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Captain Edwin Ellsworth Peabody (February 19, 1902 - November 7, 1970) was an American musician most notable for his accomplished playing of the plectrum banjo. He was also known professionally as "Eddie," "Little Eddie," "King of the Banjo," and "Happiness Boy".

Born in Reading, Massachusetts, Eddie taught himself to play the violin, mandolin, guitar and banjo, at a very young age. He entered the U.S. Navy in March 1916 aged fourteen after lying about his age. He served in World War I on an S-14 submarine. It was during this period that he earned the nickname "Happiness Boy." After his discharge from the Navy in 1921 he began a long career in show business, beginning with vaudeville. He visited England in the 1930's and made several recordings for the Columbia Company. Whilst there he helped to promote the banjo by visiting BMG clubs (Banjo, Mandolin and Guitar clubs) which were very active in the years up to the Second World War. When the U.S.A entered the war Eddie became a morale officer for the U.S. Navy. He already held the rank of commander and he was subsequently engaged to play shows to bring the servicemen "a touch of home". When the war finished, Eddie went about restarting his concert career. Most of the Vaudeville halls had closed down and musical tastes had changed. However, in 1948, "I'm looking over a four leafed clover", a hit from the 1920's, was resurrected by the Art Mooney Orchestra and created interest in both nostalgic music and the banjo. Eddie capitalised on this by signing to DOT records and made over half a dozen albums for them. He took his act around supper clubs that were popular at the time, and TV made him a household name, once again. He also produced records and appeared in films. He was, and still is, regarded as the most popular banjo player of his generation.

He developed, with the Vega Banjo Company of Boston, a new type of "deep resonator" four-stringed banjo called the Vegavox, based on the zither banjo. The Vegavox has been produced mainly in four-stringed plectrum (22 frets) and tenor (19 frets) models; however, some five-stringed models were created and sold as special orders.

Eddie also developed a special type of electric guitar, first with the Fender Company and then with Rickenbacker, called the Banjoline. This instrument is tuned as a plectrum banjo but with the 3 and 4 string doubled in octaves, similar to the way a 12 string guitar is strung. The Banjoline is now a very rare and highly-priced collector's item, although very seldom used today in live performances.^{[citation needed]}

At some point in the 1920s, a music critic nicknamed Peabody "The King of the Banjo" because of his frenetic playing style, which made some listeners think he was playing two banjos at once.^{[citation needed]} The nickname stuck for the rest of his life.

Eddie Peabody served in the U.S. Navy during WWII as a Lt. Commander in charge of the music/band department at the Great Lakes Training Station near Chicago, Illinois.

During his career Eddie played for Kings, Queens, Potentates, Dukes, Duchesses, one Dictator and Presidents.^{[citation needed]} In 1968, President Eisenhower awarded him a distinguished "People to People" Award for Meritorious Service in both the military and show business.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1930's he married Maude Kelly, who was also his business manager at the time, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1939. In 1940, he married Ragna Kaupanger, a Norwegian-American nurse and stewardess for United Airlines. Eddie and Ragna had two children, Eddie Jr., and George.

Eddie continued to play live until his death in 1970 at age 68, due to a brain haemorrhage he suffered while on stage in Covington, Kentucky. His wife, Ragna Peabody, died in 2002.

• Lowell H. Schreyer, The Eddie Peabody Story
• Other useful information by Eddie Peabody III, grandson of Eddie Peabody (nitgub@gmail.com), along with the surviving members of his family.

• Eddie Peabody at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by Eddie Peabody at Project Gutenberg
• {{Listen to lots of Eddie Peabody's 1920's recordings at www.RedHotJazz.com/peabody}}