{"id":146,"date":"2025-10-28T15:08:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/americanbanjo\/?page_id=146"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:03:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:03:59","slug":"musicians","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/americanbanjo\/?page_id=146","title":{"rendered":"Banjo Icons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Brief History of America’s Views on The Banjo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Americans in the Bluegrass and Country genres are famous for playing the banjo. On this page we include some of the most popular artists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American banjo was introduced by enslaved people to the United States before it was picked up by Southerners as a way to mock Black Americans in minstrel shows during the Jim Crow era. In addition to teaching how to play the instrument, banjo guides also taught stereotypes through negatively portrayed stereotypes of Black Americans. As a result, banjo became associated with racist ideologies (Barnes 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the mid-twentieth century, there was great change in the public image of the banjo, marked by a significant shift in American mass media. The banjo’s previous associations with Blackness faded as guitars took center stage. In contrast, the banjo became synonymous with poverty, lawlessness, and uneducated white male rebellion in the South and Southwest (Barnes 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black people have continued to play the banjo despite shifting public perceptions of the instrument. Players employing it skillfully in diverse genres that include old-time string band music, jug band music, ragtime, blues, and mento. There is an ongoing movement known as the “Black Banjo Renaissance”, which strives to reconstruct views on the banjo (Blout 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Earl
Earl Scruggs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Pete Seeger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Dolly
Dolly Parton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Steve
Steve Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"A
Roy Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Taylor
Taylor Swift<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Sources<\/summary>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Humble Genius Of Earl Scruggs.\u201d Southern Songs and Stories<\/em>, 2023. https:\/\/www.southernsongsandstories.com\/blog\/2023\/1\/23\/the-humble-genius-of-earl-scruggs<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grossman, Sid. n.d. Pete Seeger <\/em>Photograph. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution<\/em>. Accessed October 16, 2025. https:\/\/www.si.edu\/object\/pete-seeger:npg_NPG.94.85.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Getty Images. Cherry Red Nails, 1970s<\/em> Photograph. InStyle<\/em>. Accessed November 7, 2025. https:\/\/www.instyle.com\/dolly-parton-beauty-evolution-11706241.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200cSteve Martin on Banjo Beginnings<\/em>. Photograph. BBC<\/em>. Accessed November 7, 2025. https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/av\/entertainment-arts-22364750.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy Clark<\/em>. n.d.Photograph. American Banjo Museam<\/em>. Acessed November 7, 2025. http:\/\/www.abmbpd.info\/search.html%20%E2%80%8C.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Make like Taylor and Co with a Banjo<\/em> Photograph. Marie Claire<\/em>. Accessed November 7, 2025. https:\/\/www.marieclaire.co.uk\/life\/things-to-do\/5-hobbies-to-try-this-autumn-that-you-had-probably-never-thought-about-101722.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200cBarnes, Rhae Lynn. \u201cWorking Class Hero to Felon: Picking Apart the Banjo\u2019s Cinematic Character Assassination in Postwar Mass Culture and Film.\u201d Modern American History 7<\/em>, no. 2 (July 1, 2024): 313\u201318. https:\/\/www-cambridge-org.umw.idm.oclc.org\/core\/journals\/modern-american-history\/article\/working-class-hero-to-felon-picking-apart-the-banjos-cinematic-character-assassination-in-postwar-mass-culture-and-film\/AC2BB4E6BD6CD5D0BE992ECAF10400D6<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blount, Jake. \u201cJail the Zombie: Black Banjoists, Biopolitics, and Archives.\u201d Modern American History<\/em> 7, no. 2 (July 2024): 301\u20136. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/mah.2024.30<\/a>.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200c<\/p>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Brief History of America’s Views on The Banjo Many Americans in the Bluegrass and Country genres are famous for playing the banjo. On this page we include some of the most popular artists. The American banjo was introduced by enslaved people to the United States before it was picked up by Southerners as a … <\/p>\n

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