Louisiana

Louisiana does not have an official state waltz, but ...

The Cajuns are second only to the Viennese in loving a good waltz.  Cajun waltzes make up the majority of the nearly thirty songs with the words "Louisiana" and "waltz" in the title. Twenty-two of those are, in fact titled Louisiana Waltz.  But the most covered waltz celebrating Louisiana is Louisiana Rambler Waltz (sometimes rendered as Louisiana Rambler's or Ramblers Waltz) composed by Eddie Shuler. It was first recorded in 1969 in Shuler's own Goldband studios in Lake Charles, Louisiana by Nolan Cormier and his Ramblers with vocal by Robert Bertrand on a 45 rpm record (Goldband 1211).  A wonderful, homestyle performance of Louisiana Rambler's Waltz by the late Charlie "Wine" Thibodeaux - accordion, Popa Robin (Bruck) - fiddle and Beth Fontenot (Fogleman) - guitar is provided below.

There is also a live performance on YouTube of Louisiana Ramblers Waltz performed by T'Monde - Kelli Jones (fiddle, vocal), Drew Simon (accordion) and Megan Brown (guitar) - in a August 17, 2014 performance in Seattle. (If you enjoy this one, check out their performance of one of their original tunes, The Two Step des Yeux Bleus.)

There are three other versions of Louisiana Rambler Waltz available on YouTube.

• Donald Thibodeaux and Cajun Fever on the Fred's Hot Step CD on the Arhoolie label (1997). You can Listen here.


• Ray Abshire and Friends on the For Old Times Sake CD on the Swallow Records label (2003). You can listen here.


• Kegan Navarre and Louisiana Traditions on the Kegan Navarre and Louisiana Traditions CD (2004). You can listen here.

And then there is Louisiana Waltz.  There are at least twenty-two versions, each one by a different composer, and that doesn't count those that received copyrights but were never captured in sheet music or records. A curated selection is highlighted below followed by a list of the rest.

The earliest Louisiana Waltz found was sheet music available in the Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection in the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries and University Museums. It was composed in 1919 by Harold Dixon with lyrics by Robert E. Hary and published by Dixon-Lane Pub. Co. in Chicago. It is definitely not Cajun in origin. A computer generated rendition is given below.

There are only two live performance of Louisiana Waltz available on YouTube. The one with the most views is a curiously lifeless performance at the Triple Door in Seattle, Washington. It is performed by the composer, Eric Apoe, and a set of musicians who gathered for a reunion with Cajun star Doug Kershaw who, unfortunately, had not joined them yet in this January, 2008 performance.

The second live performance is by Mike Montana whose Louisiana Waltz was written with the memory of his mother in mind. This is far from a polished video production, but it's a well written song.

The earliest recorded Louisiana waltz is Valse de la Louisianne recorded in 1929 by accordion player Angelas LeJeune on the Brunswick label in New Orleans.  According to the superb blog, Early Cajun Music, the first recording of Cajun music was in 1928, so this is a very early recording. It is probable but not certain that he wrote the tune also.

In 1948, fiddler, Floyd LeBlanc (1924-1975) from Mermentau, Louisiana recorded Louisiana Waltz  on the Opera label (Opera 107).  The record label indicates that LeBlanc also wrote the song. The audio track from the record paired with some vintage video:

The Hackberry Ramblers were founded in 1933 by fiddler, Luderin Darbone and guitarist, Ed Duhon, who named the group after their hometown of Hackberry, Louisiana. While the musicians have all changed, the group still exists today. The group's first record in 1936 introduced the world to the Cajun classic Jolie Blonde (which is undoubtedly the most popular and most covered Cajun waltz). They went on to become the premier Cajun band of the 30's and 40's but drifted apart in the 50's. In 1963, Chris Strachwitz (founder of Arhoolie Records) tracked down Darbone and regathered the group (a few of the originals had to be replaced by new members) and made a record which contains their version of Louisiana Waltz.

One non-Cajun version of Louisiana Waltz deserves a place in this set because of the novelty of a state waltz being part of an original movie score. It was composed by the French, jazz pianist and composer Claude Bolling for the Philippe de Broca movie Louisiana which starred Margot Kidder.  The movie was French and was never released to U.S. theaters although a sub-titled version appeared on U.S. Television.  Following is from the soundtrack. Lyrics are by Felix Landau, orchestra conducted by Claude Bolling and vocals by Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Claude Tissendier also recorded a cover of Bolling's Louisiana Waltz which can be heard here.

Other Cajun versions of Louisiana Waltz include those of:

• Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, composed by Nathan Williams and Linnie Herpin. Recorded on  El Sid O's Zydeco And Blues Records ‎– ES-101.     Listen on YouTube.


• Richard LeBouef and Two Step, composer unknown. Recorded in 1995 on the La Louisianne album, Les Petites Heures.      Listen on YouTube.


• California Cajun Orchestra, composer unknown. Recorded in 2011 on the Arhoolie album, Not Lonesome Anymore.    Listen on YouTube


• Chuck Guillory, composer unknown. First recorded in 1987 but not released until 1998  Arhoolie CD (AR473), Grand Texas.      Listen on YouTube


• Aldus Roger with vocal by Ben Abshire, composed by Harry Choates. Recorded on La Louisianne label (LL-8076).   No audio file available.


• Jimmy Breaux, composer unknown.  Found on the 1992 La Louisianne CD, Un Tit Peu Plus Cajun, LL-CD-1003.     No audio file available.


• And one final honorary member of this list is Louisiana (without the word waltz) suggested by reader, Wade Falcon.  It was recorded by Harry Choates and his Louisiana String Band on Goldstar 1336.    Listen on YouTube. 

There are a number of country or hillbilly style songs titled Louisiana Waltz including those of:

• Ray Pitre, composed by Ray Pitre. Recorded on Creole Gold (CG-1120).       Listen on YouTube.


• Link Davis, composed by C. Carazo and Link Davis. Recorded on Stoneway Records 1053  Listen on YouTube


• Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue , composer unknown. Recorded in 2010 on the CD Baby label HTRCD02      Listen on YouTube.   (unsolicited editors comment - this is a good one)


• Don Rich (birth name Donald Eugene Ulrich) and the Buckaroos.  Rich was the guitarist and fiddler who led the band that backed Buck Owens of Hee Haw fame.  This is an instrumental featuring Rich's fiddle playing.  Composer unknown. Recorded in 1970 on the Capitol LP, ST-643.   Still available on an imported CD.       Listen on YouTube.


• Gail Russell, a New Zealand country singer and entertainer.  Music and lyrics are by the late Ed Gowens.  Recorded in 2009 on a private label, Where the Roses Never Fade.    Listen on YouTube.


• Bill McDonald and his Dixie Drifters, composed by Bill McDonald.  Recorded on Royalty Records HB-606.   No audio file available.


• Ashley Dees, composer unknown but probably Dees Recorded in 1962 on Star-Win 7005.   No audio file available.

And then there are those songs titled Louisiana Waltz which might be classified as popular including those performed by:

Ken Griffin, composed by Ken Griffin  Recorded in 1953 on Columbia 38866.   Listen on YouTube.

Frank Lester, composed by Jad Dees. Recorded in 1956, on Vik 4X-0198.    No audio file available.

In addition to all those songs titled Louisiana Waltz, there are also several songs which contain the words "Louisiana" and "Waltz" in the title which qualifies them for a place in this blog:

Sad Louisiana Waltz composed and performed by Lisa Mednik Powell. Recorded in 2002 on the her Semaphone CD.    Listen on YouTube.

Louisiana Bayou Waltz by Link Davis, Jr. performed by Link Davis, Jr. and the Sons of Cajun Crawdaddy.  Recorded on Buttermilk VRRNP-487.    No audio file available.

Most Beautiful Waltz in Louisiana composed and performed by Raymond Tauzin.  Recorded on Nett Records No. 1004.     View on YouTube.

La Louisiane Waltz by Chris Ardoin, performed by Chris Ardoin. Recorded in 2015 on the Maison de Soul album, Zydeko Fever.     Listen on YouTube

Items found but not included:

Louisiana Waltz Song - Achildren's song. Not its correct name although there is a YouTube video so titled.

The following were issued copyrights but no evidence was found that the songs were ever published or recorded:

• Irwin Joseph Picou for The Louisiana Waltz, in 1958
• Robert Hinson, Harry and Mildred Bell for That Louisiana Waltz in 1958
• Bob McNett and Patsy Montana for Louisiana Waltz, in 1976
• Richard J. Anson for Louisiana Waltz in 1961
• Donald Anstett for Louisiana Waltz in 1961
• G.L. Curth for Louisiana Waltz in 1966

Below is a simplified score for Louisiana Ramblers Waltz.  If a reader could help with the French lyrics, it would be appreciated.

This score represents just the backbone of the song.  All performers "improve" it with a bit of swing, a bit of fill behind the four-beat held notes and occasionally with a different note.  You can play this score behind four of the five versions of Louisiana Ramblers Waltz on this blog and sound good.  The exception is the version by T'Monde who play it in the key of C# instead of C.  Cajun music is "locked in" to the key of the accordion since they play in only one key and in most cases, that key is C.  It is quite unusual to find a single row, Cajun accordion in the key of C# but Drew Simon plays one here.  Why? Probably because it makes the sound a bit "brighter" and makes them stand out relative to other Cajun bands. Famed Irish concertina player, Noel Hill, does the same thing.  He plays many of his solo concerts on a C#/G# Anglo concertina just to make his sound different and brighter than others.  He also keeps a C/G concertina handy to use if another musician joins him on stage.

Return to the Index of Other States

You have reached the bottom of this blog and since rarely does a reader make it to this point, I will risk a few personal recollections.  I grew up in Orange, Texas just across the Sabine River from Louisiana.  While Louisiana can claim most Cajuns, the southeast corner of Texas, particularly the "golden triangle" of Orange - Port Arthur - Beaumont, is home to many Cajuns. I went to school with kids who spoke no English when they started school - French was the language of their home, their friends and their radio.  My father spoke "Cajun French" in his job in the personnel office of the Levingston Shipyards so he could hire welders and pipefitters for the company.  We lived for a while on the banks of Cow Bayou just downstream of B.O.'s Sparkle Club where on a Saturday night, you could hear the Cajun music coming from the club through the open windows of our 1949 Plymouth as we drove across the bridge over Cow Bayou on Highway 87.  The waltzes of this state are special to me.

Kentucky

If Tennessee Waltz is the mother of all waltzes, then Kentucky Waltz is the father.  Bill Monroe's Kentucky Waltz was the inspiration for Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart's creation of Tennessee Waltz. According to the book, The Music of Bill Monroe, Kentucky Waltz was first conceived and played by Monroe sometime around 1935 as an instrumental. In 1939, when he arrived in Nashville, he put words to it.  It was the first set of lyrics he had created for a song. He and his band performed it with his guitarist, Clyde Moody, doing the vocals but never recorded it. When the opportunity came to record it in 1945, Moody had left the band so Monroe did the vocals himself. That recording, Columbia 20013, made it as high as number three on the Billboard list of Folk Tune Leaders. In June of 1947, there were four recordings of Kentucky Waltz all competing for sales. In addition to Monroe's, versions by Eddie Dean, Pee Wee King and the Cowboy Copas were all being sold.  That was not unusual in those days, Cool Water, which was number three on that same list had eight different covers for sale. Kentucky Waltz did eventually reach number one on the charts with a 1951 recording by Eddie Arnold (RCA Victor 21-0444).  There are now hundreds, perhaps thousands of covers of the song and not many bluegrass jams close without a round of Kentucky Waltz. The two versions which perhaps best represent the song are offered below - Bill Monroe's first recording and Eddie Arnold's chart-topping version.

There is only one "historical" 19th century waltz celebrating Kentucky.  It is a student piano piece written by John R. Jennings in 1840.  It was part of a suite of three state waltzes honoring Indiana and Ohio in addition to Kentucky.  The piece was dedicated to William Henry Harrison, hero of Tippecanoe, who became the ninth President of the United States in 1841.  Here is a computer generated rendition of Jenning's Kentucky Waltz.

There are two songs titled Old Kentucky Waltz, both newer than Monroe's Kentucky Waltz since they were both released as records in 1949. One was written by "Teepee" Mitchell (birth name Mitchell Lewis Tableporter) and Lew Porter and was recorded by Hal Carey With Bruce Trent And His Western Tunesters on a 78 rpm record, Jewel T-7002. The second Old Kentucky Waltz was written by Vaughn Horton, famous for writing the 1951, Patti Page hit - Mockin'bird Hill, and recorded by Mervin Shiner, a cowboy singing star whose is perhaps best know as the man who first recorded Peter Cottontail. An audio file for the Mitchell/Porter version of Old Kentucky Waltz is not available but the better known tune by Vaughn Horton is available in the Internet Archive and can be heard below.

In 2005, Kentucky's own Sid Griffin recorded a waltz celebrating Kentucky on one of his rare solo albums, As Certain as Sunrise.  The album was recorded in Louisville, Kentucky - some of it in his own living room.  The opening track on that album was a song he wrote - Last Kentucky Waltz. It is a curious blend of Beatles, Byrds and Bluegrass with lyrics that deserve a listen.

The most recent waltz celebrating Kentucky is Blue Kentucky Waltz released on the 2012 recording, No Part of Nothin'. The song was co-written by Alan Tompkins and Gerald Jones. It is sung by Tompkins with Jones playing mandolin.  It sounds like a classic bluegrass waltz and perhaps someday will be.  Tompkins is a native of Western Kentucky and still has a bit of the accent to prove it.  He moved to Texas in 1983 to attend Southern Methodist University. He is one of those men that does it all - works as a licensed attorney and CPA but also found time to found and lead the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation which organizes bluegrass festivals and music camps in north Texas. Lean back and enjoy this one:

The following Kentucky Waltzes were not included:

Several copyrights were noted with no further evidence that the song was published or recorded.

• 1922 - Kentucky Waltz, words by Walter Smith, melody by H.W. Meyerinck
• 1944 - My Old Kentucky Waltz - words and melody by Jerry Fronek
• 1951 - The Beautiful Kentucky Waltz - by Robert Lindsay Hutton
• 1953 - The New Kentucky Waltz - by George Robert Nelson and Robert Stuart Cragin
• 1977 - Old Kentucky Waltz - by Orilla Greenwood and Jane Herman

There is a book of short stories by Gary Barker titled Kentucky Waltz. 

And finally, there is a beer to go with that Iowa Waltz Pizza.  It is called Kentucky Waltz and is a brown ale brewed by Braxton Brewing Company in Covington, Kentucky.  

For those who have made it to the bottom of this page, here is the bonus - lyrics and a simplified score for Bill Monroe's Kentucky Waltz. 

 We were waltzing that night in Kentucky
Beneath the beautiful harvest moon
And I was the boy that was lucky
But it all ended too soon
As I sit here alone in the moonlight
I see your smiling face
And I long once more for your embrace
In that beautiful Kentucky waltz

Note: this score varies from that usually found.  It is meant to be a transcription of the way Bill Monroe originally sang his song in that 1945 recording although it can't capture the bent notes and the swing of the eighth notes.  Bill himself varied the tune with time as is evident is this video duet of Monroe and Emily Lou Harris.

Return to the Index of Waltz of the States

Kansas

The official state song of Kansas is a waltz and you probably know the song - Home on the Range. It is the quintessential cowboy song. The Kansapedia of the Kansas Historical Society has an excellent history of the song.  It began as a poem by Dr. Brewster M. Higley which was put to music by Daniel E. Kelley. It was first published as sheet music in 1925 and first recorded by country singer, Vernon Dalhart, in 1929. On June 30th, 1947, the Kansas legislature made it the official state song.  For those who object to calling it a waltz, their attention is called to a very dance-able version from the Dancing Clarinet of Hugo Strasser or to the the elegant waltz performed to Home on the Range as choreographed by Yasuyo Watanabe. There are hundreds of covers of Home on the Range made by singers from Bing Crosby to Bugs Bunny but for the purposes of this blog, the original by Vernon Dalhart will be shared:

There are at least three 19th century Kansas waltzes. In 1883, A.W. Perry and Sons of Sedalia, Missouri, published Belles of Kansas Waltz by Frank F. Bidwell. Also in the 1880's, A.W. Perry published Sunny Kansas Waltz by Lona DeWitt.  A. W. Perry was the dominant music publisher in Missouri and Kansas. Interestingly, they turned down the chance to publish Maple Leaf Rag by Sedalia's most famous resident, Scott Joplin, possibly because they did not see a future in ragtime music. They did eventually publish some of his later works.  DeWitt's Sunny Kansas Waltz is decidedly not ragtime as you tell by listening to the song below.

Sunny Kansas Waltz is a curiously popular title. A.W. Perry, publisher of the above Sunny Kansas Waltz also published a monthly magazine called Perry's Musical Magazine.  The first issue was published in 1881 and the final issue, unbelievably, was published in the 1960's.  In May, 1922 Perry's Musical Magazine contained the full score of a piece titled Sunny Kansas Waltz only this one was written by W.M. Shields, arranged by C.E. Wheeler.  That particular issue has been scanned by the Google Books project and the full score is available online here. It is completely different from the DeWitt version.  And, completing this trifecta of Sunny Kansas Waltzes is one composed in 1906 by Jesse Wilma Blanpied and published by Pioneer Music Publishing Co. Sadly, only the copyright for this third Sunny Kansas Waltz remains.

In 1885, W.F. Shaw published Kansas Waltz composed by Fred. Hoffmann for piano.  A copy resides in the U.S. Library of Congress Notated Music Collection.  You can listen to a computer generated transcription of Hoffmann's Kansas Waltz below.

There is a fiddle tune titled Kansas Waltz.  Mike Black, of the group Three Bean Salad learned Kansas Waltz from fiddler James Bryan.  A score from Bryan suggests that Kansas Waltz is credited to Elias Howe, 1861. Indeed it can be found in Howe's Musician's Omnibus No. 2 published in 1862. (Note - if you follow the preceding link,  Kansas Waltz is on page 147.) While Howe was a fiddle player, he was primarily a collector and publisher of dance tunes popular in the mid 19th century.  It seems probable that Howe collected rather than wrote the tune so it may fit into that category titled "traditional." Regardless, it is thanks to musicians like Bryan and Black that the tune has been revived and currently thrives in the old-time fiddle repertoire.  Several examples exist on YouTube including those of Three Bean Salad, FreshGrass and mandothumper but the most authentic version is probably that of the man who most likely rediscovered the tune, James Bryan. He is accompanied on mandolin by Carl Jones on the CD titled Cricket's Lullaby. You can hear it below.

There is another version of the traditional Kansas Waltz which is worth sharing just because it is beautiful.  It is by talented, multi-instrumentalist Larry Lintner.  Listen below.

Kansas is one of those states that almost missed the flurry of state waltzes when Tennessee Waltz became popular.  There are no 45 rpm or 78 rpm singles of Kansas waltzes from that period but there was a song titled The Kansas Waltz with words written by Charlotte Hiler and music by Howard Redmond.  A copy exists in the Kirk Collection of Song Sheets at Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana University.  It was published in 1950 by Peer International Corporation. A request has been made to that library for a copy.

Kansas Sunflower Waltz was composed by Leo Eiltz and recorded in the back of his van in Stockton, Kansas in August, 2008. He has preserved that moment on YouTube:

What is not included:

The November 2, 1987, Salina Journal reported that Ernestine "Teen" Donahue had composed and copyrighted a Kansas Waltz and had performed it, accompanying herself on the mandolin, at the Herington (Kansas) Centennial in March of 1987. The article also noted that "Teen" is 73 years old. Sadly, no further trace of the song has been found.

A Wichita, Kansas band called Calamity Cubes recorded a tune titled Kansas Waltz on their CD, Old World's Oceans. The band's music has been described as Alt Country, Country Underground, Prairie Grass or Trashicana.  The version of their Kansas Waltz that can be found on-line is far from being a waltz, so it was not included here.

For those of you who have persisted to the end of this blog, here are two scores for the traditional Kansas Waltz.  The first is as it was taught by James Bryan to Mike Black (thanks to Mike for sharing it with Waltz Across the States) and the second is as it appeared in Elias Howe's Musician's Omnibus.

Return to the Index of Other States

Iowa

The official state song of Iowa, The Song of Iowa, is in waltz form (3/4 time), but you are more likely to get the urge to decorate a Christmas tree than to dance a waltz because it is sung to the tune of O Tannenbaum.  That could change soon because the Iowa state legislature plans this year to consider House Joint Resolution 2007 which proposes to make Greg Brown's Iowa Waltz the state song. It is a choice that many will cheer. Judging by the number of covers of the song on YouTube, it is quite popular and well known in the state.  Sadly, there is not a video of Brown singing Iowa Waltz live but the definitive recording from the 1981, Iowa Waltz album on the Red House label is below.

There are many covers of Brown's Iowa Waltz, too many to report here but one has received more media attention than any other and that is one featuring 2016 Presidential candidate and Governor of the state of Maryland, Martin O'Malley.  He sang it at most of his campaign appearances in the state of Iowa. It didn't seem to help, he dropped out of the race after doing poorly in the Iowa caucuses.

In 1996 for the Iowa Sesquicentennial, Dave Hearn wrote some of the words and the music for The Old Iowa Waltz. Shadric Smith added to the lyrics so both of them are usually credited for the waltz.  Here it is being performed by one of the composers and his wife, Debbie on May 14, 2015 at Byron's Songwriter's night in Pomeroy, Iowa.

And, just to show that there is something about waltzes and politics in Iowa, here is U.S. Congressman Tom Latham singing The Old Iowa Waltz with the Frontier Fiddle Band which happens to have both of the songwriters in the band: Shadric on guitar and Hearn on piano. This one was filmed at Latham's farm in Alexander, Iowa in 2002.

In 2007, a New York based honky-tonk band called Sweet William (not to be confused with the German rock band, Sweet William) released an album on the CD Baby label titled More Than Fun. It contained a track titled Iowa Waltz.  It was written by Katherine Etzel who was born and raised in Fort Dodge, Iowa and was a member of Sweet William from 2003-2007. Here it is:

There is one published "historic" Iowa waltz, titled Iowa Dream Waltz which was written in 1926 by Dr. Lew Arntz with words by Olivette Heinrich. The Special Collections and University Archives has a copy. Hopefully, they will share a copy with this blog so the music can once again be heard but if you can't wait to hear it, one of Amazon.com's vendors currently has a copy for sale.

There are two other Iowa waltzes which were recorded on small, local labels.  Dates for both are unknown but it is probable that the first one was recorded in the 1950's. Titled Iowa Waltz, it was composed by Frank Cotier and performed on organ by Cotier on two different labels.  The first was his own label Fran-Co where it is found on Fran-Co 3200.  It was also recorded on Dudley 6000 with a different song on the flip side. While most state waltzes are in a country format, this one would best be described as a polka waltz. Thanks to somelocalloser, who shared a copy of the audio file from his record collection, you can hear it below.

The second Iowa waltz was also titled Iowa Waltz and is found on Whitkay EP-504. It was sung by and probably composed by Helen Evelyn (Kay) Smith Whittaker Gardner (1923-2002) who performed under the name Country Girl Kay. This one is clearly in the country style and is a multi-track duet with Kay singing harmony and melody and probably playing the guitar too. Again, thanks to the somelocalloser blog, you can hear this rare recording below.

The most recent Iowa waltz is quite unusual. Most state waltzes are "country" in style but there is a "classical" Iowa waltz.  Mark Carlson, a well known California composer of chamber music, has written a piece for clarinet, violin, cello and piano titled A Family Portrait in Five Scenes.  The fifth "scene" or movement is titled Iowa Waltz. While a live recording is not available, Professor Carlson has provided a computer generated performance of his Iowa Waltz which you can hear below.

What is not included:

There is a 1973 copyright issued to Frances M. Kadolph for a song titled Iowa Waltz.  No other evidence of this song has been found.

There is a 1921 copyright issued to Francis Olson for a song titled Iowa Waltz.

There is a 1951 copyright issued to Pauline Troster for a song titled Iowa Waltz.

There is a 1951 copyright issued to Ronald Buck and Alice Vonk for a song titled Iowa Waltz.

There is reference to an Iowa Waltz by A. Bollman in the "New Music Received" section of an 1892 book titled The Writer, Vol. 5.

There is a reference to an 1847 Iowa Waltz by Thomas Britcher in Minnesota History published the Minnesota Historical Society in 1943.

And, in a first for this blog, there is an Iowa Waltz Pizza available at The Mill in Iowa City, Iowa.  The pizza features bacon, granny smith apple, walnuts, Asiago, mozzarella, blue cheese and honey on an olive oil thin crust.  According to Marty Christensen, who answers email at The Mill (and probably does a bit more stuff around the shop), the pizza was named after Greg Brown's song because Brown used to sing there in his early days. In 2003, The Mill closed and Brown performed a farewell concert there which you can still watch on the Greg Brown ..last Night at the Mill DVD. Sadly, Iowa Waltz was not on the playlist that night. Fortunately, The Mill has reopened and if you are a music and/or pizza lover and are in Iowa City, this looks like a great place to visit.

And as a reward for those few who made it to the end of this blog, here are the lyrics and a simplified score for Brown's Iowa Waltz.

Lyrics - Copyright © 1981, 1984 Brown Street Music

Home in the midst of the corn,
The middle of the U.S.A.
Here's where I was born,
And here's where I'm goin' to stay.

[chorus} 
Iowa, Iowa,
Winter, spring, summer and fall.
Come and see, come dance with me,
To the beautiful Iowa Waltz.

We take care of our own,take care of our young,
Make hay while the sun shines.
Growing our crops, singing our songs,
And planting until harvest time.

Simplified score:

Return to the Index of other State Waltzes.

Indiana

While there are a number of Indiana waltzes the most popular one appeared almost simultaneously with Tennessee Waltz. The August 7, 1948 issue of Billboard Magazine announced the release of Pee Wee Jenkins and his Barn Dance Buddies recording of Indiana Waltz on the Mercury label.  That same issue reported that Tennessee Waltz played by Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys was number four on the Most-Played Jukebox Folk Records list. Fred Rose was the common denominator of the two records. Fred Rose is one of the founding fathers of American country music. He was one of the first to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was a song wrangler - he connected songwriters, singers and record producers. He was also a composer, a session pianist and personal advisor to country stars from Gene Autry to Hank Williams to the Louvin Brothers.  Rose wrote the words and music to Indiana Waltz and when Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart sought a publisher for Tennessee Waltz, they brought it to Rose.  Rose was a native of Indiana and that plus the success of Bill Monroe's Kentucky Waltz and his knowledge of Tennessee Waltz may have inspired him to write the song. Both Indiana Waltz and Tennessee waltz were first recorded in the month of December, 1947. There is some similarity in the stories told by the songs and both songs are self-referential - couples dancing to the very song that is being sung.  Indiana Waltz has a happy ending; Tennessee Waltz has a sad ending. Rose apparently convinced two record companies to record his Indiana Waltz. The first was recorded by Eddie Hazelwood on the Decca label (46129), released in December, 1947 followed in August, 1948 with a recording by Pee Wee Jenkins and his Barn Dance Buddies on the Mercury label (6124). You can hear the Pee Wee Jenkins version below. Neither record made the charts.

Rome Johnson also released a version of Rose's Indiana Waltz in 1948 on MGM 10130 but it was not until 1959 that Rose's Indiana Waltz got another chance at popularity when it appeared on Jack Scott's first LP which was on the Carleton label.  Scott was just emerging as a Canadian rock star when his laconic version of Indiana Waltz was released.  It was reissued on several of his later albums.

You can find lyrics and a simplified score for Rose's Indiana Waltz at the bottom of this blog.

Several years after Rose's decidedly Nashville version of Indiana Waltz, Robert Sauer and Eric Gawehn created a tin pan alley version of Indiana Waltz.  It was recorded on the Rondo label with the Melody Five doing the vocals accompanied by the Bill Walker trio. The recording date is uncertain but there is evidence of a studio recording gig for Bill Walker in 1951, making that the probable date. The recording is available on the Internet Archive website and in a noise-reduced version below.

New Indiana Waltz, composed by  Earl A. Brooks, appeared in the same time period as the Rose and Sauer/Gawehn versions.  It was recorded on the Noble label (NR141) by Bud Greenwalt. A sound file for this record is not currently available.

In 1956, Rosemary Mitchell recorded Indiana Waltz by Les Cox on a local Indiana label, Solid Gold (711).  She was accompanied by Eddie Ballantine's Orchestra. Billboard magazine described the tune as "a charming liltet in the Tennessee Waltz family." A sound file for this record is not currently available.

There are several "historic" 19th and early 20th century Indiana waltzes.  The excellent IN Harmony website which combines sheet music collections from Indiana University Lilly Library, the Indiana State Library, the Indiana State Museum, and the Indiana Historical Society lists two along with many other Indiana related waltzes:

The Indiana Grand Valse (1856) by G. Marcailhou
Governors of Indiana Waltz (1904) by Giuseppe Marone

But the earliest known Indiana Waltz was composed by John R. Jennings in 1840. A copy is available in the Notated Music Collection of the U.S. Library of Congress.  In addition to his Indiana Waltz, Jennings also composed a Kentucky Waltz and an Ohio Waltz which will be visited later in this blog. Here is his Indiana Waltz:

There is a traditional fiddle tune titled Indiana Waltz which has been passed down through generations of folk musicians.  You can hear a raw version of it played by Ellis Vorhees collected in 1973 in a field recording by Bruce Greene of Berea College.  A more refined version, but still very much in the folk tradition is the one below played by "Uncle Luther."

The same tune refined into a bluegrass waltz appears on the album Country Mountain Favorites.  According to Banjo Hangout, the music on that album was made by the musicians from the group Foghorn Stringband and some of their friends.  The group had a five day recording session where they recorded 90 tunes which were released on a series of six albums under several labels.  The group is known on those albums as the Pine Tree String Band. Here is their version of the traditional Indiana Waltz.

The most recent Indiana waltz dates to 1996. It was written by Richard Greene, who is believed by many to be the best bluegrass fiddler ever - maybe the best fiddler ever since he also plays jazz, folk, rock and classical music. He is also a fine composer as you can hear from his Indiana Waltz as it appears on the album, Wolves A Howlin':

Greene has published transcriptions of all the tunes on the Wolves A'Howlin record.  You can buy them in his website store. Greene is also a frequent teacher at fiddle camps including the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp. It is not know if he was at the 2006 Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp but Miss Molly either learned it from him there or carefully studied his transcription because she plays a nice cover of the tune with Miss Molly's Bogglemuffins:

Indiana waltz candidates found but not included in this blog include:

Two copyrights to Indiana Waltzes were found but no other evidence that they were ever performed:

•  1920 copyright issued to Walter A. Stoube for a piano composition titled Indiana Waltz
•  1949 copyright issued to Norman Bradford Hughes for a song titled Indiana Waltz

The 1961 Stecheson Classified Song Directory Supplement lists on page 425 an Indiana Waltz composed by Bourne.

The Complete Catalogue of Sheet Music Published by the Board of Musical Trade of the United States lists an Indiana Waltz composed by Keller.

There is a 1922 recording of Indiana Lullaby by Elsie Baker and Olive Cline  which is sometimes improperly identified as Indiana Lullaby Waltz.

There is an Indiana Waltz from the1886 comic opera, Indiana, music by Edmond Audran, book by Liddell.  The opera was originated in France but translated into English for performance in London and New York in 1887.  The score is available in the Notated Music section of the Library of Congress but is not included here since the subject is no related to the state of Indiana. Indiana was a relatively common French name for women at the time.

There is an mid-19th century Indiana Waltz by Gatien Marcailhou of which there is a piano performance on YouTube.  The subject of piece is title character in George Sand's novel Indiana. Marcailhou also published a story inspired by his waltz. It was illustrated with color plates of watercolors.  Judging by the number of contemporary references to Marcailhou's song in Google Books, this was a very popular song at the time of its composition.

And finally, here are the lyrics and a simplified score for Fred Rose's Indiana Waltz:

Beneath the stars,
We heard two guitars
play the Indiana Waltz.
And just by chance,
I asked you to dance
To the Indiana Waltz

I held you near,
My heart stood still.
I loved you then
And always will.
I thank the stars
And singin' guitars
For the Indiana waltz

 
Return to the Index of other state waltzes.

Illinois

Illinois does not have an official state waltz but there are a number of songs with "Illinois" and "Waltz" in the title.
The earliest such song note is in sheet music form and can be found in the Notated Music Collection of the Library of Congress.  It is a piano instrumental, best described as a parlor waltz - for listening, not dancing, and it was composed by Charles Geissler and published by Balmer and Weber, St. Louis in 1855.  You can hear a computer generated version of it below.

In 1860, Baker Graves published Illinois Waltz composed by L. L. Emmons.  It is a simple waltz for the beginning piano student.  You can find a score here in the HathiTrust Digital Library.

The most watched Illinois Waltz is one performed by Leon Olsen at the Ellsworth Wisconsin Polka Fest. Olsen, a member of the World Concertina Congress Hall of Fame, plays a chemnitzer concertina and leads the Leon Olsen Show, one of the most popular polka bands in the U.S. Midwest. The composer of Olsen's Illinois Waltz unknown. In addition to the Illinois Waltz in the video below, you can find many other videos by Leon Olsen and his band on YouTube.

You will find a simplified score for Olsen's Illinois Waltz at the bottom of this page.

There is only one other Illinois Waltz available on YouTube and that is a version written and performed by Timothy Twiss.  The full title is Masciale's Illinois Waltz. Twiss has composed 15 or so tunes for his banjo friends and titles each one with the persons name and their geographic location. You can find several such tunes in Twiss's YouTube video uploads.  John Masciale, the subject of this waltz, is host of the Minstrel Banjo website and a performer with his wife in the group Tin Cremona which performs pieces from the mid-19th century on copies of historic instruments, including the banjo.

There are two other songs titled Illinois Waltz worthy of mention.  Unfortunately, recordings of these two have not been found.  The first is a version credited to Charles "Chaw" Mank and Red Thompson, published in 1948 by Mank's Blue Ribbon Music Company in Staunton, Illinois. Although very rare, copies of the sheet music are still found. The song was recorded by Fred Oliver's Prairie Pioneers in 1949 on the Hart-Van label.

The second was written by James Rust and recorded sometime in the 1950's by Bluegrass Jim (James Rust?) on K-Ark 205.

What has been left out:

There are several Illinois Waltzes noted only in copyrights:

• The Illinois Waltz (subtitled Corn Palace Song) by Muriel Smith, 1953
• Illinois Waltz by Guy Crab, 1919
• Beautiful Illinois Waltz by Lloyd Bollinger, 1949

A record, Belco 247, Jack and Lee Ervin has Illinois Waltz on one side and Satin Doll on the other. Belco was a Mesquite, TX company that specialized in square dance music.

Frankie Yankovic's Joliet Waltz is sometimes misidentified as Joliet Illinois Waltz.

Scores and Lyrics

Here is that simplified score of the Illinois Waltz played by Leon Olsen (although not in Olsen's key).

Return to the Index of Other State Songs

Idaho

Like Hawaii, the official state song of Idaho, Here We Have Idaho, is in waltz form and the "official score" contained in M.J. Bristow's book, State Songs of America, even specifies "Waltz tempo." It could be a dance-able waltz although it is usually performed with the dignity that an official state song deserves. The story behind this song is best told in a Digital Memory from the University of Idaho's Special Collections and Archives. The melody was composed in 1915 by Sallie Hume-Douglas, a young teacher in Hawaii who wrote songs as a hobby. She also wrote both music and lyrics and called her song Garden of Paradise (subtitled Hawaiian Love Song).  McKinley Helm, a student at the University of Idaho heard the melody somewhere and decided to use it to win a 1917 song contest at the University.  He wrote lyrics for the melody (which are still used today as the chorus) and another student, Alice Bessee helped set them to music.   Their adaptation won the contest and was eventually adopted as the school's alma mater. With a few additional changes to the lyrics, it was named the state song by the Idaho state legislature on March 11, 1931.  The Hawaiian roots of Idaho's state song are also apparent in a 1927 recording of Garden of Paradise by the Hawaiian baritone, Keaumoku A. Louis, on an RCA Victor disc, PBVE-305 - a ukulele was included in the orchestra. But the song is best when sung by genuine Idahoans like the fourth graders from Tiebreaker Elementary in Idaho Falls:

Lyrics and a simplified score for Here We Have Idaho can be found at the bottom of this blog post.

The earliest known waltz celebrating Idaho is from 1864 - Idaho Waltz by H. Schirner. It was a parlor piano piece published as sheet music by Chicago publisher, H.M. Higgins.  Gary Eller, a nuclear scientist and musicologist, has not only described the song in his Pre-1919 Idaho Songs website, he has also performed it on the banjo accompanied by Sean Rogers on the piano.  You can listen to Sean and Gary play it here. or you can buy their CD, High Tone Music from Idaho, and hear it along with fifteen other Idaho tunes from the pre-radio era.

In 1961, Jimmy Heath and the Rhythm Rollers recorded Idaho Waltz composed by Charlie "Idaho" Crump on a 45 rpm record issued on the Mega label.  According to Bill Chiles, Jimmy Heath used to appear at the Green Key honky-tonk in Pocatello and first recorded the song on a Voice-o-Graph type machine in a 5-and-dime store.  Chiles learned the song from a cassette made from that record.  While that story does have a certain ring of truth to it, one wonders if that cassette tape was made from the Mega label recording.  At any rate, here is a performance by Chiles of Idaho Waltz followed by the original recording by Jimmy Heath (thanks to Gary Eller for providing Heath's recording).

Sometime in the 1950's - probably 1954, Dusty Taylor and his band, the Rainbow Valley Rangers, recorded Idaho Waltz, written by H.E. Taylor, on 78 rpm record on the Nugget Label. (It is not relevant to this blog but there is an interesting story about Nugget and the OP series records here.) Thanks to an extra effort by "Armadillo Killer", you can hear Taylor's version of Idaho Waltz on YouTube:

The most recent waltz recorded to celebrate Idaho is Idaho Solstice Waltz by Sassafras Stomp. It was recorded in 2012 in a Maine  cabin built by Sassafras Stomp fiddler, Johanna Davis, a native of Maine.  The tune was written by guitarist Adam Nordell, the other half of Sassafras Stomp.  Nordell's roots are in Montana and the pair met and performed there before moving to Maine in 2010. In a personal communication, here is what Nordell says about the creation of the song - "Idaho Solstice was written at the Harriman Ranch State Park in Island Park, Idaho - a beautiful patchwork of lodgepole pine woods, expansive meadows and wetlands along the Henry's Fork of the Snake River.  My family has spent uncountable weekends there. Johanna and I skied into the park with my family in late December, and I wrote the tune in the old ranch cook house under clear starry skies, surrounded by a favorite place covered in snow." The song appears on their first album, Sassafras Stomp. You can listen to it below:

What is not included:

There is a 1972 copyright to an Idaho Waltz  granted to Lee. B. Gregory
There is a 1974 copyright to Beautiful Idaho Waltz granted to Donald E. Stull

Since no further information about these waltzes was found, they were not included.

If you know other examples of Idaho waltzes, please leave a comment below.


And finally, here are the lyrics to Here We Have Idaho followed by a simplified score:

You've heard of the wonders our land does possess...
Its beautiful valleys and hills...
The majestic forests where nature abounds...
We love every nook and rill...

Chorus

And here we have Idaho...
Winning her way to fame...
Silver and gold in the sunlight blaze...
and romance lies in her name...

Singing, we're singing of you...
Ah, proudly too,
All our lives through (quickly)we'll go
Singing, singing of you,
Alma mater of Idaho.

verse 2

There's truly one state in this great land of ours
Where ideals can be realized.
The pioneers made it so for you and me,
A legacy we'll always prize.

Return to the Index