early banjo makers

409 Benton Lane In 1968, the Byrds brought it back home with their album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, hailed by many as among the first country-rock albums. Staunton, VA USA 24401 Throughout the remainder of the century, banjo makers and music book publishers sought to increase sales among the burgeoning White middle class. +1 (417) 839-5951 Temlett Maker/ London', 89 cm long, English zither banjo, by Windsor, no. He has published detailed research into the banjo rim construction. The banjo featured prominently in records manufactured and sold in the first decades of the industry. He used European drum technology to attach the head, which provided a mechanism for controlling the instruments tone. Scott Zimmerman The disassociation of the banjo from its African roots is starting to reverse. Council (FSC). Haslett, MI USA 48840 Mazow, Leo G. Picturing the Banjo. Saving the world one banjo at a time! 2, Birmingham, circa 1907, model number and date impressed to the top of the headstock, verso is an engraved plaque bearing 'Robert E Dorman'. South San Francisco, CA USA 94080 First, the banjo was priced out of the market as the Great Depression swept through the country. Fretted instruments, such as guitars and mandolins, are generally easier to play in tune than unfretted instruments, such as violins, violas, and cellos. +1 (800) 826-5482 They also composed new songs on the banjo, often devising unique tunings for the instrument to achieve the desired tonalities. PO Box 1197 Box 132 Indianapolis, IN USA 46217 Ltd. 2023 John Furphy Pty. Other banjo manufacturers emerged in the 1840s and the following decades. Home Privacy Policy About Me WebDesignBuild.biz Contact. Kisco NY, Cider Bros Roadhouse | Comfort Food In Red Hook NY, 518 Donuts | Fresh Cake Donuts & Fried Chicken, Troy Waterfront Farmers Market | Indoor Winter Market, The Falcon | No Cover Live Jazz In Ulster County NY. Old-time banjo players Clarence Ashley and Dock Boggs enjoyed new opportunities to record and perform on stage at folk festivals, coffeehouses, and college campuses. She didnt learn to play that banjo until she was thirty, though, and by then, Jim had dug around enough in the history of American banjos to start making replicas of authentic minstrel banjos. The strings are attached to the neck with leather or cloth rings. www.bishlinebanjos.com 3656 Hopkins Avenue The album included their interpretation of Tom Dooley, a song that was already old when G.B. +1 (541) 593-0253 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. Sylvester Louis Vess Ossman was one of the most popular recording artists of his time. Used - Excellent Condition. Ltd. Tom & Fintan Cussen SC.nb("fiddlintim", "gmail.com", "", "", ""); Chuck Lee Banjo Company, Inc. PRAGUE, 5 Czech Republic Hendersonville, TN USA 37075 Vega also made some of the early Bacon Professional banjos. Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (2010). Get this mug with a donation of $45 or more! Crowe & The New South: "Old Home Place" (1975). Mark Hickler Moreover, the accompanying illustration of the Creole-Bania in the top right corner of Narrative's Plate 69, "Musical Instruments of the African Negroes" (1790/1796, 1988/2010: 539 . The banjo featured prominently in records manufactured and sold in the first decades of the industry. All but four of these referenced Black musicians. E- 1134, circa 1950, George Formby plaque inlaid in mother-of-pearl to the headstock, 58 cm long, English ukulele banjo, by John Grey & Sons, model Dulcetta, serial no. Zachary Hoyt Mike C. clocks4u NAWCC Member Sep 2, 2000 684 28 28 Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2018. The 1890s brought the dawn of recorded sound with Thomas Edisons phonograph and Emile Berliners gramophone. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. +1 (615) 264-4959 He's done ground breaking research on early banjo makers William Boucher Jr. and Levi Brown, and was co-curator with Greg Adams and Bob Winans of the exhibit Making Music: The Banjo, Baltimore and Beyond. www.stonebanjo.com Box 124 In 2019, Giddens, in collaboration with Black banjo players Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell, released the album Songs of Our Native Daughters. Its loud, bright sound cut through jazz bands and dance orchestras, providing a solid rhythm. www.sagamusic.com. Brooks Masten Banjo Roots and Branches. Gus Cannon was a versatile and influential African American banjo player. problem with this list? I am obsessed with banjo as a tool of reclamation for African American artists.. Clarinbridge, Co. Galway IRL H91 Yp28 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! Historians refer to these new instruments as early gourd banjos. www.sloanbanjos.com Ekona Diatta plays "Gambia" on the akonting (2007). +420 241 760 704 No. While Briggs' tutor includes guitar-style playing in addition to downstroke, he was more interested in promoting his invention, the banjo thimble. 137 Utah Avenue Please use my contact form to get in touch. Chris Bozung www.cedarcreekluthiers.com Progressive bluegrass, or newgrass, draws from a wider pool of musical influences than traditional bluegrass and might include more rock and, , which prompted tremendous interest in the raw, rural sounds of the banjo. In the 1880s and 1890s, banjo makers created different members of the banjo family such as bass banjo and piccolo banjo. SC.nb("sales", "SHSAudio.com", "", "", ""); Frank Neat Bill Rickard Click herefor details. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans in the United States. SC.nb("stelling", "stellingbanjo.com", "", "", ""); Steve Gerritsen 3 banjo with hardwood neck and nickel plated body, leatherette case. Later, Sweeny partnered with a drum maker by the name of William Boucher. , hailed by many as among the first country-rock albums. 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. P.O. Over the period 1880-1930, many banjo manufacturers came and went, but a few companies have identifiable familial connections. Minstrel troupes marketed themselves as an authentic representation of Southern plantation life. 245 Industrial Pkwy S. Some 5-strings are made each year. By the 1850s, the banjo had become an integral part of American culture. from one-man shops, so perhaps it means that competition in this segment was Many White musicians learned to play banjo directly from African Americans. I am obsessed with banjo as a tool of reclamation for African American artists., Our Native Daughters with Allison Russell on banjo: "Quasheba, Quasheba" (2020). PO Box 89 5680 Valmont Road The instruments were at the core of White, Black, and integrated string bands, which might also include guitar, mandolin, harmonica, or other instruments. This is a list of builders of 5-string banjos, both Bluegrass (5-string resonator) and Traditional (open back) Price 2 The Best Banjo Brands for Beginners 2.1 Rogue 2.2 Ibanez 2.3 Epiphone 2.4 Fender 2.5 Deering 2.6 Rogue 7, Birmingham, circa 1920, 96 cm long, English zither banjo, by Windsor, popular model no. "African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia: A Conclusion." . South San Francisco, CA USA 94080 1 Best Beginner Banjo 2023 Buying Guide 1.1 1. www.quailcreekbanjos.com Length 56.5 cm, diameter of body 20 cm. 3733 Kenora Drive Banjo mandolin with unusual ivory & ebony fretboard & head, back decorated with timber specimens. All Rights Reserved. Glasgow, KY USA 42141 309 Plus Park Boulevard A.A. Farland, celebrated banjo virtuoso of the late 19th and early 20th century, didn't care for those new-fangled tone rings banjo makers of his era were putting on their high-grade instruments -- he thought they sounded "too tinny!" He also abhorred spun-over metal rims like those on S.S. Stewart's banjos for the same reason. Also during the second half of the nineteenth century, banjo manufacturers began installing frets on the instrument. The banjo has an animal skin head stretched over the gourd and attached with tacks. Many details of these early gourd banjos are evident in the instruments built by European American banjo makers in the mid-nineteenth century. As products from mail-order companies like Sears & Roebuck became available in the late nineteenth century, rural Americans increasingly purchased inexpensive manufactured instruments. But as he grew older, disagreements with his . Starting in the 1880s, amateur musicians formed banjo, mandolin, and guitar (BMG) clubs. www.hendricksbanjos.com By the end of the nineteenth century, the banjo had become the most popular fretted, stringed instrument in America. The author John Peter Zenger (1697-1746) referred to the instrument as a "banger" played by a black man. A Few Notes on the Genealogy of Vintage Banjo Manufacturers. en.pruchabanjos.cz 2023 John Furphy Pty. +1 (918) 551-6419 models. These "Minstrel Era" wooden rim banjos are the result of those years of study. The Banjo Reserve recently contacted Simon Middleton, Founder and Managing Director of The Great British Banjo Company, . African Banjo Echoes In Appalachia: Study Folk Traditions. The Weavers with Pete Seeger on banjo: "On Top of Old Smoky" (1951). 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. 1994 Gibson RB3 5 string Banjo with Original Case. severe and the loss of companies represents a thinning of the herd. 1865- Frank Converse Banjo primer published 1863-1897 James H. Buckbee Co., of New York largest maker. Members of BMG clubs played plucked stringed instruments in a variety of sizes and shapes. Search Enter Search Value: William Seeders Mosheim 5, circa 1920, maker and model number impressed to the head stock, the fingerboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2007. It has big resonant bass notes that you don't find on a 5-string banjo, and also crisp highs for that beautiful banjo tone. Frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard of string instruments that divide the neck into fixed intervals. Putting that aside, the early paragraphs are informative; banjo's African roots and early American incarnations in 19th century are . 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. The guitar dethroned the banjo in the early 20th century for several reasons. sites.google.com. What type of banjo is best for beginners: Acoustic or electric? It was tuned in fifths, like a mandolin or violin, and played by strumming with a plectrum, also known as a pick. Buffalo Grove, IL USA 60089 Bryson City, SC USA Most experts Windsor, English zither banjo, by William Temlett, London, circa 1920, the headstock elegantly shaped, stamped to verso 'W. www.levanbanjos.com Excellent student model, The Windsor 'Pyxe' banjo, c. 1920's, with original case. +353 91 796156 Early American Clock Makers This partial list highlights some of the more well known early American clock makers. Over the past three decades, Gold Tone has been incredibly prolific at producing stringed instruments. 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. Matthew Sabatella plays "Pompey Ran Away" on a banjo built by Pete Ross. Mastercraft banjos are handcrafted in the . 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. They recorded string bands and solo musicians, often on location in makeshift recording studios, and released the music under the labels , Gus Cannon was a versatile and influential African American banjo player. Check out our early banjo selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. www.hicklerbanjo.com 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 . With case. Although these elements are from the 19th century instruments, I wanted a banjo that would play 20th century pitches with steel strings. The Anthology was a set of six long-playing records that compiled eighty-four songs initially released on old-time and race record lines in the 1920s and 30s. Box 8190 1739 South Sheridan Rd. Other parts of the "pot" 1.5 5. The first consists of primary banjo players and the second of celebrities that also play the banjo. SC.nb("info", "tranjo.com", "", "", ""); Colin J. Vance They recorded string bands and solo musicians, often on location in makeshift recording studios, and released the music under the labels old-time, old familiar tunes, or hillbilly. Samantha Bumgarner from Dillsboro, North Carolina, recorded ten songs for Columbia Records in April 1924. There are more than eighty-five documented banjo sightings in North America between 1736 and 1840. 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. West African plucked spike lutes share three basic design features. J.D. 1922 West Banta Road These books demonstrate a transition in playing technique from the African-rooted downstroke, utilized by Black musicians and minstrel performers, to an up-picking method common among guitarists. I have worked with world renown banjo maker Kevin Enoch since 2004, collaborating on the design of his esteemed Dobson line, and creating much of the design and inlay on his most ornate banjos. 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. Continued in business into the early 1900s. Spring Valley, CA USA 91977 Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers: "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" (1927). Banjo, Mandolin, and Guitar Club at West Virginia University in 1896. 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. Conway, Cecelia. With the group The Weavers, formed in 1948, Seeger took the banjo to the top of the popular music charts multiple times, though the orchestra arrangements on many of their recordings obscured it. While some continued to play the instrument, there was a steep decline in the presence of the banjo in Black music. Horsefly, BC CAN V0L 1L0 Scruggs was a 3-finger up-picking virtuoso who soloed frequently and took the banjo to inventive new places. The banjo is patterned after detail from "The Old Plantation" painting. In many cases, banjos were made using gourds and animal skins. SC.nb("colin", "vancebanjos.com", "", "", ""); 1000 Corporate Grove Drive It was tuned in fifths, like a mandolin or violin, and played by strumming with a plectrum, also known as a pick. Banjo maker Jim Hartel on the African heritage and American history of the banjo. This design was firmly ingrained in the New World, as evidenced by the following instruments found across time and distance: the strum strump observed in Jamaica in the late 1680s, the early gourd banjo in John Roses watercolor (sometimes called. It has simple friction tuning pegs, and is strung with nylon strings. Now owned by Geoff Stelling. Note that instruments made during the war by this renowned maker are rare. 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. www.georgebanjos.com. Huber Jim Mills 5 string Banjo Rare Gold Plated . +1 (540) 887-2313 Roger McGuinn, whose electric 12-string guitar sound defined the Byrds earlier music, played banjo on some songs, as did virtuoso John Hartford. +1 (540) 230-0085 James Hartel has been making and playing banjos on and off since 1973 when he made a banjo for his 2 year old daughter. In the book Banjo Roots and Branches, historian Pete Ross concludes, All three banjos differ enough from African instruments while sharing some details specific to later banjos played and made by European Americans to place them at a point in the banjos history where it was no longer simply a relocated African instrument, but on its way to attaining the structure of the well-known antebellum nineteenth-century banjo.. 23 Goodwood Lane, PO Box 442 Apologies for being away and thanks to our resident designer Ginny for putting the site back together. 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. 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 Sold by in for You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg. Every Bad River banjo is crafted one at a time in the old-time . The most technically advanced banjo of the early minstrel period. These banjos can have 10.5, 11 or 12 inch pots; with any rim/ tone ring combination available including Electric Prototype, Bacon reproduction, Whyte Laydie, Tubaphone, Dobson; and a standard 25.5 inch scale length, or a shorter 23.5 inch. Pete is one of earliest contemporary makers of gourd banjos, making instruments that range from those of his own design to exact replicas of historic instruments. Because they did not fit the White stereotype of hillbilly music, record companies were not interested in recording them, though occasionally Black musicians played in the background on records by White artists. I reserve the right to remove a listing without notice if the maker's Web site goes offline or I am unable to get in touch with a builder within a reasonable amount of time. The Old Plantation and Gerrit Schoutens Slavendans dioramas from Suriname both appear to depict this ritual. Fairview, TN USA made exclusively for Elderly Instruments and can be found on their website here. 133 Marion Drive Eminence, MS USA By the end of the decade, other White solo banjo players in blackface became popular on the circus and variety show circuit. Tom & Fintan Cussen Clarinbridge, Co. Galway IRL H91 Yp28 +353 91 796156 The Dobson brothers, William A. Cole, H.C. Fairbanks, James Ashborn, and Vega built banjos or affixed their names to the banjos of others. Most banjos today are fretted, though some musicians play fretless. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. He has documented the exact dimensions, construction techniques and detailed characteristics of each individual instrument that he replicates. defunct listings were for old-time, open-back banjos and most of these were Bluegrass, both progressive and traditional, old-time, and Americana music are still going strong in recordings, concerts, and gatherings of musicians and fans at festivals. The images used in this list have been provided by their respective builders and are the copyrighted The first banjos were used by African American immigrants in the deep south. SC.nb("phopkins", "united.net", "", "", ""); A division of Gibson. Not all brands have been created . To the heal a metal plaque bearing 'The new Windsor/ patent zither Banjo/ A.O. 301 Church Street A c.1920-30s Slingerlands Nite Hawk four-string banjo, with inlaid details to sides and back. The following are my criteria for inclusion in this list. SC.nb("info", "recordingking.com", "", "", ""); The one-armed banjo maker. Timothy Twiss plays the basic movements described in Briggs' Banjo Instructor. Shelbyville, TN USA 37160 As is typical for this early banjo style, the neck and fingerboard are made from a single piece of wood. Shelbyville, TN USA 37160 Leon Ballard dphopkinsbanjos.com Unknown Maker Tackhead Minstrel Banjo C. 1840s This is probably the earliest banjo in the collection, tackhead banjos predate the use of straining hooks and nuts to tighten the head although cheap versions were in trade catalogs well into the 1890s. . www.stellingbanjo.com Akeman played in the older clawhammer style and rarely took an improvised solo. The earliest instruments came to our shores as part of the slave trade. www.reiterbanjos.com Plucked means that it produces sound when the strings are struck or plucked. error? Ltd. trading as CARTER'S Publications. McMurray, PA USA 15317 They share features that differentiate them from West African lutes, including a flat, fretless fingerboard, wooden friction tuning pegs, and the way the neck enters and attaches to the gourd body. 249 South Kane Street Mesa, AZ USA 85201 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. 1870-Uncle Dave Macon born in Tennessee 1878-Henry Dobson produces 5 string with frets (made by Buckbee) 1880-1890 Fairbanks and Cole of Boston. Geared tuners and frets are not part of their skill set or among their usual tools of the trade. +1 (250) 620-0592 +1 (503) 568-3044 SC.nb("dean", "deanocraft.com", "", "", ""); Home of Tenbrooks, Vega, and the ubiquitous Goodtime models. Many of the SC.nb("rooster", "cloverlickbanjoshop.com", "", "", ""); Dean O. Robinson 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. Blue Lake, CA USA 95525 One of my folk art chairs will be in the exhibit - there are similar examples in the Smithsonian and Colonial Williamsburg collections. Cannon's Jug Stompers: "Walk Right In" (1929). . To the heal an impressed metal plaque bearing ' the new Windsor/, English zither banjo, by Windsor, Artiste model, Birmingham, circa 1900, the brass impressed plate on the heel reads 'The new Windsor patent zither banjo A.O. He learned the instrument from Black musicians in his home state of Virginia. Sharing design elements with many similar West African instruments, the banjo developed in the Caribbean during the first century of the transatlantic slave trade. This period in America played a pivotal role in the history of the Dixieland banjo by fostering technological advances to the instrument, which would allow it to be adopted by many musical genres and eventually jazz. Carlin, Bob. Between the 1930s and 1960s, American roots music enjoyed successive waves of interest. Spike implies that the neck passes over or through the body of the instrument. +1 (800) 444-2766 Inclusion on the list is entirely at Will's Have a SC.nb("lindsaylewellen", "gmail.com", "", "", ""); www.recordingking.com The builder must make and sell at least 12 banjos per year or have a history of having done so. In addition to his work with gourd banjos, Pete has spent the last 30 years immersed in the study of the earliest wooden rim banjos. This article comprises two separate lists. If you know of any builders not on this list, please let me know. It features 100 "milestone instruments" with in-depth coverage, including model details and beautiful photos. Between 1893 and 1917, he made more than 500 recordings of ragtime songs, marches, and minstrel material. +1 (270) 866-4515 Maker: Intermountain Guitar and Banjo Year: 1977 Notes: One of a handful of complete Whyte Laydie Banjos produced by Intermountain Guitar and Banjo. The rest were widely scattered, with small clumps around New York City and New Orleans. Banjo: An Illustrated History. www.cloverlickbanjoshop.com www.grundybanjos.com Glasgow, KY USA 42141 Players tune the instrument by sliding the rings up or down to tighten or loosen the strings. Began building full time in2014. Cased banjo Sold by in for Bloomington, MN USA 55431 Often referred to as "the red book" (for obvious reasons) by the banjo-collecting world, the books does a great job at identifying and describing some hightly sought banjos. Deering Boston 6-String Banjo Made in USA $ 2,799.00 $ 2,519.00 The Boston 6 String banjo is tuned like a guitar so guitar players can instantly start playing this type of banjo. Copyright 2003-2023 by Will Fastie. 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. , banjo manufacturers began installing frets on the instrument. Intrigued by what he witnessed and the banjo, in particular, the younger Seeger began learning to play. www.frankneat.com serial number impressed to verso, 60 cm long, Australian zither banjo, by boomerang, early 20th century, impressed factory mark to headstock, mother-of-pearl inlay to finger board, 93 cm long, English zither banjo, by Windsor, model no. Early, relatively primitive designs of the instrument are African in origin and modern (designs) vaguely resemble these early versions. In 1952, Folkways Records released Anthology of American Folk Music, which prompted tremendous interest in the raw, rural sounds of the banjo. discretion but no compensation or gratuity is required or accepted. Charlotte, NC USA I owned an Epiphone long-neck in the '60s and it was an excellent banjo. Prague CZ www.washburn.com, 56771 Lunar Drive Spencerville, IN USA 46788 Bend, OR USA 97707 genuine. It was tuned in fifths, like a mandolin or violin, and played by strumming with a plectrum, also known as a pick. In some historical records, "playing banya" or "playing banjo" may have referred to the dance ritual, not the musical instrument. +1 (972) 617-5576 +1 (615) 429-6835 Afton, VA USA 22920 I have spent decades studying historic banjos and is happy to work with any early designs or collaborate on completely new design concepts beyond what you see here. www.seedersinstruments.com The banjo is frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, and has also been used in . Mostly open-back models. www.cedarmtnbanjos.com Edited by Robert B. Winans. In reality, they were far from that, but they did incorporate elements from both Black and White folk culture. The images may have been edited by me for I'm happy to talk banjo if you have any special commission ideas youd like to talk about as well. +1 (570) 924-4080 We received a 2007 Master/Apprentice grant from the Maryland Traditional Arts Council so I could learn engraving from Kevin. The banjo became his instrument of choice in work as an activist and advocate for folk music and group singing. By the end of the century, banjo repertoire had expanded from plantation and minstrel tunes to include sentimental popular songs, waltzes, mazurkas, polkas, and ragtime. began seeking out some of the performers. Black string bands still performed at community dances at this time. The tenor banjo lacked the short fifth string, which provided a single-note musical drone. Starting in the 1840s, blackface minstrel performers began popularizing the banjo among middle-class Whites who purchased manufactured instruments and learned to play.