Kentucky's Williams family had a unique claim to fame: only they could play the extraordinary twin-necked fourteen-string banjo. Essentially, it was two five-stringers, with two extra drone strings in cavities in each neck's back – one neck tuned in fourths F-B-E-A-D-G-C, the other in fifths, G-D-A-E-B-F-C.
Famous tunes included "Kentucky 14-String Hoe-Down" and "Kentucky Williams Blues", playable only by family members with unusually long fingers. Some experts think they had Marfans Syndrome, but it might have been in-breeding: they always married cousins.
In the 1960s the Williams family started to marry out; nowadays this extraordinary music is limited to old recordings.
Famous tunes included "Kentucky 14-String Hoe-Down" and "Kentucky Williams Blues", playable only by family members with unusually long fingers. Some experts think they had Marfans Syndrome, but it might have been in-breeding: they always married cousins.
In the 1960s the Williams family started to marry out; nowadays this extraordinary music is limited to old recordings.
