Irving Broadus
Famous Free-hand Fiddler
With Compliments of the Compiler, Editor + Publisher.
Francis O'Neill
Nov 20 '22
Capt. Francis O'Neill wrote about Irving Broadus in an article for the Cork Examiner in 1934, one of the last things he ever wrote:
THE TRADITIONAL SWING
No one endowed with musical discrimination will deny that there is an appreciable difference between the rendering of Irish dance tunes, by modern musicians, and the traditional or natural swing of the untutored fiddler, whether hailing from Ireland, the backwoods of Mississippi, or Missouri, the prairies of Illinois, or Indiana, or even the hills of Dixieland. For instance, Irving Broadus, a pioneer Illinois farmer, who passed his winters on the Gulf Coast, not alone filled the halls at every entertainment, but "stole the show" with his fiddling, although his daughter, a clever pianist and violinist, college trained, was also on the program. Mr. Broadus, who is of Welsh ancestry, never learned to read music.
Biography:
O’Neill must have known Broadus from his winter home in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, which he bought after he retired.
[Michael O'Malley]
Provenance:
From the collection of Capt. Hugh O'Rourke (ret. NYPD), who purchased this copy on ebay for his library of music.