The American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame, formerly known as the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame, recognizes musicians. bands, or companies that have made a distinct contribution to banjo performance, education, manufacturing, and towards promotion of the banjo. The hall of fame is a part of the American Banjo Museum located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

When the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame Museum became the American Banjo Museum in 2009, its focus began to shift to be more inclusive of all banjos. Originally focusing on four-string banjo players, the hall of fame expanded in 2013 to recognize contributions from 5-string banjo players as well, allowing them to be recognized in "non-performance categories" and creating a category specific to 5-string banjo players. The first 5-string banjoists were added to the hall of fame beginning in 2014.

Inductees into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame in 2018 include Bela Fleck (5-string performance), Borgy Borgerson (4-string performance), Jim Henson (promotion), Hub Nitsche and the Banjo Newsletter (both instruction and education), and Eddie Collins (historical). The 2019 inductees include Alison Brown (five-string performance), Johnny Baier (4-string performance), Jimmy Mazzy (4-string performance), John Hartford (historical), Bob Snow (promotion), and Janet Davis (instruction and education).

5-String Performance

2014 - Earl Scruggs 2015 - Pete Seeger 2016 - J.D. Crowe 2017 - John McEuen 2018 - Bela Fleck 2019 - Alison Brown 2020 - Gary "Biscuit" Davis 2021 - Jens Krüger 2022 - Sonny Osborne 2023 - Buck Trent 2024 - Kristin Scott Benson 2025 - Noam Pikelny

4-String Performance

1998 - Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery / C. Sandy Riner 1999 - Eddie Peabody / Harry Reser 2000 - Don Van Palta / Perry Bechtel 2001 - Buddy Wachter / Roy Smeck 2002 - Tim Allan / Johnny St. Cyr 2003 - Cathy Reilly Finn / Scotty Plummer 2004 - Al Smith / Freddy Morgan 2005 - Doug Mattocks / Michael Pingitore 2006 - Cynthia Sayer / Pat Terry, Sr. 2007 - Georgette Twain / John Cali 2008 - Jad Paul / Maurice Bolyer 2009 - John Becker / Buck Kelly 2010 - Dave Marty / Helen Baker 2011 - Greg Allen / Gene Sheldon 2012 - Lee Floyd III / Skip DeVol"People, Places & Things", Frank Rossi, The Resonator, p. 18, Dec. 2011, vol 39, #4 2013 - Mike Gentry / Eddie Connors 2014 - Debbie Schreyer / Elmer Snowden 2015 - Eddy Davis 2016 - Pat Terry, Jr. 2017 - Paul Erikson 2018 - Borgy Borgerson 2019 - Johnny Baier / Jimmy Mazzy 2020 - Eddie Erickson 2021 - Brad Roth 2022 - Don Vappie 2023 - Kurt Abell 2024 - Ken Aoki 2025 - Sean Moyses

Historical

2016 - George Formby 2017 - Joel Walker Sweeney 2018 - Eddie Collins 2019 - John Hartford 2020 - Don Reno 2021 - Paul Buskirk 2022 - The Banjo Kings 2023 - Grandpa Jones 2024 - Ralph Stanley 2025 - Fred Van Eps

Instruction & Education

2001 - Mel Bay 2002 - Lowell Schreyer 2003 - Charlie Tagawa 2004 - Charles McNeil 2005 - Buddy Griffin 2006 - Walter Kaye Bauer 2007 - Don Van Palta 2008 - Don Stevison 2009 - Dave Frey 2010 - Jim Riley 2011 - Daryl Whiting 2012 - Buddy Wachter 2013 - Steve Caddick 2014 - Mike Currao 2015 - Tim Allan 2016 - Alfred Greathouse 2017 - Tony Trischka 2018 - Hub Nitsche & Banjo Newsletter 2019 - Janet Davis 2020 - Roger Sprung 2021 - Scott Whitfield 2022 - Alan Munde 2024 - Bill Evans 2025 - Vinnie Mondello

Design & Manufacture

2003 - C.C. Richelieu 2004 - Fred Bacon & Daniel Day 2005 - Renee Karnes 2006 - Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd. & Gibson Instrument Company 2007 - Wm. Lange/Paramount 2008 - Dale Small 2009 - Henry Lea 2010 - Chuck Ogsbury/OME 2011 - Vega 2012 - Jim Farquhar 2013 - Wayne Fairchild 2014 - David L. Day 2015 - Albert D. Grover 2016 - Deering Banjo Company 2020 - Geoff Stelling 2021 - Greg Rich 2023 - Norbert Pietsch

Promotion

2000 - Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson 2001 - Frank Rossi 2001 - Jack Canine 2002 - Jubilee Banjo Band 2003 - Ralph Martin 2004 - Fred "Mickey" Finn 2005 - Joel Schiavone 2006 - Eddy Davis 2007 - Walt Disney Company 2008 - Jack Dupen, Harry Higgins (album The Red Garter) 2009 - Myron Hinkle 2010 - Bill Pincumbe 2011 - Horis Ward 2012 - Glenn Parks 2013 - Somethin' Smith and the Redheads 2014 - The Kingston Trio 2015 - Steve Martin 2017 - Roy Clark 2018 - Jim Henson 2019 - Bob Snow 2022 - Randy Morris 2023 - Akira Tsumura 2024 - Ned Luberecki 2025 - Dom Flemons

See also List of banjo players List of museums in Oklahoma

References