Dock Boggs

One of the towering figures of old-time music, Dock Boggs was a banjo innovator who played Appalachian songs with a blues feel. Born in 1898 in Virginia, Boggs watched African-American string bands and incorporated what he learned into his own style. He tuned the banjo lower than most Appalachian players, disliked clawhammering, and opted for a three-fingered arpeggio technique. The resulting bluesy style landed him a minor recording deal with Brunswick in 1927. Despite the possibility of a national breakthrough, Boggs turned his back on the industry, which his religious wife Sara considered fraught with sin. After using his banjo as collateral for a loan and working as a coal miner for two decades, the old-time legend was saved from obscurity by Mike Seeger and the '60s folk revival, subsequently recording many sides for Smithsonian Folkways. He died on his birthday in 1971.