Roger Sprung, a banjo virtuoso and key figure in New York’s midcentury folk music revival, whose innovative picking and genre-mashing audacity earned him the unofficial title of the godfather of progressive bluegrass, died on July 22 at his home in Newtown, Conn.
A New York City native who honed his skills early on by playing mountain music festivals in Virginia and the Carolinas, Mr.
In the late 1950s, he played with a folk trio, the Shanty Boys, who recorded for Elektra Records.
Sprung was inducted into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, which cites the Kingston Trio and Béla Fleck as having been influenced by him.
Steve Martin, another Hall of Fame member whose banjo prowess was a cornerstone of his early comedy act, has owned a Gibson RB-18 five-string that once belonged to Mr.
Persons:
Roger, Nancy, Kay Starr, Jimmy Dean, Béla Fleck, Steve Martin
Organizations:
York City, Carolinas, Boys, Elektra Records, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame, Kingston Trio, Fame, Gibson
Locations:
Newtown, Conn, York, Virginia, Greenwich Village, Oklahoma City