Dwight Lamb: Transcript

Old-time fiddler and accordionist
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My name is Dwight Lamb. I live here in Onawa, have for the last 60 years, more or less. When I was 12 years old, my grandfather, my mother's father, sold his farm and moved. Came to live with my parents. And when he came, he brought a little old Danish button accordion with him that struck my fancy. And that's what I started, was playing the button accordion, when I was 12. (Music)

My dad played fiddle, and I always enjoyed listening to him and learning the tunes. And I guess that's probably what really got me started wanting to learn the fiddle tunes. And then my father used to listen to Bob Walters when he played on the radio. And I would hear him listening in the morning, so I would get up and listen also. After I got out of high school, I went over and I met Bob Walters. And he's the one that got me started playing the fiddle and a lot of his tunes, which I still play today. And now they're—they were kind of rare at that time because fiddling had pretty much died out. But now it's making quite a comeback. And I've been teaching these tunes to a lot of younger players. And I feel very fortunate that I can find somebody that's willing to listen and learn these tunes. (Music)

This Missouri Valley fiddling style that they talk about now basically is the music that was played up and down this Missouri River Valley, from here north even into the Dakotas and southbound into northern Missouri. I had a real good left-handed fiddling friend down at Fillmore, Missouri, that played this same style of music. His name is Cyril Stinnett. And around here we use quick accents with the bow that kind of defines this style around here.

There's kind of an awakening for this style of music. And 50 years ago I thought sure it was going to die out. But I'm really hoping now, because guys like Bill Peterson and Nate Kemperman and now Roger, Johnny Simmons here in town—. And I've got quite a few of them that are learning these old tunes, and they really like them. I think they'll keep it going.

I put out—I had one CD out, andI've got another one scheduled to be out with these tunes on. And they get—Rounder Records kind of gets them scattered pretty well over the world. And so, I'm hoping that we’re going to keep them going.