Object Details
user
Cockerham, Fred
maker
Creed, Kyle
Description
This banjo was made by Kyle Creed in Galax, Virginia around 1960-1962. It has 16 brackets and a fingerboard covered with formica veneer. An innovative use of modern synthetic materials (Formica (TM) and Mylar (TM)) is seen in this otherwise traditional fretless banjo made for outstanding old time musician Fred Cockerham, by his friend Kyle Creed.
The Formica surface of the fingerboard provides a wear resistant, smooth surface that helps the finger slides of the old time clawhammer style. The Mylar head gives a bright clear tone even during damp weather, which slackens and dulls the tone of the humidity sensitive skin heads used on earlier banjos.
Fred Cockerham was extensively recorded by Smithsonian Curator Scott Odell in the 1960s. Those field tapes are now included along with photographs and oral histories in the National Museum of American History's Archives Center.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of The Fred Cockerham Family
date made
1960-1962
ID Number
1988.0427.01
accession number
1988.0427
catalog number
1988.0427.01
Object Name
banjo
Physical Description
formica (overall material)
mylar (overall material)
wood (part material)
metal (part material)
Measurements
overall: 36 3/4 in x 12 in x 2 1/2 in; 93.345 cm x 30.48 cm x 6.35 cm
place made
United States: Virginia, Galax
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
Music & Musical Instruments
Banjos
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_606739