Johnny St. Cyr^{[needs IPA]} (April 17, 1890 – June 17, 1966)^[1] was an American jazz banjoist and guitarist. For banjo his by far most used type in records at least was the six string one. On a famous “action photo” with Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers he is holding a four string banjo, a Paramount Style A. There is, however, no verified information if he ever used such an instrument on records.^{[citation needed]}

St. Cyr was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised Catholic.^[1][2] He played for several leading New Orleans bands before moving to Chicago in 1923.^[3] He is best remembered as a member of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven bands.^[4] He also played with Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers.^[1] He composed the standard "Oriental Strut",^[5] known for its adventurous chord sequence.

During the 1950s, he performed and led a group named Johnny St. Cyr and His Hot Five and recorded with Paul Barbarin and George Lewis.^[1] From 1961 until his death in 1966, at the age of 76, St. Cyr was the bandleader of the Young Men from New Orleans,^[4] who performed at Disneyland.^[4] He died in Los Angeles, California,^[3] and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, in Los Angeles.^[3]

• Banjo Hall of Fame Members