David “Stringbean” Akeman (1915 to 1973) was the banjo player in Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys before Earl Scruggs. He played old-time clawhammer and two-finger banjo, and he left Monroe in 1945. From then until his death he was one of the Grand Ole Opry’s best-loved comedians and banjo players, and a cast member of Hee Haw.
Why Stringbean matters
Stringbean is the before picture of bluegrass banjo. Monroe’s band had a banjo in it before Scruggs arrived, and that banjo was Stringbean’s, played in the old frailing and two-finger styles. When Scruggs took the chair in 1945, the change in sound was what made bluegrass. Stringbean then spent 28 years keeping old-time banjo in front of country audiences on the Opry and on national television.
Life and career
Akeman was born on June 17, 1915, in Annville, Kentucky. His father played banjo at local dances. He traded a pair of prize bantam chickens for his first banjo at age 12 and soon played dances himself. During the Depression he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He won a talent contest judged by Asa Martin and joined Martin’s band. Martin forgot his name one night and called him String Bean for his tall, thin build. The name stuck. When another performer failed to show, he filled in as a singer and comic, and he did both from then on. He played on WLAP in Lexington in the late 1930s.
Akeman also played semipro baseball, which is how he met Bill Monroe. He played banjo in the Blue Grass Boys in the early 1940s, through 1945, and recorded with Monroe on sides like Goodbye Old Pal. He also worked as a comedy duo with Willie Egbert Westbrook as String Beans and Cousin Wilbur. When he left Monroe, Earl Scruggs took his place.
In 1945 he married Estell Stanfill and joined the Grand Ole Opry. The next year he began working with Grandpa Jones, another banjo player and comic. The two later worked together on Hee Haw and lived as neighbors in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. He became a protégé of Uncle Dave Macon, who gave him one of his banjos near the end of his life. In the 1950s he was one of the Opry’s major stars, known for a long shirt tucked into short jeans belted at his knees. He signed with Starday in the early 1960s and made seven albums between 1962 and 1971. On November 10, 1973, he and Estell were killed by burglars at their home near Ridgetop, Tennessee, after an Opry show.
Playing style
Stringbean played clawhammer, also called frailing, and two-finger banjo with the thumb and index finger. Both are older than Scruggs style. His banjo was a rhythm and song instrument, played behind his own singing and comedy. The sound is plain, percussive, and tied to the words. He is ranked with Uncle Dave Macon, Grandpa Jones, and Ralph Stanley among the great old-time style banjo pickers.
Influences and legacy
Stringbean learned from his father and from Uncle Dave Macon. He played beside Bill Monroe, Asa Martin, and Grandpa Jones. His exit from Monroe’s band opened the chair for Earl Scruggs. Sam Bush wrote The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle about his death for the 2009 album Circles Around Me.
Signature tunes and songs
Cripple Creek Goodbye Old Pal, with Bill Monroe Pretty Little Widow Hillbilly Fever 20 Cent Cotton and 90 Cent Meat.
Essential recordings
Goodbye Old Pal, with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys (1940s) Seven solo albums, starting on Starday (1962 to 1971)
Awards and honors
American Banjo Hall of Fame (2026)
Watch and listen
Stringbean plays Cripple Creek on the Opry in the 1950s. Watch the frailing hand.
What to learn from Stringbean
Learn Cripple Creek clawhammer style, then learn it Scruggs style. Playing the same tune both ways shows you what changed when Scruggs took Stringbean’s chair. The technique to steal is the bum-ditty frailing stroke. It builds a strong sense of the beat in the right hand, which helps every style of banjo.
Sources
David “Stringbean” Akeman, Wikipedia Akeman, David “Stringbean,” BluegrassBios.com
Related players
See the banjo players hub and the bluegrass banjo guide for more pickers. Earl Scruggs took Stringbean’s place in Bill Monroe’s band, and Ralph Stanley is ranked beside him among the old-time style pickers.