Lee Sexton, 1927-2021

The BIB editor writes:

Richard Thompson announces on Bluegrass Today the sad news that Lee 'Boy' Sexton of Letcher county, KY, farmer, coal-miner, and highly regarded banjo- and fiddle-player, performer, and teacher, died on Thursday (11 Feb.) at the age of 93.

Lee Sexton's example has done much to encourage a revival of old-time two-finger banjo playing. As this nine-minute video shows, he could play in two-finger style with the drive, subtlety, and spirit of Scruggs-style playing. The strength, clarity, and precision of his old-time playing, however, is well shown in this six-minute video of him playing and singing 'Shady Grove', 'Little Maggie', and 'Wildwood flower'.

More detail, including photos, three videos, a discography, and a link to a documentary film, are in Richard's BT feature.

PS: Worth seeing (and worth also reading the film-maker's comments) is this video - a brief but weighty case for playing old-time music on a resonator banjo.