For all who love great old-time fiddle tunes, here’s a little luncheon treat.

One of my favorites among the old-time tunes is the Eighth of January, which many will remember from the old Johnny Horton country hit The Battle of New Orleans. (The date of the battle was January 8, 1815, and Jimmy Driftwood, an Arkansas school principal who wrote the words to the song to interest children in history, used the fiddle tune for the music.)  The Eighth of January is a sweet little melody that’s relatively easy to play but has lots of possibilities for variations.

I found this video by Roland White with a nice short mandolin version.  I wrote about Roland and his brother Clarence back in March 2009 when they were featured in the Fretboard Journal.

So, on January 8, 2010, enjoy the Eighth of January in a more timeless mode.

More to come…

DJB