MEDIA INFLUENCES

With the advent of the new media device, TV that soon spread to most homes in the late 50s and early 60s in America it was just a matter of time before banjo found a way on the air waves. Interesting to this author was the path that led to this and also how it was seemingly cut short as well.

The Danny Thomas show on CBS piloted a new TV show, a series about a local southern Sheriff raising a boy in a small hamlet in the south called Mayberry. In October of 1960 the show premiered, and ran 249 episodes and has never left the air in reruns since it began.

Doug Dillard born out of East St Louis Illinois and then relocated to the Ozarks in Missouri grew up with a musical family and learned to play both fiddle and guitar as a youngster. He got to see Uncle Dave Macon play on an Opry show and wanted a banjo from that time on. One Christmas when he was 16 he recieved a banjo as a present. He was thrilled, and burned his initials into it right off, one of his brother recalled. He fumbled around learning 2 finger style.The first time he heard Earl Scruggs playing the banjo on the radio, he was driving down the road, and ran his vehicle off into a ditch and had to be pulled out. He wrote Earl a letter and asked if he was too old to learn. Earl replied to his letter and gave him encouragement. As a young man, Doug pestered his parents into driving 500 miles to see Earl, he boldly walked up to Earls door and knocked, and asked him to help install Scruggs Tuners ( a tuner that allows quick tuning changes ) on his banjo. Earl came out and helped him and let him handle his own banjo. Doug has always had a respect for Earl and his gentle manner.
Doug learned to play 3 finger style listening to Earls records along with Don Reno and Ralph Stanleys records. He organized a band and played locally and then in 1962 forming the Dillards, travelled to Hollywood and played in an open mike engagement. An A&R man from Electra Records was there and signed them up immediately. The Dillards aka the Darlins opened bluegrass to a wide audience, this on the footsteps of another hit TV show that began in 62.
The Dillards performed on the Judy Garland Special and several other high profile venues. Doug left the band in 1968 the band kept going and recently Doug has returned and reunited they are currently playing together again.

A sidenote, this author once handled the banjo used on the Andy Griffith show, for details see my short bio on this website.

The Beverly Hillbillies, had a few spin off shows, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. In 1968 Glen Cambell hosted a summer replacement show, and was so well recieved he got his own show that ran 4 years. Glen had just had a hit on a song called "Gentle On My Mind" written by banjoist John Hartford. Glen featured alot of current country stars.
All of these shows were aired on CBS
CBS had enjoyed nearly a decade of prosperity, being number one in the ratings. However the industry soon began joking that CBS was an acronym for Country Broadcasting System. This began to disturb some of the higher muckity mucks about their network image.

There were many other banjoists on the show from time to time too, these were the regular cast members, along with Roy Clark. Mike and Roy both played on both Odes by Baldwin ,and Roy Clark began endorsing Gibson Banjos in the 70s. Both Jones and Akeman played on Vegas.

A few more people that I feel should be mentioned, who did influence and help popularize bluegrass banjos, from the media of television and concerts were the following two men, both respected banjoists.