I am not a scholar or historian; I’m a performer and musician. So I’ve provided these bibliographies for those who want to delve deeper into the music of the pre-Civil War era. These are not exhaustive lists, they are the books I have in my library that have helped me understand this music and its setting in American history.

The Bibliography on Minstrelsy lists books a reader can use to gather insight into the early minstrels, their music, and the era in which they lived. The books listed in the Bibliography on Music and History have given me good information about antebellum pop music and American musical history. The Bibliography on Minstrel Banjo Technique is useful for those who are interested in learning to play banjo in the style of the early minstrels. The Miscellaneous Bibliography provides titles to books that don’t fit in any of the above categories.

I have not compiled a bibliography of websites on these topics since such websites frequently come and go. For the same reason there is no discography here. Recordings of this music are usually privately produced and their availability is changeable. Send me an email and ask for information about websites and recordings. I’ll be happy to forward to you what I know about these categories. If you’d like to tell me about other books on these topics, please do. My email address is minstrel@danpartner.com.