Wade Mainer at 100

Thanks to Roger Ryan for reminding us that Wade Mainer, one of the stars of old-time country music in the 1930s and a highly influential banjo-player, celebrated his hundredth birthday a week ago on 21 April. He and his brother, fiddler Joseph Emmett ('J.E.') Mainer, and their Mainer's Mountaineers band, recorded classic versions of 'This world is not my home', 'Lights in the valley', 'Maple on the hill', 'Sparkling blue eyes', and many more. A major biographical feature by Richard Thompson of the BBMA appeared on the original Bluegrass Blog on 21 April.

Mr Mainer's original 1933 flathead Gibson Granada 5-string banjo is now for sale at Elderly Instruments. Beautiful photos of the banjo and many archive photos of the band can be seen here. Articles about him have also appeared in the August 2006 issue of the Fretboard Journal and the April 2007 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited. His version of 'Old Reuben', in particular, is said to have influenced a younger North Carolina banjoist, Earl Scruggs (83).

Another noted Granada user, Dr Ralph Stanley, celebrated his eightieth birthday two months ago. The mayor of Berkeley, California, made 24-5 February the 'Ralph Stanley Days' in his honour (see this story). It is not yet known whether Gibson's recent Granadas prolong active life as well as the prewar ones seem to do.