Banjo Tunes and Songs

In 1957, archivists Art Rosenbaum and Ed Kahn traveled to Hamilton, Ohio, to look for Pete Steele, a singer and banjo player they had heard on Alan Lomax’s recordings from the 1930s. In the next few months, Kahn recorded Steele playing and talking about his music, and the resulting album, Banjo Tunes and Songs, showcases Steele’s unique two- and three-finger banjo picking style. Included on the album are Steele’s two best known songs, which he learned from his friend Andy Whitaker during his coal-mining days: “Coal Creek March” and “Last Pay Day at Coal Creek” are both written about strikes and disasters at the mine in Coal Creek, Tennessee.

The album also includes Pete’s wife, Lillie Steele, singing two a cappella songs.

Track Listing

101	Poor Ellen Smith Pete Steele	01:45
102	Little Birdie Pete Steele	02:24
103	Train A-Pullin' the Crooked Hill Pete Steele	02:17
104	Galilee Pete Steele and Lillie Steele	02:55
105	The Unclouded Days Pete Steele and Lillie Steele	01:20
106	Shady Grove Pete Steele	01:26
107	The Song of Hard Times Lillie Steele	02:47
108	Goin' Round This World, Baby Mine Pete Steele	01:15
109	East Virginia Pete Steele	02:59
110	The Cuckoo Lillie Steele	00:26
111	The War is A-Ragin' for Johnny Pete Steele	02:11
112	Coal Creek March Pete Steele	02:20
113	Last Payday at Coal Creek Pete Steele	03:03
114	Ida Red Pete Steele	01:18
115	Pretty Polly Pete Steele	04:10
116	The Scoldin' Wife Pete Steele	01:33
117	House Carpenter Pete Steele and Lillie Steele	03:34