Dill Pickle Rag
About This Song
Dill Pickle Rag started life as a piano rag called "Dill Pickles," written by Kansas City composer Charles L. Johnson and published in 1906. He was finishing it at the Carl Hoffman Music Company when the bookkeeper asked what it was called. Johnson noticed a clerk carrying a carton of pickles for his dinner and named the rag after them. It became the second rag to sell a million copies of sheet music, after Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag." More than thirty 78 rpm recordings followed, and fiddlers soon took it into the old-time repertoire. By 1954 folklorist Vance Randolph was listing it among "traditional" Ozark fiddle tunes.
| Year | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Roane County Ramblers | Issued under the title "Everybody Two Step," with Jimmy McCarroll on fiddle |
| 1966 | Doc Watson | Played on 12-string guitar |
| 1980 | Chet Atkins and Doc Watson | Opening track of their duet album Reflections |
Also recorded by Bill Monroe with Kenny Baker on fiddle.
The C part keeps the trio key change from the original rag, moving to the 4, and the flat 7 near its end works as the 4 of that new key. The chart then returns to an A part to finish.
