Actually Pete innovated this style because unlike the banjo players he had, other than his half-sister Peggy, they were not playing countermines to the melody in the way a guitar player would do. The basic stroke had been around through Baumgartner and Pete Steele, coal miner from
Hamilton, Ohio on his song "Pay Day at Coal Creek". Pete was the only five-string banjo player to innovate the accompaniments for a variety of songs, many from other countries.

Up-picking styles can define any number of styles but Pete's was unique. The players who adopted his style were Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio, Erik Darling of the Weavers, Bob Gibson from Chicago, Peggy Seeger, Pete's half-sister, Hedy West, Dave Sear, Joe Jaffe,
Tony Saletan and I can assure you PHJim that Aunt Samantha Baumgartner was never able to play the variety of songs that Pete could do in his concerts with just his basic strum. Pete was a creative musician who thought carefully about the accompaniments for songs that he crafted.

Pete liberated the banjo from being exclusively an Appalachian instrument while popularizing the interest in Southern banjo playing from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
There are very few players today who can play in his style effectively and this is one reason why I chose to make these videos.

Sandman, I really like the Shetland approach with Eddie Lang's. Thanks for sharing it.