Why The Banjo Makes America Great

Do you know what a banjo is? In case you don't, a banjo is a four to six stringed instrument with a drum for a head. You probably know that is it played in country and bluegrass bands and might be seen in hillbilly movies. Unfortunately, you might also believe that it's an annoying instrument and has no place in music today. This just may change your mind.

It was invented in the early 1800's by African slaves imitating instruments from their own country. The instrument most likely imitated was the banjar which was commonly made from a hollowed out gourd. Because of its origins, the banjo was an instrument untouched by white society until, according to drhorsehair.com, "A young man named Joel Walker Sweeney, of Appomattox Court House, VA, learned to play a four- string gourd banjo at age 13, from the black men working on his father's farm." When he was older, Joel added a shorter fifth string to the banjo, and started to tour. Until this time, all performances on the banjo seem to have been from black players. Joel started to travel around the country playing his banjo. This was the first time a banjo had preformed in concert halls and people found it new and exciting. The banjo continued to increase in popularity from here on out. Soon minstrel and darkie bands popped up all over the country and performed in crowded concert halls, saloon theatres, wherever they were needed. Darkie bands were called so because they rubbed burnt cork on their face to appear as if they were from the Deep South. In 1857, minstrel banjo playing reached a high point as the first banjo contest ever was held in New York City. Over half the city attended this stunning event, in which, everyone was cheering and shouting for their favorite banjo player creating a huge uproar. The winner of this competition was a man named Tom Briggs who played for the Christy Minstrels. He was sent on a tour to California, where he and his band would go on tour. Unfortunately, on the boat trip through Panama, Briggs contracted a fever of which he died shortly before he arrived. A few years after this event, the Civil War began and spread the banjo even further.

During the Civil War, many banjo players joined in both the Confederate and Union armies. The players who joined were mostly amateurs and taught each other the banjo for enjoyment between fighting.