EARLY STAGES – by William Reese Banjos belong to a family of instruments that are very old. Drums with strings stretched over them can be traced throughout the Far East, the Middle East and Africa almost from the beginning. They can be played like the banjo, bowed or plucked like a harp depending on their … Read more
White men began using blackface as a comic gimmick before the American Revolution. The banjo became a prop for these entertainers, either individually or in groups. By the early part of the 19th century, minstrelsy became a very popular form of entertainment. Joel Walker Sweeney and his Sweeney Minstrels were already popular by the 1830s. … Read more
History of the Banjo – Part 3 – THE FIFTH STRING Joel Walker Sweeney of The Sweeney Minstrels, born 1810, was often credited with the invention of the short fifth string. Scholars know that this is not the case. A painting entitled The Old Plantation painted between 1777 and 1800 shows a black gourd banjo … Read more
SOME IMPORTANT DATES 1620- Explorer Richard Jobson mentions “gourd with neck and strings”in Africa1678- “Banza” noted in Martinique as played by blacks1769- white banjo players performed in blackface1813-1860 Joel Walker Sweeney1843-first documented minstrel show by Dan Emmett & Virginia Minstrels1840s-1850s Minstrel Craze; Banjo becomes urban instrument1830s to 1850s Boucher of Baltimore first “shop-made” banjos1850’s- metal … Read more