Edwin Ellsworth Peabody (February 19, 1902 – November 7, 1970) was an American banjo player, instrument developer, and musical entertainer whose career spanned five decades. He was the most famous plectrum banjoist of his era.

Early life and military service

Born in

Reading, Massachusetts Reading ( ) is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Settlement Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ...

,DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 212. Peabody taught himself to play the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

while very young. In March 1916, at age 14, Peabody enlisted in the U.S. Navy by lying about his age, and served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on an S-14

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

. During this period he received the nicknames "Happiness Boy" (for his ebullient personality, especially when performing) and "Little Eddie" (a comic reference to his short stature).

Career

After Peabody's 1921 discharge from the Navy, he began a long career in show business, beginning with

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. His successful recordings for the Columbia Company made him a household name. His energetic playing style, which included fast triplets, glissandos and cross-picking simulating the sound of two banjoists, prompted a 1920s reviewer to nickname him "King Of The Banjo"—a sobriquet he retained the rest of his life. In the 1930s, Peabody promoted the plectrum banjo by visiting many of England's BMG (Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar) clubs, which were popular in the years prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the early 1940s, he headlined at the

National Barn Dance ''National Barn Dance'', broadcast by WLS (AM), WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the ''Grand Ole Opry''. ''National Barn Dance'' also set the stag ...

, broadcast on AM radio station WLS Chicago. When the U.S. entered WW II, he returned to the Navy as a

morale Morale ( , ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, ...

officer with the rank of Lt. Commander, performed in shows for servicemen, and directed the music and band departments of the Great Lakes Training Station near

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. After the war, Peabody attempted to restart his concert career. By then, most Vaudeville halls had closed and musical tastes had changed. In 1948, the Art Mooney Orchestra resurrected the 1920s standard '' I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover'' and created interest in both nostalgic music and the banjo. Capitalizing on this trend, Peabody recorded several albums for

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot sp ...

and performed at the supper clubs which were popular at the time. His subsequent TV appearances made him a household name once again. He went on to produce records, appear in movies, and inspire generations of banjoists who continue to emulate his spirited style.

Later accomplishments

In partnership with the Vega Banjo Company of Boston, Peabody developed a new type of plectrum banjo called the Vegavox, featuring a resonator that rose the full height of the banjo's body. (Traditional resonators are about half as high.) This increased the banjo's interior resonation space, giving it a distinctively mellow tone. It also featured a "top-tension" design that allowed the head's tension to be adjusted without removing the resonator. The Vegavox was produced primarily in four-stringed plectrum (22-fret) and tenor (19-fret) versions; however, some five-string models were made as special orders. Peabody also developed a special electric banjo—first with Vega, and later with the Fender Company and

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker is the first known maker of electric guitars, with a steel guitar in 1932, and produces a range of electric guitars and bass ...

—called the Banjoline. It was tuned as a plectrum banjo but with the 3rd and 4th strings doubled in octaves, as on a 12-string guitar. Although seldom performed on today, it is a highly prized collector's item. Peabody performed for national leaders around the world. In 1958,

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

awarded him a distinguished People To People Award for meritorious service in both the military and show business. According to one broadcast veteran, a radio announcer once mis-introduced Peabody by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Eddie Playbody will now pee for you".

Personal life

In the 1920s Peabody married his business manager, Maude Kelly. After several visits to the Mission Inn in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

, the Peabodys lived in Riverside from 1928 to 1939, when they divorced. In 1940 he married Ragna Kaupanger, a

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

nurse and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

flight attendant. They had two children, Eddie Jr. and George Robert Peabody. Peabody continued to perform until his death in 1970, at age 68, due to a

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

suffered while onstage at the Lookout House Supper Club in

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers, across from Cincinnati to the north ...

. His wife Ragna died in 2002.

References

External links

*
Eddie Peabodys's spiritual home on the web at www.EddiePeabody.com

Eddie Peabody (1902–1970)
at Red Hot Jazz Archive. * * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peabody, Eddie 1902 births 1970 deaths People from Reading, Massachusetts Musicians from Riverside, California American banjoists American vaudeville performers Dot Records artists United States Navy sailors United States Navy officers 20th-century American musicians Military personnel from Massachusetts