The Cigar Box Guitar - Page 2

The earliest known cigar box instrument is believed to have been concocted during the Civil War. This is based on the discovery of a drawing by Edwin Forbes, a French artist working for the Union Army. This drawing features two soldiers sitting around a campfire, one watching the other play a cigar box fiddle.

Eras marked by poverty saw cigar box instruments, particularly cigar box guitars, begin to flourish. Both the blues movement and the emergence of jug bands are believed to have been facilitated, at least in part, by cigar box guitars, and the Great Depression, leaving so many people broke and out of work, became a catalyst for these homemade instruments.

During these times, many people couldn’t afford guitars so they simply made their own. Using cigar boxes, screen wire, and broom handles, as well as anything else they could find, countless children made playable instruments. Since these instruments were made by so many different people, they had many different varieties. Some cigar box guitars had one string, some had three or four. Some had frets up the neck, some did not. Some of the creators built their guitar and simply moved on, some grew up to be the trail blazers of rock and roll.

Among the notable musicians believed to have played cigar box guitars at some point are Carl Perkins, Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, Ted Nugent, BB King, and Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Part of so much of our nation’s musical past, the cigar box guitar has an entire museum dedicated to it. The National Cigar Box Guitar Museum is located in York, Pennsylvania and features a wide display of various cigar box guitars as well as the stories of the legendary musicians who played them.

Article Author: Jenn Jordan

Jenn Jordan is a cartoonist in the Denver area. She loves drinking wine, watching sports, and her online gambling addiction could probably use an intervention. For syndication information, please visit her website at Greetings From Mars.

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