Snuffy Jenkins

Snuffy Jenkins (born October 27, 1908, Harris, North Carolina - died April 29, 1990) was an American old time banjo player.

Biography

DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins was the last of ten children; all of his brothers and sisters were adept on various musical instruments. He first began playing the fiddle as a plucked instrument, and later picked up guitar and banjo. In 1927 he played with Smith Hammett and Rex Brooks, and was influenced by their style as he concentrated on banjo playing.

In 1934, Jenkins appeared on the "Crazy Water Barn Dance" in Charlotte, North Carolina. He moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 1937 and played in a string band on WIS, a local radio outlet. The announcer on WIS was Byron "The Old Hired Hand" Parker. After Jenkins had left, the band changed its name to "Byron Parker's Mountaineers" and later to "The Hired Hand." The fiddler Homer "Pappy" Sherrill, joined the group in 1939, as did Julian Medlin and Ira Dimmery in 1947 and Bill Rey in 1955. Their first recordings were released in 1962.

Jenkins and Homer Sherrill recorded as a duo for Rounder Records in 1989, shortly before the former's death in April 1990.

Despite some persistent rumours, Jenkins did not teach Earl Scruggs how to play the banjo according to an interview with Jenkins, conducted by Tony Trischka on October 17, 1984 ["Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, Masters of the 5-String Banjo, Oak Publications, 1988 (page 5)"] .

References

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jzfrxq95ld0e~T1 Snuffy Jenkins] at Allmusic