Biography
Roger Sprung’s distinctive banjo technique might suggest that his surname hints at the physical toll a standard performance could exact on his wrist. He takes pride in belonging to a modest circle of New York City banjo players whose approach sets them apart from the far larger contingent of frailing musicians rooted in the Appalachian tradition. His own immersion in the city’s folk milieu reaches back to the earliest stirrings of that movement and to a forward-looking acoustic trio that predated the Kingston Trio by half a decade. Sprung’s expansive musical outlook also left a mark on banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck; although Fleck studied primarily with fellow New Yorker Tony Trischka, the guiding principle of an unusually wide-ranging repertoire—one that freely incorporates material far beyond conventional bluegrass sources—originated more directly with Sprung.
That openness encouraged later pickers to adapt an eclectic assortment of pieces to bluegrass instrumentation, among them “Jingle Bells,” the complete Dark Side of the Moon, the disco hit “Shine,” the rap track “Raise Up,” and, at one 1990s concert, a surprise rendition of the Motel 6 commercial jingle. Mandolinist Arnie Solomon has recalled his tenure with Sprung as especially valuable for the breadth of styles the ensemble had to master. Throughout a career spanning more than fifty years, Sprung has remained committed to instruction, developing his own banjo method and designing a six-peg tuning system. While some players object that the extra peg blurs the instrument’s identity with that of the guitar, the innovation places Sprung alongside other noted banjo experimenters such as Bill Keith and Gene Parsons.
A further commercial milestone arrived with the Folksay Group sessions. The driving force was Erik Darling, who arrived in New York as a teenager in 1950 and quickly entered the local folk community. In 1953 he encountered Bob Carey, an eighteen-year-old Brooklyn college student shaped by the music of Josh White. Together with Sprung they recorded four sides for the Stinson label, drawing on both new material and earlier masters by Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly; among them was the Washington Square favorite “Tom Dooley.” These tracks rank among the earliest notable recordings by a modern folk trio of the era. When the Kingston Trio included “Bay of Mexico” and “Tom Dooley” on its 1958 Capitol debut, questions of provenance arose; Kingston Trio leader Dave Guard later confirmed to New Lost City Ramblers member John Cohen that the group had drawn its arrangement of “Tom Dooley” from the Sprung ensemble. North Carolina claimant Frank Prophet nevertheless pursued legal action over authorship and ultimately prevailed.
Sprung also cut sides with the Shanty Boys, resulting in collectible pressings that now command substantial prices. He added fiddle to his instrumental arsenal, performed with Doc Watson, and frequented the same clubs chronicled in Karl Eklund’s Life in Folk Music, which notes Sprung’s presence at Jean Ritchie’s first bar appearance alongside Watson. By the early 1960s Sprung had embraced the identity of a progressive banjoist, making regular journeys to bluegrass events in North Carolina where both music and local moonshine figured prominently. His longest-running partnership, exceeding twenty-five years, has been with flatpicker Hal Wylie; the two continue to perform, often fronting Roger Sprung, Hal Wylie & the Progressive Bluegrassers, an ensemble that has occasionally expanded to seven members.
That openness encouraged later pickers to adapt an eclectic assortment of pieces to bluegrass instrumentation, among them “Jingle Bells,” the complete Dark Side of the Moon, the disco hit “Shine,” the rap track “Raise Up,” and, at one 1990s concert, a surprise rendition of the Motel 6 commercial jingle. Mandolinist Arnie Solomon has recalled his tenure with Sprung as especially valuable for the breadth of styles the ensemble had to master. Throughout a career spanning more than fifty years, Sprung has remained committed to instruction, developing his own banjo method and designing a six-peg tuning system. While some players object that the extra peg blurs the instrument’s identity with that of the guitar, the innovation places Sprung alongside other noted banjo experimenters such as Bill Keith and Gene Parsons.
A further commercial milestone arrived with the Folksay Group sessions. The driving force was Erik Darling, who arrived in New York as a teenager in 1950 and quickly entered the local folk community. In 1953 he encountered Bob Carey, an eighteen-year-old Brooklyn college student shaped by the music of Josh White. Together with Sprung they recorded four sides for the Stinson label, drawing on both new material and earlier masters by Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly; among them was the Washington Square favorite “Tom Dooley.” These tracks rank among the earliest notable recordings by a modern folk trio of the era. When the Kingston Trio included “Bay of Mexico” and “Tom Dooley” on its 1958 Capitol debut, questions of provenance arose; Kingston Trio leader Dave Guard later confirmed to New Lost City Ramblers member John Cohen that the group had drawn its arrangement of “Tom Dooley” from the Sprung ensemble. North Carolina claimant Frank Prophet nevertheless pursued legal action over authorship and ultimately prevailed.
Sprung also cut sides with the Shanty Boys, resulting in collectible pressings that now command substantial prices. He added fiddle to his instrumental arsenal, performed with Doc Watson, and frequented the same clubs chronicled in Karl Eklund’s Life in Folk Music, which notes Sprung’s presence at Jean Ritchie’s first bar appearance alongside Watson. By the early 1960s Sprung had embraced the identity of a progressive banjoist, making regular journeys to bluegrass events in North Carolina where both music and local moonshine figured prominently. His longest-running partnership, exceeding twenty-five years, has been with flatpicker Hal Wylie; the two continue to perform, often fronting Roger Sprung, Hal Wylie & the Progressive Bluegrassers, an ensemble that has occasionally expanded to seven members.
Albums
