Can anyone identify this dance track?

Subject: Can anyone identify this dance track?
From: BobL
Date: 12 Feb 20 - 07:02 PM

In my library of country dance music there is a Minidisc labelled "Odd Cassette Tracks". One track contains a medley of the reel tunes Peacock Rag, Back Up and & Push, and Beaumont Rag, but there are no details of the band or the source recording. It goes at a fair old lick (125 bpm) and was probably used for the dance "Balance the Star".

Do these details ring a bell with anyone?

Subject: RE: Can anyone identify this dance track?
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Feb 20 - 04:22 AM

Balance the Star on YouTube. The text looks Scandi. My Guess is Swedish. But it says "MUSIK: COWBOY YODDLE SONG MED KIKKI DANIELSSON "

Format: Single Scillian, progressive. Typical of a lot of Ceilidh dances you would find at a UK dance.

Best of luck:

Peacock Rag

Back Up & Push

Beaumont Rag

But all three with or without cassette needs digging. It could be Gus Ingo's Mandolin Album (1979) with all those tunes.

Subject: RE: Can anyone identify this dance track?
From: cnd
Date: 13 Feb 20 - 09:25 AM

Finding a medley without the artist will be difficult. Often on older albums or cassettes the artist would simply call the track "Medley" on the disc notes/song list of the cassette and elaborate on the songs of the medley (if they chose to) on the liner notes. Sites like Discogs or allmusic tend to be good at capturing just the song list and infrequently provide elaboration on things like that.

If it was from a live recording, the chances of finding out exactly who it was is even less likely.

A recording may help if the band was well-known enough to be recognizable by their sound.

Discogs only has 2 albums with all 3 of those songs on them, though it doesn't look like they were played in a true medley fashion on the album: the Gus Ingo album Mr Red referenced, and an album by Charlie Pettis, which doesn't appear to be available online.

A very thorough discography of country music is Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies website, you could try poking around there but the combination of names I used didn't turn up anything that looked right. Bear in mind that many of those songs can be found under alternate names; for example, Beaumont Rag can also be found under the names White River Stomp, Possum Rag, etc.

Subject: RE: Can anyone identify this dance track?
From: cnd
Date: 13 Feb 20 - 09:30 AM

Also you can look through this site, which is much like the Praguefrank one but visually a bit easier to look through

Subject: RE: Can anyone identify this dance track?
From: GUEST,cnd
Date: 14 Feb 20 - 12:46 AM

This video also has all 3 songs listed

Subject: RE: Can anyone identify this dance track?
From: BobL
Date: 14 Feb 20 - 09:07 AM

Thanks for your suggestions folks, but there are a few more details that I could, and maybe should, have added.

The track is definitely meant for dancing: a 2-note intro is followed by 9 x 32 reels, and a 2-bar coda. The band is accordion-led, possibly two accordions, plus two fiddles, guitar, bass and drums. No piano. Sounds English rather than American, as far as one can generalize about such things, and there is a great deal of "lift".

So it's not a Scottish band (they'd kick off with a chord), and not the Greensleeves band (whose lineup includes piano). Possibly the Ranchers or the Southerners, although the track's not on any of their records, or at least none of the ones in my fairly comprehensive collection.

If anyone thinks they have an idea but would like to hear the track to make sure, please PM me for an mp3 file.

Subject: RE: Can anyone identify this dance track?
From: GUEST,MTB
Date: 14 Feb 20 - 04:20 PM

The Ranchers had an extended lineup but I can’t remember it including percussion.
The two rags, not including Back Up and Push are on their LP Rags to Rituals. I think the Southerners just had a 3 piece lineup. I remember playing these 3 tunes in the 1970s/80s probable made popular by the Ranchers. I was playing with London and Herts/Beds bands North &South and Mosaic at the time. I’ll PM you for an mp3.

Mitch