For treatment of his polio affliction, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a regular visitor of Warm Springs, Georgia. Not infrequently, he was entertained by performances of local musicians. In  November of 1933 after taking office as President for the first time, FDR was treated to the banjo talents of Perry Bectel. The Chief Executive autographed the calfskin head of the entertainer`s instrument which was later featured in a news article affiliated with radio station WSB- The Voice of the South. After spending decades forgotten in a closet, the banjo head was rediscovered a few years ago by the family and sold online as a collector`s item. It has been displayed at the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City (click to enlarge).

On January 25, 1933, only five weeks before his first inauguration, Roosevelt was filmed listening to Bud Wright`s Fiddle Band play “Soldier`s Joy” as requested by the President-Elect.

In the below fascinating video link , watch the film editing closely as FDR`s beloved daughter Anna (striped shirt) magically appears next to him in the clip at 22 seconds and then inexplicably disappears from the close-up footage at 44 seconds. During the stressful war years, Anna lived in the White House and was the go-between for FDR in one of his amourous extra-marital relationships, a topic of the 2012 movie “Hyde Park on the Hudson” starring Bill Murray as FDR and Laurie Linney as the President`s distant cousin Daisy who narrates the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2zJU-d5Seg

No stranger to music appreciation, Eleanor Roosevelt listens to young Pete Seeger, a US Army draftee in uniform, serenade the guests with his banjo at the opening of the United Federal Labor CIO canteen in Washington on Valentine`s Day in 1944.

A.B. “Banjo” Patterson (1864-1941) is an Australian amalgam of Mark Twain and Will Rogers.  Born in the remote hinterland, he was nicknamed after his favorite horse. Patterson gained acclaim as a bush poet, war reporter, cavalry officer, and journalist who focused on the rough life in the `outback`.

In 1890, Banjo penned the heroic poem “The Man from Snowy River”, and this hard-riding saga of mountain horsemen was portrayed in a thrilling movie in 1982.

Using the music of a popular ballad, Patterson wrote the lyrics to the unofficial Australian national anthem “Waltzing Matilda” in 1895.

Honoring his role in Australian history and culture, his image appears on $10 currency notes and on a commemorative  postage stamp.

An annual poetry festival in Australia is named after him.

As our fiddler Sarah and her guys prepare to sojurn to Australia on a family adventure, we have begun to experiment singing `Waltzing Matilda`  with  verses in 4/4 and the chorus in 3/4 time- kinda tricky. We wish them safe travels Down Under and hurry home.