The Banjo Pilot

By Barry Willis

The Banjo Pilot is the story of Duke Steel, a North Carolina bluegrass banjo player who played banjo with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys in 1949. He then goes on to start his own band. After a personal tragedy involving a plane accident with his wife on board, he later joins a major airline as a pilot in 1958. After twenty years, he reacquaints himself with the bluegrass community when his daughter brings him back into the world of bluegrass. He teaches a new band how to play the style of bluegrass he learned from Bill Monroe and helps them learn enough to possibly win the band contest. The next week he takes the entire band to an important festival in a private plane. He has another flying incident coming home.

The novel features extensive coverage of flying, bluegrass music and its pioneers, Christianity, tension and excitement, even a love story. This is for the bluegrass music newbie, as well as the veteran historian. It also features loads of excitement for the bush pilot as well as the airline pilot. It is for the Christian as well as the non-Christian.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781643002941