About Dena Epstein
Dena Julia Polacheck Epstein (30 November 1916 – 14 November 2013) was an American music librarian, author, and musicologist. Her 1977 book on the topic, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: black folk music to the Civil War, was awarded the Chicago Folklore Prize and the Simkins Prize of the Southern Historical Association. Beginning in 1955, Epstein began researching the historical origins of American slave music. Among other findings, Epstein demonstrated that the banjo emerged from the African slave tradition rather than rural white culture, a revelation.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.