Contradance Sets

[LeftCoastMark]

I'm putting together some new dance sets for my contradance ensemble, and I'm wanting to use OT tunes that are widely known to amongst the general public. People certainly respond to tunes that are familiar differently than to ones that are obscure/unfamiliar.

So I'm looking for some ideas on traditional tunes that people just know, thought they might not why or where they've heard it before.

My ideas so far are Arkansas Traveler, Miss McCloud's Reel, and Redwing.

[PhilGE]

The Girl I Left Behind Me (?), Soldier's Joy, She'll Be Comin' 'round The Mountain, Golden Slippers, Turkey In The Straw, Oh Suzannah.

Then there's the "Old-Time-TV-Theme-Song" sets of the Mickey Mouse Club Theme, The Jetsons, etc... I kid you not...

[John Flynn]

It's hard to tell what people are going to know, but here are the most common contra standards around these parts:
Cumberland Gap
Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
Step Around Johnny
Cluck Old Hen
Shortnin’ Bread
Stay All Night (aka Waterbound)
Angeline the Baker
Eighth of January (aka The Battle of New Orleans)

[LeftCoastMark]

I'm definitely looking for stuff that people would have heard, not the standard contra sets. We have literally hundreds of OT numbers amongst us in the band, but I'm not looking to enlighten the dancers as to entertain them. And contradance band repetoire's have become so varied, that I'm hoping to reengage the OT repetoire by providing a product with familiarity to the dancers.

Eighth of January is a great example of what I'm looking for, as well as Turkey in the Straw, and the Girl I left Behind. I'm on the hunt for those OT numbers that are just kind of stuck in everyone's head from somewhere......

[doanepoole]

Might as well throw in Sailor's Hornpipe....everyone's heard that.

If your band can play jigs (not really OT but can be played with typical OT instruemntation) how about Pop Goes the Weasel...there's several other jigs I can think of the melody but not the title that could work here.

Don't know if your singing but Skip to My Lou is one everyobody knows.

[Bobbie Dier]

Your not in the south,.... but people probably have heard and could dance to this tune,"Dixie", I wish I was in the land of cotton old times there are not forgotten look away..... You know the rest. It's a fun tune to play and really not that easy.
ima

[LeftCoastMark]

Great advice. Thanks ya'll. I've put a lot of these tunes into the rotation. Still looking for more.... You know, sort of the old-timey hits of old-timey.

One tune I've added for this week's dance, I'm not sure if it's traditional, but it's got an anti-war theme that I sure am feeling these days -- "Down By The Riverside". Thanks again for the great ideas.

[mandorado]

Here are a few ideas.
Staton Island Hornpipe
Black Widow Romp
Sally Ann Johnson
Speed the Plow
Cripple Creek
Forked Deer
Push The Pigs Foot
Farewell to Whiskey
Ragtime Annie
Yellow Barber
Woodchoppers Reel
Big Siota