Old Dan Tucker Was a Fine Old Man

There are many claims to the identity of Dan Tucker: in one telling "Tucker" was the name of Dan Emmett's dog. In another, it's an homage to a reverend from Georgia; other variants exist as well. While today the song may be well-known due to its silly lyrics and a number of recordings for children, it has also long been a staple as fiddle and banjo tune.

The oldest recording documented for this site is most likely by Uncle Dave Macon, listed as 1924. 10 recordings from of this song are from the first half of the 20th century, including 3 others from the 1920s -- by Fiddlin' John Carson, The Skillet Lickers, and Al Hopkins. Most early performances were country/fiddle renditions; in addition, there are a significant number of field recordings of this song.

Notable early recordings of Old Dan Tucker including The Golden Gate Quartet at their 1940 Library of Congress performance, by Woody Guthrie with Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry), and by Burl Ives. Pete Seeger has recorded several versions; from the audio page there is a link to his 1960 live performance at the Village Gate. The Youngbloods recorded a version for during a 1971 concert in San Francisco.