# Why are banjoists always made out to be hicks, or inbred? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842 "2012-05-14T04:01:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![frailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8dc957/32.png) [@frailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frailer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/1 "2012-05-14T04:01:20Z")
I am a banjoist playing for 10 years now, and wonder why people act like I am a complete and utter moron. They often ask questions such as: "_Are you the kid from Deliverance?"_ and “_Are you married to your cousin?_” Even more depressing is when I tell them no they say “_Sure you’re not. All you banjo guys are the same, it’s just you won’t admit it._” I am tired of the stereotype, what’s even worse is, I’m from Illinois for cryin’ out loud! Hopefully one of the TM’s can help me find a way to cope with this, or at least help me find a better way to resolve it. Thank you, Larry ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/2 "2012-05-14T04:06:56Z")
Moved from GQ to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/3 "2012-05-14T04:14:12Z")
tell them at least your smell hound loves you. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/4 "2012-05-14T04:16:06Z")
I don’t get it either. Banjo gets a bad rap all around, second perhaps only to the pipes. I don’t know much about it, but you listen to someone like [Curtis Eller](http://www.curtiseller.com/) and… really. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/5 "2012-05-14T04:17:33Z")
Deliverance certainly had an extreme impact on popular culture. Of course, \*Dueling Banjoes \*was a monster hit along with the movie. (and the line “squeal like a pig”) Banjos of course are associated with bluegrass/country, so as country music - it begins with a less than intellectual reputation. As a less than mainstream, backwoods version of country, the association to intellectually challenged is not surprising. The banjo is then associated with the whole Appalachian hillbilly image, which deservedly or not, has a bad image in the more advanced areas of the country, where rap music and hip-hop is respeced for the intellectual content and artistic quality that bluegrass lacks. (Hint - sarcasm) Could be worse. You could be playing a ukulele. Or an accordian… ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/6 "2012-05-14T04:18:18Z")
I love me some banjo, my grandpa used to play one and well he was a country boy in Audtralia but far from a hick. Bloody Deliverance! ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/7 "2012-05-14T04:18:43Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > I don’t get it either. Banjo gets a bad rap all around, second perhaps only to the pipes. I don’t know much about it, but you listen to someone like [Curtis Eller](http://www.curtiseller.com/) and… really. They say the Irish Celts gave the Scots the bagpipes around 800AD but the Scots still have not gotten the joke. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/8 "2012-05-14T04:19:23Z")
It just seems to be popular in poorer regions of the country, but honestly when you listen to someone who really knows what they’re doing I think meatal heads could learn a thing or three from those “hicks”. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/9 "2012-05-14T04:29:38Z")
> [@frailer](#): > > Hopefully one of the TM’s can help me find a way to cope with this, or at least help me find a better way to resolve it. Listen to some [Bela Fleck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ5I9KkThoM) and enjoy the satisfaction of playing an instrument that you like even if some don’t understand it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/10 "2012-05-14T04:34:21Z")
Never heard Steve Martin called a hick. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/11 "2012-05-14T04:52:31Z")
> [@frailer](#): > > I am a banjoist playing for 10 years now, and wonder why people act like I am a complete and utter moron. They often ask questions such as: "_Are you the kid from Deliverance?"_ and “_Are you married to your cousin?_” Even more depressing is when I tell them no they say “_Sure you’re not. All you banjo guys are the same, it’s just you won’t admit it._” I am tired of the stereotype, what’s even worse is, I’m from Illinois for cryin’ out loud! Hopefully one of the TM’s can help me find a way to cope with this, or at least help me find a better way to resolve it. > > Thank you, > > Larry Yeah, I’m sure you get those comments constantly. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/12 "2012-05-14T05:06:15Z")
> [@frailer](#): > > I am a banjoist playing for 10 years now, and wonder why people often ask questions such as: "_Are you the kid from Deliverance?"_ Hopefully one of the TM’s can help me find a way to cope with this, or at least help me find a better way to resolve it. > > Thank you, > > Larry You strut right up and say, “This banjoist don’t play that tune” and punch 'em in the throat. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/13 "2012-05-14T05:19:58Z")
OK, I understand why you object to the incest stereotype, but what’s so bad about being thought a hick? All that “hick” means is “country folk”, and the banjo is certainly associated with country culture. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/14 "2012-05-14T05:24:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, I understand why you object to the incest stereotype, but what’s so bad about being thought a hick? All that “hick” means is “country folk”, and the banjo is certainly associated with country culture. Perhaps he’s a self-loathing banjoist? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/15 "2012-05-14T05:46:31Z")
_The Beverly Hillbillies Hee Haw Deliverence_ I believe you have 98% of the banjo’s dumb hick image right there. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/16 "2012-05-14T06:00:41Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Banjos of course are associated with bluegrass/country, so as country music - it begins with a less than intellectual reputation. As a less than mainstream, backwoods version of country, the association to intellectually challenged is not surprising. This, along with a generation of \*Deliverance \*jokes, is the primary reason. Unlike other bluegrass instruments like the guitar or violin which exist in multiple genres the banjo’s inherent ‘twanginess’ for lack of a better word just doesn’t translate well into others. The banjo however is most definitely a legitimate musical instrument requiring skill and thousands of hours of devotion to be able to play. If somebody can’t appreciate that, fuck 'em! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/17 "2012-05-14T06:03:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Unlike other bluegrass instruments like the guitar or violin… Y’know, I think the violin is the only musical instrument that changes its name based on the style of music it’s being used to play. Why is it usually called a “fiddle” in folk contexts, but “violin” in classical? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/18 "2012-05-14T06:07:52Z")
> [@frailer](#): > > I am a banjoist playing for 10 years now, and wonder why people act like I am a complete and utter moron. The same reason they act like I’m a complete moron. I play the spoons (hence my username), and as such, I am not supposed to understand anything musical. Who can claim to understand music when they play “instruments” from the kitchen drawer, after all? In actual fact, I also play piano and flute, and I sing. I’ve studied all of the above. I can read music. I’ve played spoons with some top Canadian country/Celtic stars; and played on stage in such Celtic hotbeds as Halifax NS, St. John’s NF, and Charlottetown, PEI. I was taught by a Cape Bretoner who told me to take my music to the rest of Canada; and so, I do. Banjo is a fine instrument. Love to play with you sometime. Never mind what anybody else says. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/19 "2012-05-14T13:17:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Never heard Steve Martin called a hick. I came in here to mention Steve Martin. He is considered one of the smarest and most all-around talented people today. In addition to the banjo, he is a stand up comedian, dramactic actor, writer and painter. But I have heard him called a dick. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842/20 "2012-05-14T13:42:11Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Never heard Steve Martin called a hick. I was going to say the same thing. I’m going to seem him play in July. I started playing a year ago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-banjoists-always-made-out-to-be-hicks-or-inbred/621842.md?page=2)