Old Cacklin’ Hen

Old Cacklin’ Hen     2:40
(John C. Hartford – Music By Walnut Creek Publishing, BMI / John Hartford Enterprises, BMI) QZR8K2560002
UPC Code: 708857001927
CO-PRODUCED BY Lawson White
PRODUCED BY Tony Trischka
ARRANGEMENTS by Tony Trischka
RECORDINGS MADE at PARLOR STUDIOS, Nashville
ENGINEER: Eli Crews
MIXING:  Jim Robeson
MASTERING: Paul Blakemore
PHOTOGRAPHY: Greg Heisler
ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN: Nathan Golub and David Gorman
PHOTOGRAPHY: Greg Heisler
STUDIO MUSICIANS:
Stuart Duncan fiddle
Michael Daves guitar
Dominick Leslie mandolin
Mike Bub bass
Tony Trischka banjo
Fiddlin’ John Carson recorded this tune in 1923. Grayson and Whitter in 1928. It can also be found in the black, Mid-South string band tradition. Old-time fiddler JE Mainer also recorded it, with this lyric: 
Old hen cackled, cackled in the lot 
Next time she cackled, cackled in the pot 
Love it! Didn’t find out about Mainer’s version until after we recorded it, so I guess we’ll just have to make EJ3. Earl wasn’t often taken to imitations, though he did personify with his banjo a little boy talking to his father in “Mama Blues.” On this tune, in the jams, he recreates the cluck of the old cacklin’ hen to good effect. Stuart’s bodacious fiddling also features a righteous chicken sound. Dominick’s rendition bespeaks an out-of-control clucker.