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Cripple Creek
Composer: Traditional

Cripple Creek was played by Jerry Garcia with the Hart Valley Drifters in late 1962.

Cripple Creek originated around the end of the 19th century probably as a fiddle tune.

The song occurs with variations in the tune and lyrics. It also occurs with other titles such as Going Up Cripple Creek, Going Down Cripple Creek, Shootin' Creek, Buck Creek Girls and Going Up Brushy Fork.

Note that there are other unrelated songs called Cripple Creek.



Jerry Garcia recordings

info Folk Time, Hart Valley Drifters, 2016
info Before The Dead, Jerry Garcia, 2018

Other recordings

This list is not intended to be comprehensive.

The year given for pre-1935 recordings is the recording year not necessarily the release year.

no info Single (Cripple Creek / Sugar in the Gourd), Fiddlin' Powers & Family, 1924
no info Single (Turkey In The Straw / Cripple Creek & Sourwood Mountain), Stove Pipe No 1 (Sam Jones), 1924
no info Single (Birdie / Cripple Creek), Tweedy Brothers, 1925
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Birdie), Jennings Brothers, 1925
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Sally Ann), The Hill Billies, 1925
no info Single (Mountaineer's Love Song / Cripple Creek), The Hill Billies, 1926
no info Single (Sour Wood Mountains / Cripple Creek), Fiddlin' Powers & Family, 1926
no info Single (Going Up Cripple Creek / Sugar In The Gourd), Ernest V.Stoneman And His Dixie Mountaineers, 1926
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Old Buzzard), Doc Roberts, 1927
no info Single (Old Buzzard / Cripple Creek), Fiddlin' Frank Nelson, 1927
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Black Eyed Susie), Fiddlin' Jim Burke, 1927
no info Single (Waynesburg / Cripple Creek), Jim Burke, 1927
no info Single (Going Down To Cripple Creek / Run Along Home Sandy), Fiddlin' John Carson, 1927
no info Single (Cacklin' Hen / Cripple Creek), Fruit Jar Guzzlers, 1928
no info Single (Ramblin' Blues / Shootin' Creek), Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, 1928
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Bonaparte's Retreat), Gid Tanner And The Skillet Lickers, 1929
no info Single (Heart Wounds / Cripple Creek), National High School Band, 1929
no info Single (Rat Cheese Under The Hill / Going Up Brushy Fork), Kessinger Brothers, 1930
no info Single (Bile Dem Cabbage Down / Cripple Creek), Crockett Mountaineers, 1931
no info Single (Little Rabbit And Rabbit Where's Your Mammy / Cripple Creek), Crockett Kentucky Mountaineers, 1931
no info Single (Brownie Special / Going Up Brushy Fork), Milton Brown And His Brownies, 1936
no info Single (I Want A Feller / Cripple Creek), The Light Crust Doughboys, 1940
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Sally Good'in), Cliffe Stone, 1947
info Darling Corey, Pete Seeger, 1950
no info EP, Vol. 1 (Listen To The Mocking Bird / Cripple Creek / Goodnight Waltz / Soldier's Joy), Fiddlin' Red Herron, 1953
info Shivaree!, Jean Ritchie, Oscar Brand, Tom Paley, Harry & Jeanie West, 1955
info Banjo Songs of the Southern Mountain, Various Artists (George Pegram and Walter Parham)), 1955
info Instrumental Music Of The Southern Appalachians, Various Artists (Hobart Smith), 1956
info American Banjo Tunes and Songs in Scruggs Style, Various Artists (Oren Jenkins), 1957
no info Chicago Mob Scene. A Folk Song Jam Session, Various Artists (Bob March et al), 1957 (part of Square Dance)
info Songs With Guy Caraway, Guy Caraway, 1958
info Folk Songs From The Blue Grass, Earl Taylor & the Stoney Mountain Boys, 1959
no info Single (Goin' Up Cripple Creek / Brown Eyes), Cecil Surratt And Smitty Smith, 1959
no info Single (Uncle Joe / Cripple Creek), Tommy Jackson, 195?
no info Five-String Banjo Jamboree: A Treasury Of Banjo Music, Various Artists (Billly Faier), 195?
info Anglo-American Shanties, Lyric Songs, Dance Tunes and Spirituals, Various Artists (Herbert Smoke), 195?
no info EP (Molly And Ten Brook / Uncle Pen / Rose Of Old Kentucky / Cabin Home On The Hill / We'll Meet Again Sweetheart / Mule Skinner Blues), Sonny Osborne, 1960
info Good 'N' Country, Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys, 1960
no info Foggy Mountain Banjo, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys, 1961
no info EP, Rusty York and the Kentucky Mountain Boys, 1961
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Lonesome Road Blues), Lester Flatt And Earl Scruggs And The Foggy Mountain Boys, 1961
no info Blue Ridge Banjo, Obray Ramsey, 1961
no info Hoe down! Vol. 3, DeWayne Wear & the Wear Family, 1961
no info America's Favorite Square Dances, Cecil Brower & His Square Dance Fiddlers, 1961?
no info A Live Performance Recorded At "The Bitter End", The Tarriers, 1962
no info Folk Songs For Fun, Oscar Brand With The Tarriers, 1962
info The Sound of a Bluegrass Banjo: Native American Melodies Bluegrass Style, Charles Trent, 1962
no info Blue Grass Favorites, Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, 1962
info Traditional Music from Grayson and Carroll Counties, Virginia, Various Artists (Wade Ward), 1962
no info Philo Glee & Mandolin Society, Philo Glee & Mandolin Society, 1962
info Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson At Folk City, Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson, 1963
no info Salute to Uncle Dave Macon, Stringbean, 1963
no info Bluegrass Banjos On Fire, Homer & the Barnstormers, 1963
info The Banjo Story, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 1963
no info Hootenanny Hoedown: National Old Time Fiddlers Contest, Various Artists (Otis Howard), 1963
info Square Dances Played by Tommy Jackson, Tommy Jackson, 1964
no info Live At Vanderbilt University, Flatt & Scruggs, 1964
no info Hootin' Hootenanny, The Van Dykes, 1964
no info 400 Years Of Folk Music, Addiss & Crofut With Tim Prentice, 1964 (part of Banjo Medley)
no info Undertaking Bluegrass, Upper Hamilton Gravediggers, 1964
info The Folk Box, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 1964
info 5-String Banjo Greats, Various Artists (Billy Cheatwood), 1964
info Learn To Fiddle Country Style, Tracy Schwarz, 1965
no info Ballads & Bluegrass, Buck Ryan & Smitty Irvin, 1965
no info Texas Hoedown, Bartow Riley, Vernon Solomon, Benny Thomasson, 1965
no info Single (The Universal Soldier / Cripple Creek), Buffy Sainte-Marie, 1965
no info Sing A Rainbow And Other Children's Songs, Ginni Clemmens, 1965 (part of Banjo Medley)
no info Single (Wandering / Cripple Creek), Bob Sigveland, 1965
no info Texas Hoedown, Various Artists (Vernon Solomon), 1965
no info Traditional Music Of Beech Mountain, NC, Vol II, Various Artists (Buna Hicks), 1965
info Traditional Music At Newport, 1964, Part 1, Various Artists (Doc Watson), 1965
no info Hoe Down!, Vol. 5, Fiddlin' Mutt Poston & the Farm Hands, 1966
no info Singin' Swingin' Stompin', The Stonemans, 1966
no info National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest and Folk Music Festival 1965, Various Artists (Dave Roylance), 1966
no info 31st Annual Old Fiddlers Convention, Various Artists (Mutt Worrell), 1966
no info Single (Battle of New Orleans / Cripple Creek), Jack Lynch & the Miami Valley Boys, 1967
no info Old Traditions, Jean Schilling, 1967
no info Banjo, Banjo, Banjo, Eddie Poirier, 1968
no info Bluegrass Music, Jack Lynch & the Miami Valley Boys, 1968
no info Original Fiddle Classics 1928-30, Kessinger Brothers, 1969
no info Indiana Hoedown, Bob Anderson & the Country Ramblers, 1969
no info Curly Ray Cline (The Old Fox Hunter) and His Lonesome Pine Fiddle, 1969
no info The Mountain Ramblers, The Mountain Ramblers, 1969
no info More Clawhammer Banjo Songs & Tunes, Various Artists (Tommy Jarrell), 1969
no info Don Parmley and Billy Strange, Don Parmley and Billy Strange, 196?
no info Five String Banjoree, Vera Vanderlaan, 196?
no info Good Old Mountain Dew. Banjo Songs of the Southern Mountains, Various Artists (George Pegram, Walter Parham), 196?
no info Old Time Songs, Charlie Poole and The North Carolina Ramblers, 196?
info Kentucky Blue Grass, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1970
no info Single (Cripple Creek / I Ain't Got Lomg), Great Jones, 1970
no info The Best Of Buffy, Sainte-Marie, 1970
info Anthology Of The Banjo, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 1970
no info Mudlark, Leo Kottke, 1971
no info 5-String Banjo Bluegrass, Smiley Bates, 1971
no info At Hillbilly Ranch, The Lilly Brothers, 1971
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Finding My Way), Great Jones, 1971
no info Indiana Hoedown, Bob Anderson And The Country Ramblers, 1972
no info Springtime In The White Clouds, Whitewater, 1972
no info Echoes From The Ozarks, The Arkansaw Travellers, 1972
no info White Springs Bluegrass Festival, Various Artists (Orange Blossom Bluegrass), 1972
no info Folk Festival Of The Smokies, Vol. 1, Various Artists (Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers), 1972
no info Music of the Ozarks, Various Artists (Shannon Bookmiller), 1972
no info Rackensack. Volume 1, Various Artists (Hubert Hinkle), 1972
info Going Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Country Gentlemen, 1973
info Yesterday & Today, Vol. 2, The Country Gentlemen, 1973
no info World of Flatt and Scruggs, Flatt and Scruggs, 1973
no info Gid Tanner And The Skillet Lickers, Gid Tanner And The Skillet Lickers, 1973
no info The Charles Brothers, The Charles Brothers, 1973
no info Sings, Arlene Kesterson, 1973
info Feuding Banjos, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 1973
info Country Bluegrass from Southwest Virginia, Glen Neaves and the Virginia Mountain Boys, 1974
no info Classic Fiddle Tunes: Recorded During The Golden Age, Fiddlin' Doc Roberts, 1974
no info How to Play the Five String Banjo, Pete Seeger, 1974
no info Appalachian Bluegrass, The Slone Family, 1974
info Stars And Stripes Forever, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 1974
no info Rivers And Roads, Don Reno, Bill Harrell & The Tennessee Cutups, 1974
no info Ernest V.Stoneman And Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers, Ernest V.Stoneman And Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers, 1974
no info Classic Fiddle Tunes, Recorded During The Golden Age, Fiddling Doc Roberts, 1974
no info Dueling Banjos Appalachian Style, Howard Wallace, 1974
no info Square Dance Volume I, Blue Haze Folk Band, with Joe Edwards, 1974
no info You Be The Judge: 1974 Weiser Top Five Fiddlers, Various Artists (Mark O'Connor), 1974
info Live In Japan, Country Gentlemen, 1975
no info How to Play Clawhammer Banjo, Peter Feldmann, 1975
no info The Kessinger Brothers, The Kessinger Brothers, 1975
no info Allegheny Trails, Paul McCoy, 1975
no info On The Air, Stanley Brothers, 1976
no info California Zephyr, California Zephyr, 1976
no info Hot n' Grassy, Wendy Miller & Mike Lilly, 1976
no info Cross Country Banjo, Curtis McPeake and Nashville Pickers, 1976
no info Folk Music in America, Vol. 3, Dance Music, Breakdowns & Waltzes, Various Artists (Paul Miles / Vernon Miles / Wade Miles), 1976
info Bluegrass Festival, Lester Flatt, 1977
no info Mountain Fiddler, Robert Byrd, 1978
no info Tartans & Sagebrush, Marie Rhines, 1978
no info Shady Grove, Peggy Donaldson Smith, 1978
no info Train 45, The Collins Boys, 1978
no info Don't Say Aloha, Brother Oswald, 1978
no info Old Originals, Vol. Two, Various Artists (Albert Hash, Paul Spencer, Jones Baldwin), 1978
info Still Cooney After All These Years, Michael Cooney, 1979
no info The Moody Fiddle Sound, Chubby Wise and his Fiddle, 1979
no info Elmer's Greatest Licks, Elmer Bird, 1979
no info Music of North Carolina, Various Artists (Tommy Jarrell), 1979?
no info Wandering Through The Rackensack, The Simmons Family, 197?
no info Ozark Mountain Dulcimer, The Simmons Family, 197?
no info The Sims Family Presents Country Music, Sims Family, 197?
no info Plain Old Time Fiddling, Cyril Stinnett, 197?
info The Banjo: A Collector's Treasury, Various Artists (Billy Cheatwood), 197?
no info Blue Grass Banjos: Flaming Banjos, Various Artists (Homer and the Barnstormers), 197?
no info Fifth Child, Butch Robins, 1980
no info Festival Favorites, Vol. 2, Alan Munde, 1980
no info Homecoming And Family Reunion, Dillards, 1981
no info Simple Gifts British and American Folk Songs, Benjamin Luxon and Bill Crofut, 1981
info Stanley Series, Vol. 1 #2, Stanley Brothers, 1982
no info Appalachian Fiddle Tunes for Finger Style Guitar, Seth Austen, 1982
no info Just For Fun, Dan Huckabee, 1982
no info Appalachia, The Old Traditions, Various Artists, (Charlie Wood), 1982
no info Classics For Banjo, Mike Scott, 1983
info Banjo And Fiddle: Franklin Mint Record Society, Various Artists (Foggy Mountain Boys), 1983
no info Night Run, Berline, Crary, Hickman, 1984
no info Of Time And Rivers Flowing, Mason Williams, 1984
no info Reel & Rock, David Holt, 1985
no info Good Neighbors & Friends, Dry Branch Fire Squad, 1985
no info Spending Time With..., Orange Blossom Bluegrass, 1985
no info Skiff Skat Stuff, Skiff Skats, 1985
no info Single (Cripple Creek / Skiff Skat Stuff), Skiff Skats, 1985
info Stanley Series, Vol. 2 #4, Stanley Brothers, 1987
no info Tried & True, Dry Branch Fire Squad, 1988
no info We Shall Overcome: The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert, Pete Seeger, 1989
info Stanley Series, Vol. 3 #2, Stanley Brothers, 1989
info American Banjo: Three Finger and Scruggs Style, Various Artists (2 versions), 1990
info Bluegrass 1959-1969, Bill Monroe, 1991
info On Radio, Stanley Brothers, 1991
info 1959-1963, Flatt and Scruggs, 1992
info 1964-1969, Plus, Flatt & Scruggs, 1992
no info Arkansas Traveler, Michelle Shocked, 1992
no info Salty River Reel, Cyril Stinnett, 1992
no info 50 Years of Bluegrass Hits, Various Artists (The Stonemans), 1992
info Feuding Banjos, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 1992
no info Weiser Reunion, Benny and Jerry Thomasson, 1993
no info Festival Favorites Revisited, Alan Munde, 1993
no info Cedar Point String Band, Cedar Point String Band, 1993
info Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys, Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys, 1994
info Third Annual Farewell Reunion, Mike Seeger, 1994
info American Sampler, Ed Sweeney, 1994
no info Elk River Blues, Ernie Carpenter, 1994
info The Young Fogies, Various Artists (David Holt and Doc Watson), 1994
info 1971-1973, Ralph Stanley And The Clinch Mountain Boys, 1995
info Best of Bluegrass: 18 Banjo Favorites, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 1995
no info Smith Ridge: A Tribute To The Stanley Style Of Mountain Banjo, Steve Sparkman, 1996
info Mountain Music of Kentucky (CD), Various Artists (Roscoe Holcomb), 1996
info Banjo Jamboree, Various Artists (Billy Cheatwood), 1996
info Complete Recorded Works, Volume II, 1929, The Kessinger Brothers, 1997
no info Forked Deer, Volume 1, Ed Haley, 1997
no info In Person, Harvey Reid, 1997
no info Southern Journey Volume 1: Voices From The American South, Various Artists (Uncle Charlie Higgins / Wade Ward / Dale Poe), 1997
no info Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order: Volume 4 (1926-1927), Fiddlin' John Carson, 1997
no info 31 Banjo Favorites, Raymond Fairchild, 1997
no info Southern Journey, Vol. 7: Ozark Frontier, Various Artists (Shannon Bookmiller), 1997
info Banjo Festival, Various Artists (Billy Cheatwood), 1997
no info 20 Old-Time Favorites, J.E. Mainer & The Mountaineers, 1998
info North Carolina Banjo Collection, Various Artists (Charlie Lowe), 1998
info First Time Live: A Long Time Ago, The Dillards, 1999
no info Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order: Volume 1 (1925-1926), The Hill Billies / Al Hopkins And His Buckle Busters, 1999
no info Just Banjo '99, Dwight Diller, 1999
no info Deep River Of Song: Black Appalachia: String Bands, Songsters And Hoedowns, Various Artists (Jimmie Strothers), 1999
info Kentucky Old-Time Banjo, Various Artists (Hobert Bowling), 1999
info Family And Friends, Vol.1, Ernest Stoneman With Family And Friends, 199? (CD bonus track)
info Singer of Old Songs (comp), Michael Cooney, 19??
info 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals, Clarence White, 2000
info Kentucky Home, Tim Lake, 2000
no info Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order: Volume 4 (1929-1930), The Skillet-Lickers, 2000
no info Down Home, Roan Mountain Hilltoppers, 2000
info 24 Bluegrass Favorites: Vintage 60's, Various Artists (Earl Taylor and Jim McCall), 2000
info Lee Hammons: Complete Banjo Recordings, Lee Hammons, 200?
info Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4: 1929-1930, The Skillet Lickers, 2001
no info Say Old Man, Can You Play the Banjo?, Carroll Best, 2001
no info Appalachian Breakdown, Various Artists (Hobart Smith), 2001
info Front Porch Pickin': 24 Great Bluegrass Instrument, Various Artists (Raymond Fairchild), 2001
info Mountain Breakdown: The Bluegrass Collection, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 2002
info Buried Land: A Collection of Folk Song and Poetry, Jim Clark, 2003
no info 30 Mandolin Classics, Nashville Mandolins, 2003
info Thirty Essential Bluegrass Hits, Various Artists (Red Herron), 2003
info Live at the Ragged Edge, Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland, 2004
info Holy Mountain Banjo, Edward James Richard, 2004
info The Essential Earl Scruggs, Earl Scruggs, 2004
no info Marcus Martin, Marcus Martin, 2004
no info Lost Indian, Mike Barnett, 2004
info In Sacred Trust: The 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes, Hobart Smith, 2005
info You Ain't Talkin' to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music, Charlie Poole / Various Artists, 2005
info Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers and the Highlanders, Charlie Poole, 2005
info Bluegrass Motormart, The Prairie Acre, 2005
no info The Lost Recordings Of. Banjo Bill Cornett, 2005
no info Cotton Blossom: 19th Century Banjo Solos in Clawhammer Style, R.D. Lunceford, 2005
no info Three Generations of Champion Texas Fiddlers, The Solomon Family, 2005
info Fonotone Records, Various Artists (Bill Bailey and Frank Stuart), 2005
no info Clawhammer Banjo, Vol. 2, Various Artists (Tommy Jarrell), 2005
info Bluegrass Banjo, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 2005
info Feuding Banjos: Revenge of the Citybillys, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 2005
info Mountain Journey: Stars of Old Time Music, Various Artists (Mike Seeger and Etta Baker), 2005
no info Corbett Stamper, Corbett Stamper, 2006
no info Barn Yard Banjo Pickin', Stringbean, 2006
info Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Vol. 1, Various Artists (Steve Rosen), 2006
info Sound Traditions: The Best of Bluegrass, Various Artists (Earl Taylor & Jim McCall), 2006
info Feuding Banjos: Bluegrass Banjo Of The Southern Mountains, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 2006
info Reno & Smiley: 1959-1963, Reno & Smiley, 2007
no info Off The Cuff, Rick Spinney, 2007
no info Sunny Mountain Banjo, Larry Wallace with Jimmy Martin, 2007
no info Winds of Winfield, Mike Sumner, 2007
info Classic Bluegrass Collection, Vols. 1-4, Various Artists (Stonemans), 2007
no info Old Familiar Tunes, Professor Banjo, 2008
no info Rockridge Hollerin', Rockridge Brothers, 2008
no info Old-Time Pickin': A Clawhammer Banjo Collection, Ralph Stanley, 2008
no info First Lady Of Banjo, Roni Stoneman, 2008
no info Somewhere In Time, The McCormick Brothers, 2008
no info Texas Fiddle Bands, Various Artists (Sam Welch & Family), 2008
no info 16 Songs, The Buck Trent Show, 2009
no info Obray Ramsey & Byard Ray, Obray Ramsey & Byard Ray, 2009
no info Tennessee Banjo, Addie Leffew & Claude Wolfenbarger, 2009
no info The Banjo: Misunderstood, Maligned Magic!, Ian Simpson & John Kane, 2010
no info Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music, Various Artists (Chub Karns), 2010
info Gennett Old Time Music: Classic Country Recordings 1927-1934, Various Artists (Fiddlin' Doc Roberts), 2010
info Folk Standards, Pascal Maupeu, 2011
no info Sherman Hammons, Sherman Hammons, 2012
no info Heywood Blevins, Heywood Blevins, 2015
no info Jont Blevins, Jont Blevins, 2015
no info Esker Hutchins, Esker Hutchins, 2015
no info Old Time Singing and Playing, Ernest V. Stoneman & The Dixie Mountaineers, 2018

 
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