Lena Hughes

Multi-instrumentalist Lena Hughes (1904-1998) played fiddle, banjo and most notably the flat-top guitar. A Ludlow, Missouri native, she played at barn dances and other events, dating back to her childhood and the post-WWI era. Though she is said to have influenced the course of modern country music, Hughes embodied an earlier style, known as "parlour guitar," where popular songs of the Antebellum era and later decades were adapted by amateur, homegrown musicians playing melodies learned from the sheet music that was popular before recording technology existed.