Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Birth of the Banjo: Joel Walker Sweeney and Early Minstrelsy

The Birth of the Banjo: Joel Walker Sweeney and Early Minstrelsy

Carlin, Bob

Paperback

19th Century United States HistoryMusic Instruction: General

ISBN10: 0786428740
ISBN13: 9780786428748
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: Mar 7 2007
Pages: 203
Weight: 0.78
Height: 0.48 Width: 6.98 Depth: 10.02
Language: English

Joel Walker Sweeney was, in essence, the Elvis Presley of the 1840s. A professional banjo player, Sweeney introduced mainstream America to a music (and musical instrument) which had its roots in the transplanted black culture of the southern slave. Sweeney, an Irish-American born midway between Richmond and Lynchburg, Virginia, sampled African American music at a young age. He then added more traditional southern sounds to the music he heard, in essence creating a new musical form. The only avenue available to a professional banjo player was that of traveling minstrelsy shows and it was this route which Sweeney used to bring his music to the attention of the public.

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