Minstrelsy evolved from several different American entertainment traditions; the traveling circus, medicine shows, shivaree, Irish dance and music…
From the Science Channel's Series, "How It's Made." Construction of a banjo.
Ekona Diatta, master of the Jola akonting (ekonting) plays at kanjunka. Kanjunka is near the village of Mlomp in southern Senegal. We are on the…
The akonting (or ekonting) is one of almost 60 documented plucked spike lutes found in West Africa, and is considered by some musicologists to be…
One of my favorite old time tunes. I play Darlin Cori in low "c" tuning. I love the warm mellow sound of a gourd banjo. It's a more similar…
"Walk Right In" Gus Cannon Documentary Cannon's Jug Stompers
Blind James Campbell String Band "John Henry"
John H. Scruggs (May 1855 – 5 March 1941), known as Uncle John Scruggs, was an African American banjo player who attracted attention for his…
During The Symposium on Affrilachia, CeCe Conway (Appalachian State University, author "African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia") & Dom Flemons (…
Blacks and Vaudeville
Jimmie Strothers was a blind banjo and guitar player from Virginia who recorded 15 tracks for Alan Lomax and Harold Spivacke in 1936. Biographical…
John "Uncle" Homer Walker was born in 1904 in Summers County, VA, although he lived most of his life in Glen Lyn, VA (Giles County). A fine…
