| Eddie Peabody | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edwin Ellsworth Peabody |
| Also known as | King of the Banjo |
| Born | February 19, 1902 |
| Origin | USA |
| Died | November 7, 1970 |
| Genres | Vaudeville |
| Occupations | musician, entertainer |
| Instruments | Banjo, Banjoline, Mandolin, Violin |
| Years active | 1921–1970 |
| Labels | from the 1920s to 1950s, various 1950-1960s, DOT |
| Associated acts | Don van Palta, Scotty Plummer, Brad Roth, Sean Moyses, Dave Marty, Buddy Wachter, Peter Mezoian, Chris Archer, Skip de Vol, Debbie Schreyer, Bill Lowrey, Hal Kemp/Collegians |
| Website | www.redhotjazz.com/peabody.html |
| Notable instruments | |
| Banjo | |
Edwin Ellsworth Peabody, known as Eddie Peabody (February 19, 1902 - November 7, 1970) was an American banjo player, instrument developer, and musical entertainer. His career spanned five decades. He was the best known plectrum (4 string) banjo player of his era. He was known by the professional nicknames, and titles, "Little Eddie", "King of the Banjo", and "Happiness Boy".
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Born in Reading, Massachusetts, Peabody taught himself to play the violin, mandolin, guitar and banjo, at a very young age. He entered the U.S. Navy in March 1916 aged fourteen after lying about his age. He served in World War I on an S-14 submarine. It was during this period that he earned the nickname "Happiness Boy." After his discharge from the Navy in 1921 he began a long career in show business, beginning with Vaudeville. He visited England in the 1930s and made several recordings for the Columbia Company. While there he helped to promote the banjo by visiting BMG clubs (Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar clubs) which were very active in the years up to World War II. When the U.S.A entered the war Eddie became a morale officer for the U.S. Navy. He already held the rank of commander and he was subsequently engaged to play shows for servicemen. When the war finished, he attempted to restart his concert career. By then, most of the Vaudeville halls had closed down and musical tastes had changed. However, in 1948, I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover, a hit from the 1920s, was resurrected by the Art Mooney Orchestra and created interest in both nostalgic music and the banjo. He capitalized on this by signing to Dot Records and made several albums for them. He took his act around supper clubs that were popular at the time, and TV made him a household name, once again. He also produced records and appeared in films. He was regarded as the most popular banjo player of the period.
He developed, with the Vega Banjo Company of Boston, a new type of "deep resonator" for the four-stringed banjo called the Vegavox, based on the zither banjo. The Vegavox has been produced mainly in four-stringed plectrum (22 frets) and tenor (19 frets) models; however, some five-stringed models were created and sold as special orders.
Peabody also developed a special type of electric banjo, first with Vega, later with the Fender Company and Rickenbacker, called the Banjoline. This instrument is tuned as a plectrum banjo but with the 3 and 4 string doubled in octaves, similar to the way a 12 string guitar is strung.[1] The Banjoline is now a very rare and highly-priced collector's item, although very seldom used today in live performances.
At some point in the 1920s, a music critic nicknamed Peabody "The King of the Banjo" because of his frenetic playing style which involved fast triplets and cross-picking, made some listeners think he was playing two banjos at once. The nickname "King of the banjo" stuck for the rest of his life.
Peabody served in the U.S. Navy during WWII as a Lt. Commander in charge of the music/band department at the Great Lakes Training Station near Chicago, Illinois.
He performed for national leaders around the world. In 1968, Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded him a distinguished "People to People" Award for Meritorious Service in both the military and show business.
During the 1930s he married Maude Kelly, who was also his business manager at the time, with the marriage ending in divorce in 1939. In 1940 he married Ragna Kaupanger, a Norwegian-American nurse and flight attendant for United Airlines. They had two children, Eddie Jr., and George Robert Peabody.[2]
Peabody continued to play live until his death in 1970 at age 68, due to a brain hemorrhage he suffered while on stage at "The Lookout House" supper club in Covington, Kentucky. His wife, Ragna Peabody, died in 2002.