In 1843, a troupe called Virginia Minstrels put on the first full-length minstrel show in a New York City theater. which was documented in its early days by an English settler within the same rural region . +1 (800) 5-STRING SC.nb("Customer.Relations", "gibson.com", "", "", ""); Handcrafted, custom banjos for over 30 years. SC.nb("chuck", "chuckleebanjos.com", "", "", ""); As might be expected from the location, the majority of the business is in 4-string banjos. Charlie Poole, who started playing a gourd banjo in his childhood, recorded many sides for Columbia Records in the late 1920s. Progressive bluegrass, or newgrass, draws from a wider pool of musical influences than traditional bluegrass and might include more rock and jazz elements. He became the first star of the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast. The Banjo: Americas African Instrument. They also composed new songs on the banjo, often devising unique tunings for the instrument to achieve the desired tonalities. 1 - First banjo completed, Bellflower, sold to Bonnie Hasting, Geoff's banjo student, on July 25th. In the process, banjos underwent significant changes in structure, appearance, and repertoire. These items have been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only. SC.nb("prucha", "pruchabanjos.cz", "", "", ""); A lifelong guitarist, tinkerer and learner, I became interested in building open-back banjos while learning clawhammer-style banjo. Call me a sap; it hurt. In 1930, a Gibson L-1, the guitar reportedly favored by Robert Johnson, cost $50.00, the equivalent of $687.57 today. Gus Cannon was a versatile and influential African American banjo player. Steve likes to use the banjo for old-time tunes and to accompany his vocals. Today, the banjo can be heard in virtually every genre of music. Between the 1930s and 1960s, American roots music enjoyed successive waves of interest. In 2005, the Carolina Chocolate Drops brought together four African American musicians playing traditional string band music on fiddle, banjo, guitar, and various other instruments. The banjo became prominent in the United States with the rise of, In 1843, a troupe called Virginia Minstrels put on the first full-length, series of banjo tutors published over the following decades. As the banjo made inroads into middle-class American parlors during the second half of the nineteenth century, it also became integral to the music of the rural South. Tom & Fintan Cussen Jim Hartel was one of the banjo makers selected for the North American Banjo Builder Series. I think the banjo photographic image collection alone numbers in the thousands, including 20 daguerreotypes and numerous other Nineteenth Century images. University of Tennessee Press, 1995. S. Stewart, the Student model, Grade 2, Philadelphia, circa 1900, open back with the factory mark impressed to verso, 82 cm long, American Orpheum mandolin banjo, by Rettberg & Lange, no. Mastercraft banjos have been around since the early 1970s, when the company was founded by John W. "Jack" Martin in the small town of Pickens, South Carolina. The Carolina Chocolate Drops with Dom Flemons on banjo: "Country Girl" (2012), Rhiannon Giddens and Dom Flemons, former members of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, continue to perform, explore, and tell the banjos story in live performances, recordings, writings, and interviews. Vintage banjo collector Lowell Levinger is perhaps best known to 1960s music fans as "Banana," the bushy-haired guitarist and keyboards player for The Youngbloods. , banjo manufacturers began installing frets on the instrument. Does the peg head profile really tell you the maker? www.omebanjos.com Most colleges had banjo orchestras (sometimes calling them "banjo clubs") by the 1890s [29]. Somerville, TN USA 38068 Jim has had access to a vast array of surviving early banjos through the generosity of banjo history experts, collectors of early musical instruments, and museums. SC.nb("info", "tranjo.com", "", "", ""); Colin J. Vance In the 1920s, record companies discovered and nurtured a market for Southern rural music. Ekona Diatta plays "Gambia" on the akonting (2007). Other prominent bluegrass banjo players, including Don Reno, Sonny Osborne, and Bill Keith, followed in Scruggs footsteps and broke ground of their own. made exclusively for Elderly Instruments and can be found on their website here. to answer this question you have to relate banjo manufacturing in both the USA and the From the cubby box of a JA Turner "Alvey" 5 string, how about this little collection, probably cost about six and thruppence ha'penny in Two top-of-the-line instruments from two top makers plying their trades across the pond. www.reiterbanjos.com Banjos have experienced a resurgence in . Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers: "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" (1927). Starting in the 1880s, amateur musicians formed banjo, mandolin, and guitar (BMG) clubs. Modeled on the designs of William A. Cole's 1890s banjos, this instrument has the highly-ornate inlays of the Boston banjo makers but designed with a lower action and steel strings for contemporary five-string players. A banjo mandolin, unknown maker, circa 1940s, calfskin head, floating bridge, rosewood fingerboard, nickel hardware, eight buttoned machine heads, hardwood neck and rim, acquired on 12 October 1981, I bought this instrument in 1981 whilst on tour on the, Gibson long necked banjo, purchased in Syndey in 1962 from an American draft dodger, in original hard case. The sound of the banjo became commonplace with their theme song for the television show, (1962-1971) and the prominent placement of their instrumental Foggy Mountain Breakdown in the 1967 film, Other prominent bluegrass banjo players, including Don Reno, Sonny Osborne, and Bill Keith, followed in Scruggs footsteps and broke ground of their own. That Half-Barbaric Twang: The Banjo in American Popular Culture. Mark Hickler In 2019, Giddens, in collaboration with Black banjo players Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell, released the album, . This article comprises two separate lists. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans in the United States. SC.nb("manbdawson", "frontier.com", "", "", ""); Founded by Lo Gordon, now in the hands of his son. +1 (615) 429-6835 Continued in business into the early 1900s. Through the 1920s and early 1930s, the guitar gradually replaced the banjo in jazz ensembles. Note that instruments made during the war by this renowned maker are rare. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Ovilla, TX USA 75154 Minstrel troupes marketed themselves as an authentic representation of Southern plantation life. Sweeney, of course, went on to become a famous blackface entertainer; Ferguson, who taught Dan Emmett to play the banjo, might have followed a similar path, but died of yellow fever in New Orleans in 1841. He has published detailed research into the banjo rim construction. John Tyler was US President, slavery was not going to be abolished in the USA for another 23 years . William Boucher, Jr., the earliest known commercial manufacturer, started building banjos around 1845 from his shop in Baltimore, Maryland. Emmylou Harris, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Neil Young, the Eagles, Pure Prairie League, Linda Ronstadt, and Gillian Welch have created music within these spaces, often featuring banjo in their recordings. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 2016. James established his mechanized instrument factory in Connecticut in the late 1840's Ashborn was the first to apply mass production principles to banjo and guitar making, transforming the homemade artifacts to commercial products. Companies designed banjos particularly for young ladies and targeted marketing campaigns at these principal purveyors of music in Victorian-era parlors. In reality, they were far from that, but they did incorporate elements from both Black and White folk culture. Every Bad River banjo is crafted one at a time in the old-time . In most cases, early banjos were not made by skilled luthiers, but rather plantation made by slave wood workers and later by drum makers and turners (carpenters). +1 (931) 580-5742 www.romerobanjos.com Resonator vs. Open-back 1.2 2. The album included their interpretation of Tom Dooley, a song that was already old when G.B. SC.nb("laurie", "grundybanjos.com", "", "", ""); Arthur Hatfield www.huberbanjos.com, 420 Bridge Street www.hendricksbanjos.com Over the decades, banjos have evolved into a bewildering array of styles including open four-string and plectrum banjos, five-string banjos, as well as banjos with guitar, mandolin or ukulele necks. The instruments were at the core of White, Black, and integrated string bands, which might also include guitar, mandolin, harmonica, or other instruments. University of Illinois Press, 2003. Black musicians played the banjo to accompany singing and dancing, sometimes with percussion or hand clapping. The earliest historical record of the banjo in North America was from a 1736 New-York Weekly Journal article. Vega also made some of the early Bacon Professional banjos. No. www.hussanddalton.com. Maker of dance organ orchestrions (early years), piano orchestrions (limited production, early years . SC.nb("stelling", "stellingbanjo.com", "", "", ""); Steve Gerritsen +1 (262) 492-9883 The Dobson brothers, William A. Cole, H.C. Fairbanks, James Ashborn, and Vega built banjos or affixed their names to the banjos of others. Many details of these early gourd banjos are evident in the instruments built by European American banjo makers in the mid-nineteenth century. With case. The instrument shares design elements and playing techniques with a family of approximately eighty known West African plucked spike lutes. won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. Pete Ross, a Baltimore banjo maker, player and historian, plays a historic gourd-type banjo replica. I'm happy to talk banjo if you have any special commission ideas youd like to talk about as well. Beginning in 1977 with Dena Epsteins book, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. American Princess banjo by Samuel S. Stewart. dphopkinsbanjos.com Banjo Roots and Branches. To make the banjo more appealing to middle-class Americans, manufacturers put more attention on physical aesthetics. It has simple friction tuning pegs, and is strung with nylon strings. Although there are a small number of individual craft makers of banjos in Britain, there hasn't been a 'banjo factory' producing instruments in large numbers since the 1950s. Their 2010 album Genuine Negro Jig won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. In 1995, in Appomattox, his banjo shop was complete and his business Chanterelle Banjos was born. SC.nb("hatfieldbanjos", "scrtc.com", "", "", ""); Allen & Monte Hendricks Beginning in 1977 with Dena Epsteins book Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War, scholars have published extensively on the early history of the banjo. 301 Church Street 3563 Highway 231 North www.nechville.com. The instrument may also have been part of a religious ceremony known as the banya prei. SC.nb("scott", "phillipsbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Open-back banjos, hand-made in the Appalachian mountains with native hardwoods. Minstrel shows featured music and comedy skits performed primarily by White men made up with burnt cork. discretion but no compensation or gratuity is required or accepted. Your donation to Ballad of America, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will teach America's music to children and adults, develop resources for teachers, and build a free online library that promotes appreciation of the ways in which different cultures have contributed to America's musical landscape. William Temlett's son, William Ernest, had started work in his father's factory in early boyhood but left at the age of thirty to form his own business. PETE ROSS is a banjo maker, researcher, and musician who lives in . Tsumura covers a great deal of his early collection (one that would grow much more). Click the blue globe to visit the maker's Web site. Know anything? Copyright 2003-2023 by Will Fastie. www.phillipsbanjos.com I have a particular love for early banjo toys, which includes makers such as Jerome Secor, Ives, Guntermann, Reed, Courier, Phalibois, Vichy, etc. During the late 1920s, he recorded for various companies race record lines, which captured African American, In the late 1930s, mandolinist, singer, songwriter Bill Monroe formed The Blue Grass Boys, the band primarily responsible for developing bluegrass music. In 1952, Folkways Records released Anthology of American Folk Music, which prompted tremendous interest in the raw, rural sounds of the banjo. 1 Best Beginner Banjo 2023 Buying Guide 1.1 1. +1 (707) 845-9524 Soon, banjo making consumed much of his spare time and began to eat into his business time. Indianapolis, IN USA 46217 Will's List of Banjo Makers, Builders & Manufacturers. Between 1893 and 1917, he made more than 500 recordings of ragtime songs, marches, and minstrel material. He used European drum technology to attach the head, which provided a mechanism for controlling the instruments tone. In 1958, Mike Seeger (Petes half-brother), Tom Paley, and John Cohen formed the New Lost City Ramblers, a young group that remained faithful to, The folk music revival took a turn towards folk-rock in the mid-1960s, as Bob Dylan plugged in, and the Byrds played folk songs with electric guitars. Pioneers of progressive bluegrass include John Hartford, New Grass Revival, featuring banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, and J.D. His first banjos consisted of a banjo neck attached to a drum-like steam-bent wood hoop with two skin membranes, one stretched over the top and the other over the bottom of the hoop. +1 (800) 877-6863 Epstein, Dena J. Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. $4,000.00 USD - Used - Excellent Condition. No. Putting that aside, the early paragraphs are informative; banjo's African roots and early American incarnations in 19th century are . 7 years earlier was the Well built in Philadelphia (note the rosewood pot) around 1886 this 130 year old Samuel Stewart Piccolo travelled the world and ended up except Samuel S Stewart was not a well man. Although the early history of the banjo is not really clear, most people believe the origin lies in instruments from Africa (see ngoni and akonting on the page Africa). Some localities in the Appalachians developed distinctive designs for homemade banjos. . The, was a set of six long-playing records that compiled eighty-four songs initially released on, Realizing the recordings were made only a few decades earlier, disciples of the. More than half of the banjos and players reported were in the Chesapeake Bay states of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The ensemble included banjo, fiddle, tambourine, and bones, a percussion instrument made from animal rib or shin bones. defunct listings were for old-time, open-back banjos and most of these were SC.nb("banjobart", "aol.com", "", "", ""); Rob Bishline SC.nb("info", "hendricksbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Hickler Banjos is a custom shop specializing in reproduction necks and rim tone research. 9700 Humboldt Avenue South You will have to see if Tran Du Ly has it, Chip passed away some years ago, great guy! Historians refer to these new instruments as early gourd banjos. Windsor, 94 Newhall St. Birmingham, England', 95 cm long, American ukulele banjo, by Gibson, Ub-1 model, Michigan, circa 1920s, 'The Gibson' decal to headstock, 49 cm long, Lida cased banjo with mother of pearl inlay. Fretted instruments, such as guitars and mandolins, are generally easier to play in tune than unfretted instruments, such as violins, violas, and cellos. The practice continued in various forms, including film, radio, and television, into the 1950s. In 1855, Tom Briggs, a minstrel banjo player and teacher, published Briggs Banjo Instructor, the first in a series of banjo tutors published over the following decades. Banjo music is as popular as it has ever been. Lon and Camille Decap, sons of Alos Decap who founded the firm in 1902. Frank Goscha of Philadelphia is mentioned as having been one of the early banjo makers in America but no details of him or his products have ever come to light. SC.nb("contact", "goldtone.com", "", "", ""); Laurie Grundy Matsumoto, Nagano Japan 399-0015 Fretted instruments, such as guitars and mandolins, are generally easier to play in tune than unfretted instruments, such as violins, violas, and cellos. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 2016. 1215 was a good year too Well built in Philadelphia (note the rosewood pot) around 1886 this 130 year old Samuel Stewart Piccolo travelled the world and ended up. This banjo represents an aesthetic blend of early industrial banjos (1875-1885) along with Romance Era guitars and banjos. By the early 1940s, musicians introduced electric guitars in jazz and blues. Open-back models, plus an interesting resophonic model. As African American musicians continued their innovations in blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel music, the guitars sustain and deep bottom end suited their musical needs better than the banjo. www.levanbanjos.com The 1890s brought the dawn of recorded sound with Thomas Edisons phonograph and Emile Berliners gramophone. To this day, players who emulate his techniques are said to be playing either bluegrass- or Scruggs-style banjo. Frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard of string instruments that divide the neck into fixed intervals. SC.nb("rooster", "cloverlickbanjoshop.com", "", "", ""); Dean O. Robinson Hartel Banjos are individually handmade with the finest materials using dimensions from original banjos of the Minstrel Era. SC.nb("scott", "scottvestal.com", "", "", ""); 7258 Banjo Lane South San Francisco, CA USA 94080 SC.nb("tom", "banjo.ie", "", "", ""); Jeffrey P. Kramer Mostly open-back models. +1 (951) 486-1456 Huber Lancaster with HR-30 Tone Ring. By the early twentieth century, the mass-produced banjo had become a symbol of White supremacist cultureso much so that in later decades people sometimes had difficulty accepting the fact of . Buffalo Grove, IL USA 60089 Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Sylvester Louis Vess Ossman was one of the most popular recording artists of his time. , hailed by many as among the first country-rock albums. Much of what is deemed folk music has its roots in Africa and African American tradition, notes Giddens. Cannon's Jug Stompers: "Walk Right In" (1929). Lacona, NY USA 13083 www.deanocraft.com For all custom orders, I ask for a $300 non-refundable deposit, 1/2 of the total estimated cost of the banjo when I begin building, and the remainder upon completion. 167 Walley Road, Franklin NY 13775 607-330-4330 Website Gallery Hartel Banjos are individually handmade with the finest materials using dimensions from original banjos of the Minstrel Era. SC.nb("info", "recordingking.com", "", "", ""); The one-armed banjo maker. Unique, clever, a must-see. The vast archives of 20th-century recordings of African American banjo players and Haitian banza players, recorded by John Werk III, Alan Lomax, and others for the Library of Congress and Smithsonian, capture what people who otherwise were relatively voiceless were singing, and therefore what they were saying and thinking about in different Fairview, TN USA Chuck Lee Banjo Company, Inc. 112 Silverwood Drive Ovilla, TX USA 75154 +1 (972) 617-5576 www.chuckleebanjos.com Made in USA Clareen Banjos As might be expected from the location, the majority of the business is in 4-string banjos. The banjo featured prominently in records manufactured and sold in the first decades of the industry. Furthermore, he continues his research and fine tunes his banjos regularly so that they look and sound as much like the banjos of the early minstrel period as possible. The two races lived in close proximity in the Appalachian Mountains, Piedmont, and other parts of the South, interacting socially and playing music together for dances. They were instrumental in bringing bluegrass to a wider audience through television, radio, and live performances. Welcome to the Vintage Banjo Maker, please do sign up for email updates to keep in the loop about new additions to our research coming soon! Earl Scruggs and His Blue Grass Boys with Earl Scruggs on banjo: "Why Did You Wander". The Banjo Lesson by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1893). In 1992 he met banjo builder Bart Reiter who became a tremendous supporter of Mike's advising him about his work and helping him set up a production shop. severe and the loss of companies represents a thinning of the herd. The banjo sported engraved and gold plated metal parts, engraved mother of pearl position markers on the . Shelbyville, TN USA 37160 By the end of the nineteenth century, the banjo had become the most popular fretted, stringed instrument in America. If you know of any builders not on this list, please let me know. www.stealthbanjo.com A wide array of hardware is available, ask for anything you dont see here. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. www.ballardbanjers.com www.stonebanjo.com Inclusion is at my sole discretion. There is likely no single ancestor of the banjo. 5, circa 1920, maker and model number impressed to the head stock, the fingerboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The Arthur E. Smith Banjo Company produces a line of meticulously crafted banjos that certainly reflects the respect and admiration Kate and Mark have for those early instruments. She may have been the first Appalachian banjo player to cut a commercial record. 2023 John Furphy Pty. Hirata- Nishi 1-2-16 1F We are a maker of fine custom banjos including The Osprey, The JB Special, a Fretless model, and the aforementioned Hornbeam Special made from select North American Ironwood (aka Hornbeam), with a bookmatched curly maple neck.. Take a look at our History page for some background, or check out the Banjo Models page for the details on our instruments. One of these Old Time banjos can be a simple straightforward purchase, or a deeply collaborative process. hoytbanjos.com www.banjo.ie Cased banjo Sold by in for Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt left the Blue Grass Boys to form Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1948. While musical tradition runs strong in bluegrass, a generation of younger players started taking the music in new directions in the 1970s. Caraya 5 string banjo with Remo head made out of mahogany, the banjo is a plectrum-style instrument and has a closed-back design and and the mahogany body is complemented by a maple neck and a natural gloss finish. Geared tuners and frets are not part of their skill set or among their usual tools of the trade. property of those builders. Staunton, VA USA 24401 Used - Excellent Condition. +420 241 760 704 How many strings? No compensation or gratuity is accepted for inclusion on this list. PRAGUE, 5 Czech Republic Any thoughts? Carlin, Bob. However, bluegrass incorporates jazz influences and emphasizes instrumental virtuosity and improvised solo breaks, which were not prevalent in old-time music. Gold Tone has licensed one model. Now owned by Geoff Stelling. The company has been producing banjos for over 40 years and has earned a reputation for being one of the best banjo makers in the world. However, the nature of the fixed intervals requires some compromise in intonation. Physical improvements in the instrument had enabled it to produce a sufficiently loud sound. Glasgow, KY USA 42141 Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and others carried country-rock into the 1970s and beyond.