"Superb Fiddling" Not much is known of fiddler Buddy Durham except by those who recall his performances on radio WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia in the late 1950s and early 60s. He never recorded for a major label, keeping his fiddling for a series of 45rpm discs and EPs on his own Emperor label that was based in Wheeling. Those old enough to remember the WWVA broadcasts in the 1955-1966 period will recognize many of the tunes here, especially MAPLE SUGAR, his own DURHAM'S BULL and MY LITTLE HOME IN WEST VIRGINIA (used as a theme tune for Lee Moore's all night radio show, along with other versions by Doc Williams and the wonderful original version by Ellis & Bill). There are 20 tracks on this CD, but twelve of them are medleys of two or three tunes, so there is a lot of music on this disc. On a few of the recordings the sound quality is pretty funky, but for the most part the music is enjoyable and it's a good place for fiddlers to hear and learn good versions of many classic fiddle tunes like DURANG'S HORNPIPE, BILLY IN THE LOW GROUND, CACKLIN' HEN, EIGHTH OF JANUARY, BLACK MT. RAG, BEAUMONT RAG, etc.
