Joel Walker Sweeney (1810 – 1860) was a significant figure in the history of the banjo. He was an American musician and early blackface minstrel performer known for popularizing the banjo and contributing to its development into the modern five-string version. He is the earliest known person to have played the banjo on stage.
Joel Sweeney, American minstrel banjo performer.
Sweeney grew up in Appomattox County, Virginia, and claimed to have learned to play the banjo from local enslaved Africans. (Here’s a fun fact about Joel Sweeney: He is often credited with popularizing the use of a cheese box as the resonating chamber for the banjo. This innovation helped transition the banjo from its traditional gourd-based design.)
His later version of the banjo featured a drum-like resonating chamber, which was a departure from the traditional gourd-based design. This was a more modern instrument, making it more durable and easier to produce. He is also credited with adding the fifth string to the banjo, although this claim is debated.
Sweeney began performing with the banjo in the early 1830s. He first performed throughout central Virginia for county court sessions. A few years later he joined a circus and traveled throughout Virginia and North Carolina. By 1839, Sweeney was performing in various blackface venues in New York.
Sweeney’s performances in the 1830s helped bring the banjo into mainstream American music. He toured extensively, even performing in Europe, and played a role in transforming the banjo from an instrument associated with the lower classes to one accepted by the middle class.
“Jenny Get Your Hoe Cake Done” and “Knock a Nigger Down” became two of Sweeney’s signature tunes.