Black Banjo Songsters of N Carolina & Virginia

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 17, 1998)
• Original Release Date: January 20, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways
• ASIN: B000001DJP
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,227 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #74 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Strings > General
  • #98 in Music > Blues > Regional Blues > East Coast Blues

Track Listings

1. Coo Coo - John Snipes

2. Coo Coo - Dink Roberts

3. Old Rattler (Fox Chase) - John Snipes

4. Georgia Buck - Dink Roberts

5. Georgia Buck - Joe Thompson & Odell Thompson

6. John Henry - James Roberts

7. High Sheriff - Dink Roberts

8. John Hardy - Dink Roberts

9. Garfield - Dink Roberts

10. Old Corn Liquor - Dink Roberts

11. Old Corn Liquor - Joe Thompson & Odell Thompson

12. John Henry - Joe Thompson & Odell Thompson

13. Love Somebody - Joe Thompson & Tommy Thompson

14. Long Tail Blue - John Snipes

15. Ain't Gonna Rain No More - John Snipes & Tommy Thompson

16. Going Where I've Never Been Before - John Snipes

17. Black Annie - Dink Roberts

18. Old Blue - Dink Roberts

19. Going Away From Home - John Snipes

20. You Don't Know My Darling - John Snipes

See all 32 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

The sounds and social history of African American banjo playing—32 superb instrumentals and vocals, recorded between 1974 and 1997. Extensively annotated with performer's life histories, tunings, lyrics, bibliography, and discography. The banjo's gourd ancestors came to the Americas with enslaved Africans, forging the link between West African griots and performers of 20th-century blues and string-band music. 64 minutes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure for old-time music lovers, anthropologists & you, February 15, 2001

By 

B. BEATTY "Poetry reader" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Banjo Songsters of N Carolina & Virginia (Audio CD)

Archival, yes, but the music contained on this CD is more vital than you can imagine. It must be heard to be believed. Listening to the likes of John Snipes and Dink Roberts changed my life. This is banjo music to calm the weary soul...and give it just the bit of thrill we all deserve. Plus, buying CDs on the Smithsonian/Folkways label is a way to help them continue their valuable work.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real "Before The Blues" CD, April 2, 2003

By 

Joseph Scott (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Banjo Songsters of N Carolina & Virginia (Audio CD)

Only two of the tunes on this CD, "Going Where..." and "Going Away...," are closely related to blues music, in both cases very early blues music. The other thirty tracks are honest-to-goodness 19th-century-style, pre-blues, non-blues folk music -- a whole earlier animal than blues music, which didn't arise until about 1900. For instance, "John Hardy" is about a real West Virginian who was hanged in 1894 (coincidentally the year Dink Roberts was born); "John Hardy" isn't a blues song, and no one has ever found evidence of _any_ blues song existing as early as 1894.

For 19th-century-style banjo, by musicians who were immersed in it during the 1900s to 1930s when they were young and it was still very well-known in some rural areas, you can't do better than this remarkable CD. Many of these banjoists learned their tunes first-hand from banjoists who were born around the 1870s.

If this is your cup of tea, some other wonderful banjoists who recorded similar pre-blues, non-blues folk music, all born in the late 19th century, would be Belton Reese, Jake Staggers, Nathan Frazier, Sidney Stripling, Bill Cornett, Will Slayden, and H.N. Dickens.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You are going to want this!, September 19, 2002

By 

LK (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Banjo Songsters of N Carolina & Virginia (Audio CD)

Wonderful CD--some bizarre song content that makes you glad that is in an unedited collection of songs. Free form thoughts just pouring out--you really feel like you are there sitting next to these people. This is authentic old music--not for people who sort-of like old stuff. I recommend this CD, it is one that I've passed around to 5 or 6 friends. Stuff most people haven't heard unless they listen to esoteric public radio broadcasts in the back woods at 6 AM.