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APRIL | MAY 2022 • MONTANA SENIOR NEWS ALL ABOUT MONTANA PAGE 9
fiddler from California, called Santa Claus out the rhythm with his feet while he
(his stage name), walked up all dressed to played, but his feet hitting the rug on the
the nines in his mariachi outfit, carrying a floor was just not coming through well
fiddle case, and [the great bluegrass banjo in the recording—it was kind of a muddy
player] Ralph Stanley invited him to join thump. So, we went downstairs in the
the session. Ralph asked Santa, ‘Can you basement and found an old door off its
play that fiddle? You want to play with us?’ hinges and brought that up and propped it
and Santa launched right into a blistering up on the corners with a few books to keep
rendition of ‘Orange Blossom Special.’ it off the floor and had him play on top of
Well, Ralph was so impressed he invited that door,” said Korn. “You can hear how
Santa up on stage with the Ralph Stanley good it sounds on the record!”
Band the next day, saying ‘We’d like to Korn related one other memorable
invite a new friend we made last night to recording session in which they traveled
come up here and join us.’ That festival off-grid, south of Rosebud Creek, to record
really was a memorable celebration of Harold Sprague’s fiddling.
American diversity, in terms of music.” “Now, he lived out there with no elec-
A few years later, Korn arrived in Helena, tricity, so we had to bring a battery-operated
Montana, where he landed a job as the outfit, and we just set up outside in the yard.
state’s first folklorist, under the auspices of What’s great about that recording (“When
the Montana Arts Council. Under his tenure, You and I Were Young, Maggie”) is between
The Montana Folklife Project produced a pair verses you can hear the meadowlarks sing-
of LP phonograph records documenting ing in the background as he plays.”
some of the state’s finest folk musicians. Eventually Mike shifted gears from
The first, When the Work’s All Done This being a folklorist to working for the State
Fall (1982), showcased western musicians of Montana in FWP.
from around the state performing authentic “I worked a lot with landowners and
traditional cowboy songs. The second, If ranchers, which came real natural to me from
You Can’t Dance to It, It’s Not Old-Time Fiddle all the field work I did before,” Korn said.
(1986), similarly captured live performances After 27 years, he hung up that hat, too,
from some of Montana’s most important and is now enjoying retirement.
old-time dance musicians. “I pretty much get to do whatever I
“When we recorded the great Metis Mike Korn was Montana’s first folklorist, under the want, now,” he said. “And I am going to get
fiddler, Alec Allery, at his niece’s house auspices of the Montana Arts Council. Under his back into playing music myself and playing
in Missoula, he played a Red River fiddle tenure, The Montana Folklife Project produced the LP the old tunes.” MSN
tune called ‘The Dying Cowboy.’ He was If You Can’t Dance to It, It’s Not Old-Time Fiddle (1986),
documenting some of the state’s finest folk musicians.
fiddling in the traditional way, stamping
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