Don't worry Charlie, there's no need for a flame war here. I really wish Cranky Yankee hadn't started of with "You're all full of ?????" but maybe the odd punctuation meant he was joking. I hope so anyway, because obviously his information is way out of date. Which is my point actually. Back in the fifties, there really hadn't been much research done on the banjo, and even Pete Seeger printed a lot of stuff in his "How To Play the Five String Banjo" that was later discredited, simply because new information had come to the fore. I doubt if Pete minded being corrected.

I think most of us who consider ourselves "banjo fans" have eagerly devoured each new historical tidbit, and goodness know there's no shortage of current info. Maybe "Cranky" simply hasn't kept up. No problem, it's not classified CIA documents, just banjo stuff. Come back "Yankee", all is forgiven.

Just remember how little we knew about the origins of the Kentucky dulcimer until serious research was done. It's French, German and Scandinavian background was never touched on til Jean Ritchie started the ball rolling.

J.C.