The Juneberry78s Listening Room
Songs and Tunes from the 19th Century Minstrel Era
ANGELINA BAKER Uncle Eck Dunford
listen
BUFFALO GALS MEDLEY The Crockett Family
listen
DARLING NELLIE GRAY Asa Martin and James Roberts
listen
DR. GINGER BLUE Arthur Tanner and his Corn Shuckers
listen
DRY BONES SHUFFLE Blind Blake
listen
GOING ON UP TO TOWN Ted Sharp, Hinman and Sharp
listen
GOLDEN SLIPPERS Dykes Magic City Trio
listen
GONNA RAISE A RUCKUS TONIGHT Charlie Bowman and Brother
listen
GRAPEVINE TWIST Steve and his Hot Shots
listen
JIM ALONG JOSIE Coon Creek Girls
listen
JOHNSON BOYS Grant Brothers
listen
JORDAN IS A HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL Uncle Dave Macon
listen
KING KONG KITCHIE KITCHIE KI-ME-O Chubby Parker
listen
MAY DEAREST MAY Bela Lam and his Greene County Singers
listen
MONEY MUSK MEDLEY John Baltzell
listen
OLD JOE Sid Harkreader and Grady Moore
listen
OLD JOHNNY BOKER Walter Smith
listen
OLD UNCLE NED Al Hopkins Buckle Busters
listen
WALK ALONG JOHN Luke Highnight's Ozark Strutters
listen
WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT THE DOOR William W West
listen
YANKEE DOODLE Piper's Gap Ramblers
listen
and more to come ...
Beginning in the 1840s a good number of these songs were performed on the banjo.
Today we only have musical notation, modern players like Bob Flesher, Bob Carlin, others and our imagination to guess what the music really sounded like back then.
The following performances many years later (from the 1920s & 1930s) are mostly by southern rural artists.
On these recordings the instrumentation is different and there are some changes to the tunes and lyrics.
We can compare our modern performances with these recordings for a broader perspective.
Here are some excellent resources for information about Early Minstrel Banjos.
Minstrel Banjo Ning
Dr Horsehair Music Company
Tim Twiss Early Banjo Stylist
The following are Builders of Minstrel Banjos for every budget.
The Banjo Factory
Eric Prust
Gardner's Dulcimer Shop
Bell and Son
Jeff Menzies
Calkins Banjos
Jay Moschella
Bob Flesher Custom Banjos
Hartel Banjos