"It didn't take long. As soon as a song gained some popularity, song sheets came out using that melody about news events of the day. The song sheets must've had a very short…"
Minstrel Banjo
"Al, thanks for that! I had not thought about later musicians applying new non-rascist lyrics to the older melodies. That makes sense. Like Brian, I usually played only the melodies anyway…"
"I'll add that even the Hutchinson Family Singers, who felt the minstrel show and songs vulgar and racially distasteful, used minstrel melodies to which they added abolitionist words."
"A lot of topical songs of the era (in the form of song sheets) used minstrel melodies to fashion their words to. Some of them are not so nice either but that is one way to get around minstrel…"
"Brian, yes I still run my mountain dulcimer site at https://fotmd.com/ - fifteen years now, and it's still quite active and fun. 😀"
"Strumelia,
It is sad that you have stopped playing music.
Some of those old tunes are nice tunes if you just drop the lyrics. I have been playing Whistling Rufus for a number of years now, but…"
"I confess I've not been playing music. Life has set me to various new or revisited focuses. Those weird cycles we go through in life! Though this bothers me, it doesn't seem to bother me…"
"I've kinda floated over to playing more clawhammer. Admittedly, I've neglected the minstrel. But hey, this gives me reason enough to pick it up again & start posting more videos."
"LOL. "Hoist with my own petard""
"(_)=='=~If only the best bird sang, the forest would be a very quiet place."
