More vintage steel pics

[David Ball]

Andy and Doug have been killing me with those great old pictures. Here's a couple I have that are on my shop wall:

The first is Lee Cargile's students out of Birmingham Alabama. Lee was pretty proud of his Triplex. Love how the photographer included his pic...



The second is autographed, but I can't read the autograph, and I've forgotten who it is. The steel player was apparently pretty well established and found some sweet young ladies to play along. Anybody recognize these folks?

[Doug Beaumier]

1920s, The Golden Gate Concert Company. Smiles all around. Looks like a Weissenborn, front right.

[Andy Volk]

[Erv Niehaus]

How about this young whippersnapper?

[Doug Beaumier]

Go Erv! I like the western bow tie.

[Erv Niehaus]

Doug,
Thanks!
I was playing with a group that had a weekly radio program and we got together after the show and had some pictures taken.
Erv

[Joe Cook]

I love these old pictures! Thanks for posting these, guys.

[Andy Volk]

Willa Mae Buckner

[Doug Beaumier]

[David Rattray]

Keith Summers on Steel ...Dad on fiddle Mom on piano Frank Moran and Waverly Hummel singing Roy Cambell with his new "57 Stratocaster...dont know the drummer...

[David Rattray]

Dad after work playing his new Fender Esquire....he hated it traded it on a new "62 Stratocaster his grandson plays it through that very amp a 1949 to this very day...never ever changed a tube or anything....talk about well built...

[Scott Thomas]

My first thought was that they were sponsored by Gibson, then I read the poster on the left. Looks like Erma or Edna Schlee? Radio Star. A quick search yielded nothing. I'm interested in those jumbo acoustics in particular. There are fingerboard inlays on some I'm not familiar with, and there is something on the headstocks under the Gibson logos.




Edit--I think I just found it. Those look like Roy Smeck Radio Grande acoustic Hawaiian Guitars!

[Norman Evans]

James Arthur "Art" Gay on steel guitar and his brother Carris "Jim" Gay on guitar. I don't know the names of the women. I think this was in the Los Angeles area in the '50's.

[Andy Volk]

1931 Andy Sannella in his home studio/radio broadcast station.

[Doug Beaumier]

Wow, that's a heck of a picture, Andy. I'm gonna steal that one from you and post it on my Instagram page.

[Doug Beaumier]

Scott, I did a search for Erna Schlee a while back and that name popped up in the 1940 census records. It said she lived in San Francisco. That's all it said. It's probably the same person.

The picture is obviously her teaching studio and she sells Gibson guitars and amps. I assume that's her on the left side under the poster and the woman on the opposite side is likely her other teacher/assistant. They both have fancy guitars with the same logo on the headstock. A moment captured in time, and a bygone era!

...wonder why no early Gibson electrics are shown? They were in production by the late 30s.

[Bill Hatcher]

thats mac atcheson. one of the greatest.

[LaVern Skarzenski]

Here are some of my good buddy, the late "Uncle" Doug Seymour.












I believe the middle picture shows the triple neck he put together. These were from the days he was with the Sunset Ramblers.

LaVern

[Jack Hanson]

thats mac atcheson. one of the greatest.

One would need long, lean legs to play a quad-neck lap steel.

Great pix, everyone. Keep 'em coming!

[Tom Snook]

Doug,that sure looks like Jimmy Stewart on that C.G.
In that 1941 pic.

[Andy Volk]

Doug, feel free, Tom, yes, that is Jimmy Stewert

[Doug Beaumier]

Yes, Jimmy Stewart during a break in filming Pot ‘O Gold, one of the last movies he made before enlisting in the Army to fight in WWII. The other guy in the picture (up above) is the steel guitarist (he also plays guitar) in the movie.
Notice the homemade stand with wheels on his steel guitar. A couple of times in the movie, the player rolls the steel guitar quickly on and off stage during the band’s performance.

Here’s a screenshot from the movie. Jimmy is on the far left.

[Scott Thomas]

Scott, I did a search for Erna Schlee a while back and that name popped up in the 1940 census records. It said she lived in San Francisco. That's all it said. It's probably the same person.

The picture is obviously her teaching studio and she sells Gibson guitars and amps. I assume that's her on the left side under the poster and the woman on the opposite side is likely her other teacher/assistant. They both have fancy guitars with the same logo on the headstock. A moment captured in time, and a bygone era!

...wonder why no early Gibson electrics are shown? They were in production by the late 30s.

Very good, Doug. Wow, just think about all the professional musicians from ages past who were once known (even locally) or on the circuits, and who are now lost to time. Thank you for the detail shot. The Radio Grande is really rare today, especially in their original Hawaiian set up, and not converted to Spanish as this one has been:

[Mitch Drumm]

Steel player in Andy Volk's first pic (Eddie Shuler band) is Ron Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons....who was on a bunch of the classic Harry Choates recordings. That pic was taken in Lake Charles in 1946.

Doug:

Re the duo playing outdoors with the Gibson amp. I think that is Leodie Jackson and his brother Leon. If so, it's likely taken in Oklahoma shortly before Leodie left for Calif and made a bunch of great Western swing and country recordings with Billy Hughes, Jess Willard, Terry Fell, etc in the late 40s.

The pic after that is the Adolph Hofner band out of San Antonio....Bash Hofner on steel with the Lucky Strike hanging out of his mouth. J.R. Chatwell on fiddle, Adolph on the standard guitar. Taken in Bandera TX in 1951.

Here's a few you don't see often....Fred Conrad Smith, aka Guybo Smith. Born 1939. Later long-time crony and bass player for Eddie Cochran. As far as I know, he never recorded on steel.






Johnny Allen; rip roaring deceased Canadian player active in the 50s and 60s. Reminiscent of Joaquin Murphey. Here with The Sons Of The Saddle.






Lou Rochelle and Johnny Gimble with Slim and Mallie Ann Harbert on the Louisiana Hayride:





Lowell Kiesel on a frypan, 1935:






Wally Olfert on his Bigsby with Eschol Cosby band:






Eddie Cletro band with Beryl Harrell on steel, early 1950s; Los Angeles. Eddie on the left; Foreman Phillips on the right.







Couple more of Beryl and her own band, L.A. based:










Marian Hall in 1946 with sister Joanie and in Alaska, 1952:










Pee Wee Whitewing, far left, with Shorty Joe and The Red Rock Canyon Cowboys:






Tiny Murphy on steel with Dolph Hewitt's WLS Barn Dance band; Johnny Frigo with the violin.






Tom Morrell at about 14 years old with Sandy Field's band;






Last 2: Vance Terry with his high school band, circa 1950; and on November 2, 1992:

[Doug Beaumier]

Great stuff, Mitch and others.

Wow, just think about all the professional musicians from ages past who were once known (even locally) or on the circuits, and who are now lost to time.

I think about that a lot, Scott. Even in the local circuit I played in my younger days... there were some very good players, great venues, a lot of mom and pop music stores, all gone now. The young musicians I work with now never heard of any of them.