Vess L. Ossman

This historically important artist was part of a group of performers who made the first recordings of so-called ragtime music. He began recording in the early 1890s and was the dominant banjoist in the minds of the new record-buying public for at least a decade after that. His nickname "The Banjo King" was well-earned, and he continued recording through World War I. Although the widespread popularity of the composer Scott Joplin has led to a natural association between ragtime and the piano, in actuality, this instrument was extremely difficult to record properly with the equi...