Clifton Hicks
Clifton Hicks is a banjo player, archaeologist, and Iraq War veteran known for his work in traditional southern music. He was raised in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina before settling in Tennessee. His musical performances and teaching often emphasize the early American origins of the banjo. Clifton is an accomplished folk artist and luthier, having built dozens of banjos based on historical examples. All of his builds are handmade, using only locally sourced hardwood, bone, and other materials. In 2002 at the age of seventeen he enlisted in U.S. Army, serving as a tank driver and machine gunner in Iraq. In 2013, Hicks graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in anthropology.
Clifton Hicks "Pretty Polly" & "East Virginia" Early Gourd Banjo
Clifton Hicks "No More the Moon Shines on Lorena" by Louis Staab (1889)
Happy birthday, King George!
Cherokee Winter House at Tuskegee
Old Leatherstocking “Unquiet Grave”
Jordan Judkins, Tater Caruthers & Buddy Ingram "Ladies on a Steamboat"
Clifton Hicks "Danville Girl" (Dock Boggs, 1927)
1964 Vega "Ranger" Resonator Banjo
Clifton Hicks "Crying Shame"
Lyon & Healy "American Conservatory" Banjo c. 1914-1916
Late August Gardening Southern Appalachia
Clifton Hicks "Cindy" (John Jackson)
Jordan Judkins & Michael Klug “Rye Straw”
Clifton Hicks "Pretty Polly"
Morphine / Bonnie George Campbell - 1900s Lyon & Healy Banjo
Big Watermelon
Fretless Kentucky Mountain Banjo by Clifton Hicks
Clifton Hicks "Getting Upstairs" Cherokee Trail of Tears History
Banjo Neck Finish - No Sandpaper
Dr. Alan Harrelson “What a Time in Heaven”
The TRUTH About “Shaving a Dead Man” (Protect the Innocent)
Clifton Hicks "Shaving a Dead Man" (Shave a Dead Man, Georgie Buck)
Clifton Hicks “On the Road Somewhere” (Got a Mule to Ride, Bottled in Bond)
Clifton Hicks "Sourwood Mountain" 1794 Tellico Blockhouse
"Old Coon Dog" (Turkey Buzzard) 1880s Cubley Banjo
August Pollman "Standard" Banjo 1880s, 1890s, 1900s...
18th Century Gourd Banjo by Clifton Hicks
Clifton Hicks “Buffalo” (Roustabout, Hop High)
Clifton Hicks "Trouble On My Mind" Fretless Gourd Banjo