Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History

For many years, the banjo's early Afro Caribbean history has been shrouded in mystery. Part of this is because the information has been locked away in the deep archives accessible only to the curious specialist interested in the deeper roots of the banjo. I have spent a great portion of my career advocating for much of this history to be placed in the forefront. For the very first time, a reader's version of a few of the earliest written observations of the instrument are on full display in the thoughtful and masterful writing of this book. This book is not only made for the banjo enthusiast but it opens a new window into 17th, 18th and 19th century world history on the ground level by those who lived it and observed the strange new cultural connections brought by a brutal plantation system. These men and women saw and wrote about the banjo's great transformation from a homemade tool of survival to its popularization in American culture. Kristina Gaddy's observations lead the reader back into the 21st century to contend and reanalyze the crooked road of America's musical past.–Dom Flemons, the American songster, Grammy Award-winning musician, and cofounder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops