African American String Bands

Aired October 2, 2003

Fiddle and banjo are usually associated with old timey white music. But for centuries in America, before recordings were made, these instruments were played by African Americans. And there was a lot more mixing of white and black musicians than you might expect. Our guide for the program is the now late multi-instrumentalist, Howard Armstrong, 91-years old when this program first aired.

Discography