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A.L. Camp Plays the Banjo

A.L. Camp
A.L. Camp Plays the Banjo

Archibald Camp had been playing the banjo for 70 years when he wrote to Folkways Records in January 1961, offering a tape of his banjo playing for their consideration. Camp was one of the few remaining five-string banjo players who remembered the original arrangements, and he feared that this old music would be lost forever unless he recorded them. In this significant album Camp revived fifteen of the twenty banjo solos from memory.

Liner notes include a copy of Camp’s letter, his autobiography, notes on banjo listening, and an introduction to the country music in the Folkways catalog.

*Content Advisory: Track 104 on this album contains derogatory language in the title. While it is offensive to us, we have chosen for the song titles to remain as published and interpreted in the time period in which they were written. We believe that to do otherwise would be to change a historical document. This term was circulated and popularized through blackface minstrelsy and used by society steeped in white supremacist values, especially during the Jim Crow era, to unjustly describe and identify Black people.
For our policy on controversial recordings, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Track Listing

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101
Jumping Jacks A.L. Camp 02:53
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102
Golden Bell Polka A.L. Camp 02:29
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103
Watch Hill March A.L. Camp 03:25
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104
The Darkies Awakening* A.L. Camp 02:55
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105
Mount Gretna March A.L. Camp 02:56
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106
The Darktown Cakewalk A.L. Camp 02:35
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107
Light and Gay Polka A.L. Camp 02:35
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108
Silver Crown Schottish A.L. Camp 02:39
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109
Ciri-biri-bin Waltz A.L. Camp 02:35
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201
The Frogville Band A.L. Camp 02:33
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202
Mocking Bird A.L. Camp 02:26
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203
Little Toy Train A.L. Camp 01:19
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204
Dixie / Chicken Reel A.L. Camp 01:25
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205
Beautiful Dreamer A.L. Camp 01:37
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206
Banjo Sketch A.L. Camp 01:10
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207
The Jersey Carnival March A.L. Camp 02:42
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208
Dance of the Fireflies A.L. Camp 03:24
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209
Serenade of the Mandolins A.L. Camp 02:23
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210
Dance of the Wooden Dolls A.L. Camp 02:48
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211
Jumping Jacks (Banjo Clog) A.L. Camp 02:27