"None of the major musical instrument encyclopedias have an entry for cigar box guitar or banjo. Yet most people have at least some familiarity with this facet of American folk history." - Bart Hopkin, Experimental Musical Instruments

Sigh. The quote above was how the article started in the cover story about my cigar box guitars (March 1999 issue of EMI magazine). Sure, I was thrilled to death to see my instrument grace the front of this sacred publication, but that opening line of the article irked me..."None of the major musical instrument encyclopedias have an entry for cigar box guitar or banjo."

I just didn't understand why nobody has noticed this beautifully simple instrument. Hell, I still don't! We've all heard the stories and legends about sharecropper's sons building their own cigar box guitars. Guitar snobs frequently refer to the lowly cigar box guitar as a measuring stick for bad sounding acoustics. And a few of us have actually wrapped a couple rubber bands around dad's empty box of Swisher Sweets and added a cardboard tube "neck" just to make it fancy.

The cigar box guitar has such an awesome pedigree. Blind Willie Johnson made a one-string when he was five and learned how to play melodies up and down that lonely string. Later, he would record the monumental Dark Was The Night (Cold Was The Ground) on standard guitar. The song is a instrumental classic that has droning chords laying the background for a haunting melody played up and down on the high E string...a technique he learned on his original one-string.

Not only does the cigar box guitar have a great history, but these little suckers are so much fun to play. I've made a bunch in my life (over 200 so far) and each one has it's own unique sound. Mine are played with a slide and have a great whining blues sound...one that just cannot be emulated from another guitar. They're small, portable and almost indestructable. And let's face it...they're weird looking and attract major attention.

So maybe none of the major music encyclopedias have an entry for the cigar box guitars. Screw them. With this site and a constantly increasing word-of-mouth campaign, this instrument is finally having her well deserved day in the sun.

-Shane W. Speal