Rockin' Alone (In An Old Rockin' Chair): A Song History

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"Rockin' Alone (In an Old Rockin' Chair)" is a song by Bob Miller (1895–1955), who also performed on a 1932 Victor record of it.[1] The Copyright Office's catalog of musical compositions for 1932 lists an unpublished registration dated November 2 of that year, words and melody by Miller, with Crawford Music Corp. as claimant, followed on December 7 by a published edition, words and music by Miller, with a ukulele arrangement.[2]

Wooden platform rocking chair with a perforated seat and back on a cast-iron base

Gardner and Company, Platform Rocking Chair, walnut, plywood and cast iron, patented 1872. An old rocking chair, shown for the song's title.

Miller recorded it in New York on November 3, 1932, singing and playing piano, with Barney Burnett on vocals and banjo and A. Sirillo on guitar.[3] That master appeared on Victor 23745 under the name Burnett Brothers, a record for which the Discography of American Historical Recordings gives sales of 355 copies.[1] A second master from the same session came out on the Electradisk label credited to the Bill Palmer Trio, which the discography identifies as a pseudonym for the Bob Miller Trio.[4] The song kept circulating: Roy Shaffer sang it with guitar for Bluebird in Chicago in 1939, and Eddy Arnold recorded it with the Tennessee Plowboys for Victor in 1947, a recording also issued on RCA Victor 45s and LPs.[5][6]

A piece listed as "Rooking Alone" appears in The Doofus - Occasional Number 3, a collection of eighteen waltzes and old-time songs in 3/4 time for mountain dulcimer, notated by Neal Walters and Heidi Cerrigione from songs performed by their group, The Doofus.[7]

Our book that contains the song "Rockin' Alone (In An Old Rockin' Chair)"

Sources

  1. Discography of American Historical Recordings: "Victor 23745".
  2. Library of Congress Copyright Office (via Internet Archive): "Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3: Musical Compositions, 1932".
  3. Discography of American Historical Recordings: "Victor matrix BS-73912. Rockin' alone (In an old rockin' chair) / Burnett Brothers".
  4. Discography of American Historical Recordings: "Victor matrix BS-73913. Rockin' alone (In an old rockin' chair) / Bill Palmer Trio".
  5. Discography of American Historical Recordings: "Victor matrix BS-040048. Rockin' alone in an old rocking chair / Roy Shaffer".
  6. Discography of American Historical Recordings: "Victor matrix D7VB-1526. Rockin' alone (in an old rocking chair) / Eddy Arnold ; Tennessee Plowboys".
  7. Neal Walters: "The Doofus - Occasional Number 3 - 18 Waltzes And Old Time Songs In 3/4 Time For Mountain Dulcimer".
  8. Image: Gardner and Company, Platform Rocking Chair, walnut, plywood and cast iron, patented 1872. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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