Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus have not made it onto the country songs chart since 2012 when their single “Banjo” topped it. But this week that changed! Their hit track reached number one.
On Monday (June 12), they celebrated the success of their song with its composers Wendell Mobley, Tony Martin and Neil Thrasher at Puckett’s in downtown Nashville – it made for an enjoyable event with great food!
‘Banjo’ is a fun song
Beginner banjo players need songs they can start learning right away. Your first few songs should be easy for you to learn and provide a solid basis in melodic style and forward/reverse rolls. Once these foundational skills have been acquired, more challenging songs may follow.
The banjo has long been associated with American folk and bluegrass music, particularly rural styles accompanied by fiddles. Today it can also be found being used in country and folk rock styles; often as an accompaniment for vocals if played solo; occasionally used even in Irish traditional music!
In the 1930s and 1940s, 5-string banjos experienced a revival. Their distinctive sound made an impactful contribution to folk music group The Weavers; Pete Seeger championed community singing as an important form of expression through folk music, popularizing this instrument through television broadcasts and radio appearances.
By the mid-century, bluegrass had become an integral part of popular culture. Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys became iconic figures within this genre through television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, live performances, and promotion of five-string banjo usage for new generations of musicians.
In the 1970s, a younger generation of musicians started pushing bluegrass forward into new directions with progressive bluegrass or newgrass music. This movement incorporates jazz and rock influences as well as bluegrass traditions. Popular groups that incorporate progressive bluegrass include Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons to bring its instrument closer to mainstream audiences while banjo maestros such as Bela Fleck have continued exploring what the banjo can do.
Banjo players often enjoy learning some simple songs they can easily play any time – the most popular being Hot Corn, Cold Corn and Yankee Doodle. These tunes are great for beginners since they require no practice to learn. Furthermore, playing them regularly will help develop your timing skills!
It’s a good diversion
Rascal Flatts fans may be taken aback when hearing banjo in “Banjo,” considering their band is so well known for their cutting-edge groove. Yet the song provides a welcome change of pace from their usual sound while showcasing impressive trio harmonies and the lyrics tell the tale of a free-spirited woman who dances whenever music stirs her heart, enjoying rainy drives with her best friend while immersed in music and dancing along to it all the way home.
It’s a good song for the radio
The song ‘Banjo’ is a catchy, upbeat tune perfect for radio. Showcasing banjo and acoustic guitar sounds, this tune will appeal to country music fans while its positive message will entice young audiences as well.
The banjo is an ancient instrument and has long been employed in multiple genres of music. Though often associated with mountain/rural/country genres, the five-string banjo became immensely popular through flatt & Scruggs and their Blue Grass Boys due to their wide audience reach.
This song showcases banjo, acoustic guitar and drums in addition to banjo. The drums provide a solid backbeat which enhances the banjo beautifully. This melody-driven song offers easy learning for beginners while its simple structure provides great practice opportunities in banjo basics – plus singing along is great fun.
Tony Trischka is an iconic banjoist who wrote this iconic tune about a man hitchhiking on a wagon wheel to reach Raleigh, North Carolina. This tune has become his signature piece and showcases all of his styles; making this song an excellent way to start learning the instrument as it will challenge and advance you beyond your current levels of mastery.
If you prefer more traditional bluegrass music, give “Tom Dooley” a try. Written and first performed in 1934 by G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter, later recorded by The Kingston Trio featuring banjo player Dave Kingston (arguably its most famous performance ever), “Tom Dooley” has since been covered by numerous artists as a classic country standard.
Ewan MacColl’s classic song, “Wagon Wheel,” first recorded by American Virginia Minstrels in 1846 is another great banjo tune to add to your repertoire. Now considered an international folk classic, many artists such as Darius Rucker from Hootie & the Blowfish and various compilation albums have covered this song, making it a timeless tune!
It’s a good song for the fans
The banjo is an essential element of bluegrass, yet sometimes difficult to incorporate it into other genres. The instrument adds an “ethnic edge” to songs, either adding depth to them or reminding listeners of Jed Clampett – thus the importance of finding the appropriate balance between these two extremes – many bands do this successfully, including We Banjo 3 who feature banjo on every track from their new album!
The band is embarking on an exciting tour that will showcase their infectious songs to an even broader audience. Already they have performed at some of the top country music festivals like Dierks Bentley’s Seven Peaks and Country Jam; both audiences and critics alike have responded positively. They continue to gain fans across North America.
Flatt and Scruggs helped bring bluegrass into mainstream American culture through television shows like Hee Haw and The Beverly Hillbillies, as well as through popular recordings with their Foggy Mountain Boys band. Through these efforts, they popularized bluegrass sound around the world while popularizing banjo playback to wider audiences and helping establish bluegrass as a musical style in America.
Even as their music began to wane in the late 1980s, Flatt and Scruggs continued to tour with their bands featuring banjo players. Their performances were often sold-out while their music received critical acclaim; however, in the 1990s the music industry shifted away from bluegrass towards pop and country rock; this caused an accompanying decrease in bluegrass popularity as artists such as Grateful Dead and Wilco used banjo less frequently in their performances.
Recently, the banjo has made a comeback in music. Cold Mountain’s soundtrack features gut-stringed resonatorless banjo to show that this instrument can be used beyond pure Bluegrass applications; additionally Steve Martin’s Crow Project demonstrated how it could even be used to compose sad songs.
Martin has created his own style in Irish banjo that draws upon tradition while expanding to encompass modern techniques. He holds seven All Ireland Championship titles for folk fiddle competitions and belongs to We Banjo 3.