The Banjo, from Its Roots to the Ragtime Era

Abstract

The banjo, of African origin and African-American heritage, has come to be identified more closely with American popular music culture than perhaps any other musical instrument. This essay will attempt to trace the history of the banjo, following its trek across the American cultural landscape. The focus will be upon its origins as a black folk instrument, its adoption by the white minstrels in the mid-nineteenth century, leading to its diverging roles in the late nineteenth century as an instrument of both Northern white urban popular and high culture and Southern white folk culture. The essay will be followed by an annotated bibliography of secondary sources.