Johnny St. Cyr

Johnny St. Cyr () (April 17, 1890 – June 17, 1966) was an American jazz banjoist and guitarist. He was one of the original pioneers of jazz music, playing banjo and guitar in the bands of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Johnny Dodds and Kid Ory, among others. He started the idea of banjo with jazz, a combination whose impact changed the banjo world during the Jazz years, and continues to have a marked affect. He is best known for writing the songs "Messin' Around", "Buddy's Habit", "High Fever" and "Oriental Strut", and for playing the banjo and/or guitar on the Louis Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions.

St. Cyr played a Martin guitar, a four-string tenor banjo, or a six-string banjo guitar, making his own instrument by attaching the neck of a guitar to a banjo. The result was a louder banjo with a jazz tone; his sound is notably different from other banjo music recorded in that era. He used a hard, thick pick to produce the smooth rhythm guitar sound and hard, clean single string lines that typified his style–he made his own picks from toothbrush handles.

A hard-working, selfless bandsman, St. Cyr had a professional, simple outlook on musicianship: “A jazz musician has to be a working class of a man, out in the open all the time, healthy and strong," he commented. "Playing music for him is just relaxing. He gets as much kick out of playing as other folks get out of dancing. The more enthusiastic his audience is, the more spirit the working man’s got to play.”

Birth and Death Data: Born New Orleans (largest city of the state of Louisiana, United States), Died June 17, 1966 (Los Angeles (seat of Los Angeles County, and largest city in California, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1918 - 1948

Roles Represented in DAHR: banjo, guitar, speaker, songwriter, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 88 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-21549 10-in. 2/27/1918 Mamma's baby boy Earl Fuller's Famous Jazz Band Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BVE-36239 10-in. 9/15/1926 Black bottom stomp Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, banjo  
Victor BVE-36240 10-in. 9/15/1926 Smoke-house blues Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, banjo  
Victor BVE-36241 10-in. 9/15/1926 The chant Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, banjo  
Victor BVE-36283 10-in. 9/21/1926 Sidewalk blues Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band, with talk instrumentalist, banjo, speaker  
Victor BVE-36284 10-in. 9/21/1926 Dead man blues Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band, with talk instrumentalist, banjo, speaker  
Victor BVE-36285 10-in. 9/21/1926 Steamboat stomp Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band, with talk instrumentalist, banjo, speaker  
Victor BVE-37254 10-in. 12/16/1926 Someday sweetheart Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-37255 10-in. 12/16/1926 Grandpa's spells Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-37256 10-in. 12/16/1926 Original Jelly-Roll Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-37257 10-in. 12/16/1926 Doctor Jazz stomp Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, banjo  
Victor BVE-37258 10-in. 12/16/1926 Cannon ball Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, guitar  
Columbia W142426 10-in. 7/13/1926 Perdido Street blues New Orleans Wanderers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9446 10-in. 11/6/1925 New Orleans shags Richard M. Jones Three Jazz Wizards Jazz/dance trio instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9447 10-in. 11/6/1925 Spanish shawl Albert Nicholas ; Richard M. Jones Three Jazz Wizards Clarinet solo, with piano and banjo instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9448 10-in. 11/6/1925 29th and Dearborn Albert Nicholas ; Richard M. Jones Three Jazz Wizards Clarinet solo, with piano and banjo instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9449 10-in. 11/6/1925 Wonderful dream Richard M. Jones Three Jazz Wizards Jazz/dance trio, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9471 10-in. 11/11/1925 Gambler's dream Hociel Thomas Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9472 10-in. 11/11/1925 Sunshine baby Hociel Thomas Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9473 10-in. 11/11/1925 Adam and Eve had the blues Louis Armstrong's Jazz Four ; Hociel Thomas Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9474 10-in. 11/11/1925 Put it where I can get it Louis Armstrong's Jazz Four ; Hociel Thomas Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9475 10-in. 11/11/1925 Wash woman blues Hociel Thomas Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9476 10-in. 11/11/1925 I've stopped my man Hociel Thomas Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9484 10-in. 11/12/1925 My heart Louis Armstrong ; Hot Five Jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, banjo  
OKeh 9485 10-in. 11/12/1925 Yes! I'm in the barrel Louis Armstrong ; Hot Five Jazz/dance ensemble instrumentalist, banjo  
(Results 1-25 of 88 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "St. Cyr, Johnny," accessed December 26, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112561.

St. Cyr, Johnny. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112561.

"St. Cyr, Johnny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 26 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112561

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