beyond my own recordings, I have included on the playlist a wide landscape of fiddle music that ranges from the urban blues of Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Papa John Creach to the contemporary sounds of Henrique Prince (from Ebony Hillbillies), Earl White, Cedric Watson, and Jerron Paxton. At the time of this writing, many of the contemporary players I have included on this playlist are still active, and I recommend checking out their catalogs.
In addition to the rural Black fiddling traditions focused on in Fiddling is My Joy, I have included examples of Black fiddling that comes from the urban musical genres such as jazz and modern classical. These fiddlers, including Stuff Smith, Eddie South, and Claude Williams, demonstrate that even though the fiddle/violin in the rural Black community fell into obscurity, there have been many worthwhile examples of talented individuals who found new spaces to integrate a progressive sound into the mix. Representing the often overlooked, but rich, tradition of female Black fiddlers are contemporary musicians Anne Harris, Regina Carter, and SistaStrings—who all share in the expansion of the tone and texture of the instrument in the hands of masterful performers. To add another layer, I have included several excellent performances that come from Trinidad, St. Lucia, and South Africa, representing how Black fiddling traditions have manifested beyond the United States.
In a closing remark, it is an honor to be able to present this list of some of my favorite Black fiddling performances, so that others can hear the depth of the musical journey described by Dr. DjeDje in Fiddling is My Joy. It is my hope that it inspires others to reach into the musical melting pot and see the continuity of a sometimes overlooked, but always present, musical art form.
Fiddling is My Joy is available at upress.state.ms.us.
Fiddling Is My Joy: A Playlist
"Fiddling Is My Joy" : A Playlist
1. “We Shall Overcome” by Regina Carter
2. “Polly Put The Kettle On” by Dom Flemons (ft. Ben Hunter)
3. “Cacklin’ Hen” by Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong
4. “C. C. Rider” by Big BIll Broonzy
5. “Memphis Stomp” by Lonnie Johnson
6. “Beaver Slide Rag” by Peg Leg Howell (ft. Eddie Anthony)
7. “Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad” by Dom Flemons (ft. Brian “B.E.” Farrow)
8. “Camp Nelson Blues” by Booker Orchestra (ft. Jim Booker)
9. “Indiana Rag” by Mobile Strugglers (ft. James Fields, Charles Jones)
10. “Rye Straw” by Sid Hemphill & Lucius Smith
11. “Po’ Black Sheep” by Carolina Chocolate Drops (ft. Rhiannon Giddens)
12. “Texas Barbed Wire” by Fiddlin’ Earl White
13. “Alltamont” by The Ebony Hillbillies (ft. Rique Prince)
14. “Dangerfield Newby” by New Dangerfield (ft. Jake Blount)
15. “Jazz Fiddler” by Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons
16. “Have I Stayed Away Too Long (Alternate Version)” by Dom Flemons
(ft. Ben Hunter)
17. “That’s It” by Mississippi Sheiks (ft. Lonnie Chatmon)
18. “Hen Party Blues” by Clifford Hayes and The Louisville Jug Blowers
19. “Jam Piece (George’s Boogie)” by Blind James Campbell and his Nashville String Band (ft. Beauford Clay)
20. “Blue Violin” by Stuff Smith
21. “What Am I Living For” by Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown
22. “Trouble In Your Mind” by Carolina Chocolate Drops (ft. Justin Robinson)
23. “Brown’s Dream” by Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson
24. “Georgie Buck” by Carolina Chocolate Drops & Joe Thompson (ft. Joe Thompson & Justin Robinson)
25. “Knox County Stomp” by Dom Flemons (ft. Brian “B.E.” Farrow)
26. “Operator Blues” by Jim & Andrew Baxter
27. “I’m Going Away Blues” by Frank Stokes (ft. Will Batts)
28. “Believe I’ll Go Back Home” by Jack Kelly & His Memphis Jug Band
(ft. Will Batts)
29. “Ruckus Juice and Chitlin’” by Memphis Jug Band (ft. Charlie Pierce)
30. “Papa Blues” by Papa John Creech
31. “Maxwell Street” by Annie Harris
32. “Sonoran Church Two-Step” by Dom Flemons (ft. Ben Hunter)
33. “Bluerunner” by Leyla McCalla (ft. Bria “Free” Bonnet)
34. “Johnny Can’t Dance” by The Carriere Brothers (ft. Joseph “Bébé” Carriere)
35. “Calinda” by Cedric Watson & Corey Ledet (ft. Cedric Watson)
36. “Hit ‘Em Up Style” by Carolina Chocolate Drops (ft. Rhiannon Giddens)
37. “Kick Up The Devil” by Gangstagrass (ft. Brian “B.E.” Farrow)
38. “Cadenza for Chauantee” by SistaStrings (ft. Chauntee Ross)
39. “Soul Eyes” by Regina Carter
40. “Snowden’s Jig (Genuine Negro Jig)” by Carolina Chocolate Drops (ft. Rhiannon Giddens)
41. “Lutin Reel” by Jerron Paxton
42. “Lakonmet Dance” by Rameau Poleon
43. “Chicago, Chicago” by Lord Invader (ft. an unknown fiddler)
44. “Sobabamba” by Udokotela Shange Namajaha
45. “‘Til The Seas Run Dry (Alternate Version) by Dom Flemons (ft. Ben Hunter)
46. “Song No. 99” by Wilmoth Houdini (ft. Cyril Montrose)
47. “Two Guitars” by Eddie South & His Alabamians
48. “Gossipin’ Hens” by Wynton Marsalis (ft. Claude Williams)
49. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Annie Harris
50. “John Henry y los Vaqueros” by Dom Flemons (ft. Brian “B.E. Farrow)
