Eddy Peabody w/mando

[Frankdolin]

Is this man the best string player ever ? IMHO probably. I think he could have played a string bean!!!

[NickR]

And captain a submarine at the same time!

[DavidKOS]

He was considered one of the best tenor banjo players ever.

[Charles E.]

Obviously quite the ladies man too.

[Jeff Mando]

The "golden age" of showmanship!

[Ivan Kelsall]

His presentation might look a bit ''corny'' these days,but there was nothing corny about his talent. Back in 1963,when i first began playing banjo in Classic banjo style,Bluegrass music was almost unheard of in the UK,i only heard of it by accident - but every banjo player i came across knew exactly who Eddie Peabody was. A stupendously talented musician by any standard. Maybe his presentation was a bit OTT,but in those days,that's possibly what it took to get the music over,& what people expected,
Ivan

[NickR]

If you consider the era when Eddie took off, then his presentation would have been part of putting on a big show for the audience. As Roy Smeck mentioned in that early 80s documentary where he said "We call the TV, the box in which they buried Vaudeville" then that's a reminder of where these amazing musicians showcased their many talents. I suppose it may be a bit corny to some but I know that those that saw him, and Dick Knight did back in the late 1930s, when Eddie spent much time in the UK, they never forgot his virtuosity and his public joie de vivre as demonstrated by his exuberant style. Being a brooding uncommunicative self-absorbed individual was not what the public wanted when they spent their meagre hard-earned cash back in the 1930s. There was much to worry about without more being broadcast from the stage.

[Bogle]

This provides inspiration for me to dig out those two old Eddie Peabody LPs from the cabinet and listen to them this weekend!

[Timbofood]

How often do you see anyone play a harp guitar!? That’s a rarity, to be sure but, the rest of the man’s virtuosity cannot be questioned! How cool to see this bit of history!
Thanks Frankdolin!

[HonketyHank]

I remember that the first banjo instruction book I bought was by Eddie Peabody. I was playing a borrowed tenor banjo. I made a fair amount of progress in that book before I realized that Dave Guard in the Kingston Trio played a different kind of banjo and a different kind of music. I don't think it hurt me any at all, but I was pretty disappointed at the time.

Thanks for the videos. The man was a stupendous talent, though unappreciated by me as a teenager.

[Kenny A]

My father played tenor banjo but changed to plectrum banjo later in life. Eddy Peabody was his banjo hero. I believe he had every record eddy Peabody played. Dad died in 1990 and listening to those two videos darn near brought tears to my eyes. I started young playing tenor banjo and tenor guitar. I later switched to 6 strings and now play mandolin, but I will never be half the musician my dad was. Though he passed away twenty-eight years ago at the age of 70, I'm still stopped in the street by people that remember his play. Thank you for bringing back fond memories.

[Jeff Mando]

My father also loved Eddie Peabody records.

[Jim Garber]

He was considered one of the best tenor banjo players ever.

Not to nitpick but I believe he played plectrum banjo, not tenor.

[DavidKOS]

Not to nitpick but I believe he played plectrum banjo, not tenor.

Both if I recall. I know I had a CGDA book of his years ago.

And, neither type is a 5 string.

[Jim Garber]

Both if I recall. I know I had a CGDA book of his years ago.

And, neither type is a 5 string.

No doubt he could play either but he primarily played plectrum tuning. I think a lot of the books of the era often used the fame of such players as Peabody, Reser and Smeck and would adapt say tenor method to plectrum or vice versa.