Johnny St. Cyr[needs IPA] (April 17, 1890 – June 17, 1966)[1] was an American jazz banjoist and guitarist. For banjo his by far most used type in records at least was the six string one. On a famous “action photo” with Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers he is holding a four string banjo, a Paramount Style A. There is, however, no verified information if he ever used such an instrument on records.[citation needed]
St. Cyr was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised Catholic.[1][2] He played for several leading New Orleans bands before moving to Chicago in 1923.[3] He is best remembered as a member of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven bands.[4] He also played with Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers.[1] He composed the standard "Oriental Strut",[5] known for its adventurous chord sequence.
During the 1950s, he performed and led a group named Johnny St. Cyr and His Hot Five and recorded with Paul Barbarin and George Lewis.[1] From 1961 until his death in 1966, at the age of 76, St. Cyr was the bandleader of the Young Men from New Orleans,[4] who performed at Disneyland.[4] He died in Los Angeles, California,[3] and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, in Los Angeles.[3]
See also
References
External links
- Works by or about Johnny St. Cyr at Internet Archive
- Jazz As I Remember It, St. Cyr's autobiography
- Johnny St. Cyr at Find a Grave
- Johnny St. Cyr discography at Discogs