The Golden Griffon Stringtet
Les Raber
Leslie "Red" Raber was born March 14, 1911 in Allegan County, Michigan. He played old-time, Michigan-style, dance fiddle for 80 years from age 10 until his death in 2000 at age 90. Les played in a time when respect for one's partner was the primary consideration on the dance floor. The music he learned from his grandfather and neighbors was lively and spirited, yet relaxed and graceful, giving a person plenty of opportunity to enjoy the dance and their partner's company.
The Les Raber Memorial Foundation is dedicated to preserving the music of Les Raber and promoting old-time dance fiddling in Michigan through the production of books and recordings and the presentation of programs and performances about Les Raber and Michigan fiddling. Ask about the Les Raber Memorial Foundation.
The Les Raber Tune Book
The 5th edition (2013) of the Come Dance With Me tune book is a must-have item for any lover of old-time fiddle tunes. Its 228 pages contain a biography of Les, pictures, anecdotes from friends, an interview of Les and Varsal Fales by Eliot Singer and 182 tunes from Les's repertoire in standard notation with chords. These include original compositions by Les, old-time favorites, rare pieces from Gems of the Ballroom and several tunes from his grandfather that have never before been published.
All proceeds from the sale of Les Raber items go to the Les Raber Memorial Foundation for the preservation and continuation of old-time Michigan fiddling.
The tunes in the tunebook are:
| Acrobat's Reel, The Alexander's Reel All Hands 'Round Quad. fig. 3 Among The Clouds Arkansas Traveler Barbara Polka Beautiful Dreamer Big Sandy River Bill Bailey Bill White Billy in the Lowground Black Velvet Waltz Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain Boom Quadrille fig. 4, The Bridal Jig, The Buffalo Gals By Heck Cabri Waltz Caledonia Quadrille Charmaine Clarinet Polka Cub Berdan Jig Cub Berdan Quadrille Dan Ried Darktown Strutter's Ball Darling Nellie Gray Death Valley Waltz Detroit Schottische Devil's Dream, The Dill Pickle Rag Douglas' Favorite Hornpipe Dreamy Melody Drifting and Dreaming Dummy Song, The Durang's Hornpipe Efterkaelken Farmer's Reel, The Fascination Quadrille fig. 3 Fisher's Hornpipe Fisherman's Favorite Forester's Hornpipe Free From Care Quad. fig. 1 Free From Care Quad. fig. 3 Girl I Left Behind Me, The Golden Eagle Hornpipe Gordon's Waltz Grampa Raber's Grandad Raber's #1 Grandad Raber's #2 Grandad Raber's #2 variation Grandad Raber's #3 Grandad Raber's Two-Step Green Mountain Waltz Hasselby Steppen Polka Haste to the Wedding Hastings Breakdown Heel & Toe Polka Helena Polka Home Sweet Home How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm | I'm Not So Young As I Used To Be In The Garden Irish Trot, The Irish Washerwoman, The Jane Kaylor Jane Oaker Jig in A Jimmy's Favorite Jig Johnson Rag, The Jolly Girls Julida Polka Just So Quadrille fig. 1 Just So Quadrille fig. 3 Kentucky Waltz Leather Britches Les Raber's Schottische Les Raber's Two-Step Les Raber's Unfinished Waltz Lewis Demski Liberty Life On The Ocean Wave Little Burnt Potato Little Gem Polka Little Red Barn Liverpool Hornpipe Lloyd Kilts Maggie Brown's Favorite March of St. Timothy Margie Mason's Apron Miller's Reel Missouri Waltz Money Musk Moon Over Lake Erie Moonbeam Waltz Mountain Belle Schottische Mrs. Torrey's Two-Step Muskrat Ramble My Best Girl Quad. fig. 1 My Little Girl Naughty Boy Schottische New Money Musk Niskayuna Ramble Oh! Susanna Oh, You Beautiful Doll Old Hickory On The Sunny Side Of The Street Opera Reel Orlie Smith's Tune Over the Waves Pap & Mam Park Avenue Peek A Boo Waltz Pig Ankle Rag Pigtown Fling Pretty Baby Princess of Wales, The Put Your Little Foot Raber's Reel Ragtime Annie Ramona | Ramsey Schottische Ramsey Waltz Ranger Waltz Red Haired Boy Red River Waltz Redwing Repasz Band March Rickett's Hornpipe Right & Left Six Rosemary Russ Craven's Schottische Rusty Nail Rye Waltz Sally Waters Seamus O'Brien Shenaniquh's Hornpipe Silver Star Hornpipe Slip Away Schottische Smiles Snow Waltz Soldier's Joy Somewhere My Love Sophrinia Southwind Star Over Norway Stewart Carmichael Still On The Hill Stolen Sweets Stone's Rag Sunday Temperance Reel Tenstrike Quadrille fig. 1 Tenstrike Quadrille fig. 3 Tenstrike Quadrille fig. 4 There's Something Nice Ticknor's Reel Turkey in the Straw Unknown 2 Unknown 3 Unknown 4 Unknown 7 Unknown 8 Unknown 9 Unknown 10 Unknown 12 Unknown 13 Unknown 14 Unknown 16 Unknown 20 Unknown 21 Unknown 22 Varsal's Tune Wake Up Susan Waltz You Saved For Me, The When Your Old Wedding Ring Was New Whispering Whistling Rufus Willow Waltz Wooster Oddity You Can't Break My Heart Come Dance With Me Fair Fiddlers, The Les Raber's Jig Raber Waltz |
If you’d like to see and hear the "Unknown" tunes and help determine their identity, visit the Mystery Tunes page. Contact us if you know anything about any of these tunes.
