“Cowboys and Indians” is a banjo tune written by Bill Emerson, a founding figure of the bluegrass band the Country Gentlemen and a respected banjo player. The tune dates to around 1971, when the Country Gentlemen first recorded it.
The piece is a banjo instrumental set in C minor and played in a lowered, drop-C tuning, which gives it a darker, fuller sound than the brighter keys common to bluegrass banjo. It has become a standard of the banjo jam repertoire and a familiar piece in instructional materials.
This recording features Emerson himself on banjo, performing his own composition on the album “Home of the Red Fox.”
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