Dock Boggs
b. Moran Lee Boggs, 7 February 1898, Norton, Virginia, USA, d. 1971. Boggs was known for his unusual banjo style which he learned from a black musician in Virginia. The technique involved a lower tuning of the banjo. Despite Boggs’ interest in music, his devoutly religious wife frowned on him showing any real interest in music, so he continued playing as a hobby. Boggs had recorded briefly for Brunswick in 1927. He spent more than 40 years as a miner and turned again to music once he had retired. At the same time, there was growing demand for him to play at festivals and clubs. Boggs was ‘discovered’ by Mike Seeger on a field-collecting expedition at a time when Boggs had not played the banjo for some 25 years. He recorded mainly traditional and sentimental songs such as Pretty Polly and Loving Nancy. Between 1963 and 1966, Boggs recorded two albums for Folkways and one for Asch.