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Jeffrey Geoff Ragsdale "Gone Slidin'"

by Jason Beers

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1.
The Harness 02:54
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2.
Downward 02:19
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3.
For Paramhansa Bob Smith 02:17
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4.
Sliding and Tumbling 02:17
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5.
Chorus 02:20
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6.
Organelle 03:11
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7.
The Delivery 02:14
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8.
Upward 02:03
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9.
Roaster 02:32
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10.
Aragones 02:37
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about

In 1979, Mrs. Helen Marf was bringing in all sorts of her friends to record on the Quilt Record label. Retaining some of the Quilt A-list players from Clancy Snarrup’s time as previous owner of the label for backing musicians, she tapped her old pal from Iowa, Jeffrey Geoff Ragsdale to record an album. Ragsdale was known as “The Slide-Whistle Master of Maquoketa” and was well-known as far away as Dubuque and the Quad Cities for his slide-whistle skills. After winning the Alco’s Market Talent Show at 15, Ragsdale was a staple of fairs, birthday parties, funerals, and rowdy graduation parties in the area. He played all the usual standards and folk songs at the time, but he yearned for something else. Fully immersing himself in heady jazz and experimental music through mail-order record catalogs and LPs sent to him by Mrs. Marf, he dove into a world that he didn’t know existed outside of his immediate county. By the early 70s, he was the go-to slide-whistle artist for many a cartoon, including “Personally, Michael”, “Goofer’s Twofer”, “The Quizles”, and “Momma and the Space Apes”. The entire record was finished in a whirlwind 3-hour session. To date, this is the best-selling slide-whistle-centric LP of all time. The master tapes are displayed on the wall of the Slide Whistle Museum in Centralia, Pennsylvania, if you are looking for a road-trip destination/family vacation.

Also heard on this album are Hempal Goozer III on organ, siblings Betty and Heena Norbles on guitar and piano, respectively, and Mrs. Helen Marf on tympani.

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released February 2, 2022

Written, performed, and recorded by Jason Beers

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Jason Beers Kansas City, Missouri

Jason Beers is a Kansas City, Kansas native. He's been playing for well over 35 years. Primarily a bass player, in acts such as The Brannock Device, Dead Voices, Scott Hrabko, The Ants, occasionally Freight Train Rabbit Killer, and many more, Jason Beers also plays solo clawhammer banjo gigs. ... more

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