Sam and Elzie
This tune was heard by us from the Canote Brothers at Fiddletunes and from there we play it often, a favorite.
Andy found this story of it's origins.... coicidently it's an Illinois tune (SoCal fiddler the late Mel Durham was from there, we all love the Illionois sounds from the Volo Bogtrotters and the Indian Creek Delta Boys, the Canotes are from Seattle, and Voyager Records in is the Northwest, Seattle maybe. It all makes perfect sense.
No coincidences to any of this.
Thanks Andy for this:
"Some tidbits from Voyager Records' (Phil & Vivian Williams) site:
Bray, Wilson - Wilson Bray was born in Illinois in 1918, the first of
eight children of Montie and Hallie Bray. His father was a fiddle and
banjo player, and Wilson learned to play dance tunes on the fiddle from
him at an early age, and played at the many square dances his parents
put on. He also became a classical violinist and at age14 played a
weekly radio broadcast over station WILL in Champaign, Illinois. At
age16 he played in the first violin section of the University of
Illinois Symphony Orchestra and for numerous operas for the University
Theatrical Department. During this time he also taught violin at the
McKinney Conservatory of Music. In later years as an adult he played in
the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. Wilson
Bray was the brother of well known banjoist Harley Bray. In 1995, he
came to Seattle to attend the Northwest Folklife Festival. Mr. Bray was
one of those rare fiddlers today who was also trained as a classical
violinist and could switch seamlessly from playing violin in the local
symphony orchestra to playing a dance. We were anxious to meet Mr. Bray
as we had been playing bluegrass with Harley and Shera Bray for some
time and had learned a tune called Sam & Elzie from Harley, who played
it on the banjo, but said it was a fiddle tune his brother, Wilson,
played. Wilson learned it from their father. It is believed that the
tune was named for Sam and Elzie Crutchfield, father and son, who ran
square dances in the early 1900s near Omega, Illinois. So, when Wilson
was here we had a great jam session with him and finally heard Sam &
Elzie played on the fiddle. At the same jam session, Wilson played a
tune he wrote, which the Brays named after their brother Darwan. Harley
Bray is playing banjo, Shera Bray, guitar, Phil Williams, bass."
So there it is...Sam and Elzie.
listen to Vivian and Phil Williams themselves tell about it and play it: