Mountain Talk: Two Local Banjo Masters — Morgan Sexton & Dock Boggs
Mon Feb 02 2026
If they were still with us, two of our region’s most well-known banjo players would both be celebrating birthdays right around now: Morgan Sexton, of Letcher County, Ky., was born Jan. 28, 1911; and Dock Boggs, of Wise County, Va. (and also of Letcher Co.), was born Feb. 7, 1898. And this week on Mountain Talk, we visit with these two master musicians, both of whom—even though they might have had relatively-limited formal careers, in terms of recording and performing—have nonetheless become influential the world over for their skill & uniqueness in their banjo playing.
First, we hear a radio adaptation of the Appalshop film, Morgan Sexton: Banjo Player from Bull Creek (1991; dir. Anne Lewis), which features Morgan talking about his life and his music, alongside many clips of his playing. And then, we hear a series of excerpts from a 1982 episode of Headwaters (Appalshop’s former TV show) about Dock Boggs, which, in addition to his music, features commentary about Dock from Mike Seeger & Jack Wright, as well as from members of Dock's family.
P.S.: to see several video clips of Morgan playing & discussing his music, check out the Appalshop Archive's Youtube page. And to see the Dock Boggs Headwaters episode for yourself, you can head to www.appalshoparchive.org.
(Music in this episode comes from Morgan Sexton, including from his June Appal Records release "Rock Dust"; from Dock Boggs, including from "Country Blues - Complete Early Recordings (1927-1929)" on Revenant Records; and from John McCutcheon, from the June Appal Records release "The Wind That Shakes the Barley.")
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If they were still with us, two of our region’s most well-known banjo players would both be celebrating birthdays right around now: Morgan Sexton, of Letcher County, Ky., was born Jan. 28, 1911; and Dock Boggs, of Wise County, Va. (and also of Letcher Co.), was born Feb. 7, 1898. And this week on Mountain Talk, we visit with these two master musicians, both of whom—even though they might have had relatively-limited formal careers, in terms of recording and performing—have nonetheless become influential the world over for their skill & uniqueness in their banjo playing. First, we hear a radio adaptation of the Appalshop film, Morgan Sexton: Banjo Player from Bull Creek (1991; dir. Anne Lewis), which features Morgan talking about his life and his music, alongside many clips of his playing. And then, we hear a series of excerpts from a 1982 episode of Headwaters (Appalshop’s former TV show) about Dock Boggs, which, in addition to his music, features commentary about Dock from Mike Seeger & Jack Wright, as well as from members of Dock's family. P.S.: to see several video clips of Morgan playing & discussing his music, check out the Appalshop Archive's Youtube page. And to see the Dock Boggs Headwaters episode for yourself, you can head to www.appalshoparchive.org. (Music in this episode comes from Morgan Sexton, including from his June Appal Records release "Rock Dust"; from Dock Boggs, including from "Country Blues - Complete Early Recordings (1927-1929)" on Revenant Records; and from John McCutcheon, from the June Appal Records release "The Wind That Shakes the Barley.")