The Truth About Early Banjo History

Banjo Heritage 👉 https://Patreon.com/CliftonHicks
Clifton Hicks on the banjo's surprising popularity during the 18th century, plus Old Leatherstocking, Joe Sweeney, and the rise of blackface minstrelsy.

The earliest accounts of what can be positively identified as a "banjo" date to the 1600s in Jamaica. Recent organological studies of early gourd banjos (Banjo Roots And Branches, 2018) indicate that they are a hybrid instrument, borrowing heavily from both African and European lutes. By 1740 the gourd banjo has spread all up and down the east coast of what will become the United States, and by 1780 it plays a significant role in both black and white folk culture--especially in the South. However, it is not until the 1830s that blackface minstrels begin utilizing it on the commercial stage, and this happens mostly in northern urban centers. In the South it remains relatively uncommercialized until after the American Civil War.