Dick you have posed a thorny question. Bluegrass is a self-styled attempt at a pseudo-Americanism. Not many players are African-American (if any) or Hispanic. The Rebel Flag has been known to fly at some of the bluegrass festivals.

Did Zeke Manners actually play a diatonic accordian? I know he was a piano player and used to accompany himself with it on a morning show in Los Angeles in the Fifties.

He was kind of a Lew Childress and a Bob Burns. He had a running repartee with his song selections.

Many early so-called Country and Western bands used the piano accordian. A great carry-on of this tradition is a group called "Riders in the Sky" who recreates the "Sons of the Pioneers" who also used piano accordian.

The accordian is basically a dance music instrument worldwide and bluegrass is not a dance music. The accordian therefore would be more appropriate in the category of the so-called "Old Time" music.

The diatonic accordian is found in Irish music. They spell it "accordeon" or something like that.


Frank Hamilton