Dale Potter (died 1996) was a country fiddler from Puxico, Missouri, who worked in Nashville from the 1950s on. He recorded with the Country All Stars beside Chet Atkins and Homer and Jethro, played with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, and cut a run of solo albums for Rural Rhythm and Stoneway between 1967 and 1982. Bobby Hicks learned his Nashville swing from Potter.
Why Potter matters
Potter carried swing phrasing into the Nashville studio fiddle sound. Bobby Hicks said he learned “Nashville swing” from Potter and used it on his Bill Monroe records. That link puts Potter one step behind some of the most copied bluegrass fiddle ever recorded. His own albums are full of the standards jammers still call, played clean and straight.
Life and career
Potter was born Allen Dale Potter and grew up in Puxico, Missouri. He started his career in the 1940s on KWOC in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on a half-hour show called the Ozark Jamboree.
In the 1950s he worked in Nashville. He was the fiddler in the Country All Stars, a studio group with Chet Atkins on guitar, Homer Haynes on guitar, Jethro Burns on mandolin, and Charles Grean on bass. Discogs also lists him as a member of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys and of the Tunesmiths.
His solo records began with Rural Rhythm Presents Hoe Down Volume 1 in 1967. He followed it with Hoe Down Volume 9: A Tribute to Bob Wills in 1970. In 1977 he moved to Stoneway Records in Houston and recorded The Unique Fiddle Style of Dale Potter on July 12, 1977, with liner notes by Webb Pierce. Country Waltz Time (1978), Super Fiddle (1979), and Fireball Fiddler (1982) followed on the same label. Potter died in 1996.
Playing style
Potter played the Nashville middle ground between old-time hoedowns and western swing. His albums pair breakdowns like Bully of the Town and Leather Britches with swing pieces like Faded Love, Beaumont Rag, and St. Louis Blues. He also cut waltzes and pop tunes, including Silver Threads Among the Gold and Meet Mr. Callaghan.
The 1977 Stoneway session put piano, drums, and bass behind him. That setting shows the swing side of his playing. He states the melody first and keeps the tune in front of the licks. Bobby Hicks tied the Nashville swing feel to Potter, and you can hear that lift in his versions of the swing numbers.
Influences and legacy
Potter came out of the Missouri radio fiddle world of the 1940s. In Nashville he shared studios with Chet Atkins and Homer and Jethro. His clearest legacy is Bobby Hicks, who learned Nashville swing from him and then carried it into Bill Monroe’s band and later Ricky Skaggs’s Kentucky Thunder.
Signature tunes and songs
Draggin’ the Bow Bully of the Town Faded Love Back Up and Push Liberty Uncle Pen Arkansas Traveler.
Essential recordings
Rural Rhythm Presents Hoe Down Volume 1 (Rural Rhythm, 1967) Hoe Down Volume 9: A Tribute to Bob Wills (Rural Rhythm, 1970) The Unique Fiddle Style of Dale Potter (Stoneway, 1977) Fireball Fiddler (Stoneway, 1982)
Watch and listen
A full play of the 1977 Stoneway album. Listen for the swing feel on St. Louis Blues and Faded Love.
What to learn from Potter
Learn Back Up and Push from Fireball Fiddler. It is a jam standard, and Potter plays it at a tempo you can sing along with. The technique to steal is his swing phrasing on a country tune. Play Faded Love along with the 1977 record and copy where he lays back behind the beat. Then bring that feel to a bluegrass waltz at a jam. That is the Nashville swing Bobby Hicks took into Bill Monroe’s band.
Sources
Dale Potter, Discogs The Country All Stars, Discogs Dale Potter, The Unique Fiddle Style of Dale Potter, Discogs Dale Potter, Rural Rhythm Presents Hoe Down Volume 1, Discogs Dale Potter, Fireball Fiddler, Discogs Bobby Hicks, Wikipedia KWOC, Wikipedia
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the bluegrass fiddle guide for more Nashville fiddlers. Bobby Hicks learned his swing feel from Potter. Tommy Jackson and Buddy Spicher worked the same Nashville studios. Johnny Gimble is the swing fiddler to study next.