Eddie Peabody
| Eddie Peabody | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edwin Ellsworth Peabody |
| Born | February 19, 1902 |
| Died | November 7, 1970 |
| Instrument(s) | Banjo, Violin |
| Years active | 1921–1970 |
Edwin Ellsworth Peabody (February 19, 1902 - November 7, 1970) was an American musician most notable for his accomplished playing of the plectrum banjo. He was also known professionally as "Eddie," "Little Eddie," "King of the Banjo," and "Happiness Boy".
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Early career
Born in Reading, Massachusetts, Eddie taught himself to play the violin, mandolin, guitar and banjo, at a very young age. He entered the U.S. Navy in March 1916 aged fourteen after lying about his age. He served in World War I on an S-14 submarine. It was during this period that he earned the nickname "Happiness Boy." After his discharge from the Navy in 1921 he began a long career in show business, beginning with vaudeville and continuing through both national and world tours, originally as a violinist, but eventually as a banjo player. He also produced records and appeared in films. He was, and still is, regarded as the most popular banjo player of his generation.
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Later accomplishments
He developed, with the Vega Banjo Company of Boston, a new type of four-stringed banjo called the Vegavox, based on the zither banjo. The Vegavox has been produced mainly in four-stringed plectrum (22 frets) and tenor (19 frets) models; however, some five-stringed models were created and sold as special orders.
Eddie also developed a special type of electric guitar, first with the Fender Company and then with Rickenbacker, called the Banjoline. This instrument is tuned as a plectrum banjo. The Banjoline is now a very rare and highly-priced collector's item, seldom used in live performance.[citation needed]
At some point in the 1920s, a music critic nicknamed Peabody "The King of the Banjo" because of his frenetic playing style, which made some listeners think he was playing two banjos at once.[citation needed] The nickname stuck for the rest of his life.
Eddie Peabody served in the U.S. Navy during WWII as a Lt. Commander in charge of the music/band department at the Great Lakes Training Station near Chicago, Illinois.
During his career Eddie played for kings, queens, potentates, dukes, duchesses and presidents.[citation needed] In 1968, President Eisenhower awarded him a distinguished "People to People" Award for Meritorious Service in both the military and show business.[citation needed]
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Personal life
During the 1930s he married Maude Kelly, his business manager at the time, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1939. In 1940, he married Ragna Kaupanger, a Norwegian-American nurse and stewardess for United Airlines. Eddie and Ragna had two children, Eddie Jr., and George.
Eddie continued to play live until his death in 1970 at age 68, due to a brain haemorrhage he suffered while on stage in Covington, Kentucky. His wife, Ragna Peabody, died in 2002.
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Bibliography
- Lowell H. Schreyer, The Eddie Peabody Story
- Other useful information by Eddie Peabody III, grandson of Eddie Peabody (nitgub@gmail.com), along with the surviving members of his family.
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External links
- Eddie Peabody at the Internet Movie Database
- Works by Eddie Peabody at Project Gutenberg
- Listen to Eddie Peabody's music at www.RedHotJazz.com/peabody
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Edwin Ellsworth Peabody |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Eddie Peabody |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 19 February 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Reading, Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | 7 November 1970 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Covington, Kentucky |
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