Dave Apollon Photos

[DataNick]

How cool is that?

A blonde 1954 Gibson F12 that Dave Apollon owned/played....I wonder how a re-graduation by Randy Wood or Jonathan McClanahan might improve the volume/tone?

Very cool Mr. Dawg to post the pics and backstory...mandogeeking highlight of the day!

[Timbofood]

Told ya this would be fun!

[Mike Knapp]

I think the wikipedia subpage for noteworthy bloodhounds is going to have to be updated. I'd recommend renaming the Dawg "Nick Carter", but it just doesn't have the ring that the "Dawg" does. In any event - that was some nice mandotective work!

[domradave]

I played in the New York Balalaika and Domra Orchestra which included three great players: Alexander Kuchma, bass, Jack Raymond, alto balalaika, and Nick Parmon who was the concert master, domra.
I asked them about Dave Apollon and Nick said he was Ok!!! They were old enough to have seen Dave Apollon at his peak. Nick was the greatest domra player I ever saw.

[Ken Waltham]

This is really cool! I think that has to be his F12. Do you know.. was Apollon successful in his career? I mean, he played good gigs in the early days, but, did he continue in his success? Had to be hard, being a mandolin player, and not a singer, or comedy/TV act like Homer and Jethro.
Why, I wonder, did he trade mandolins so often? Always a Gibson F, but, boy, he had some beauties. Wonder why he never held on to them??
Anybody know?

[Frankdolin]

Very few mandolin players have an instantly recognizable sound and style.Dave Apollon certainly did. Thank goodness we have at least some of his recordings, and pictures to admire. I wish I could have seen him play...

[billy_v]

The blonde F-12! Wow wow wow! Love me some block fretboard inlays.

[jasonv]

Wonderful pics! Here's a cool DA poster I picked up on eBay 15 or so years ago...

Not sure if you can read it but Dave is described as "America's contribution to the league of laughter" in the box to the left of his name.

[BradKlein]

Wonderful pics! Here's a cool DA poster I picked up on eBay 15 or so years ago...

Not sure if you can read it but Dave is described as "America's contribution to the league of laughter" in the box to the left of his name.

"in a DELICOUS JOLLIFICATION"!

memo to self: form band named The Delicious Jollificators!

[billy_v]

Wow, just checked out Dave on youtube. Never heard a better musician. Those Florida notes - with dead on intonation - kill me!

[f5loar]

Looks like his late 50s custom red finish F12 to me. Dawg has my color photo of this one.

[DavidKOS]

Wow, just checked out Dave on youtube. Never heard a better musician. Those Florida notes - with dead on intonation - kill me!

See? Those extensions are there for a reason and can be used and sound good.
Of course it works best in a genre of music in which those notes make musical sense.

[f5loar]

evanreilly, not seen around here in about a year posted a couple of nice images that are known that appear in this thread:

The first photo above is Dave with his 1937 F5. He kept this one a long time.

[f5loar]

Looks like his custom blonde finish '54 F12 to me. It originally had the clam tailpiece. Dawg has my color photo of this one.

nice photos there on this one.

[William Smith]

Great thread on this one! I first heard Appolon when I bought the cd 2 pack, I want to say from Davids Acoustic Disc label? I bought right away when David mentioned his name on the terrific Tone Poems recording so I had to search it up.
There's a plug for Acoustic Disc.....NFI

[Phil Goodson]

...Notice him going for that high A note on the end. The one that he's had the fret pulled to give him space to make the note. Another Apollon attribute.

We often talk about Apollon having a fret pulled to help him finger a high note on the extension. Do we have any evidence that he ALWAYS pulls the SAME fret?

On the "Gypsy ... Violin Cry" clip above, it sounds like the last note is a D (fret 22). Pulling the 27th fret would let you finger a G# (28th fret) if I'm counting correctly. In that video, it looks like there are at least 3 frets still present higher than the fretted note.
But maybe that's not a pulled fret where he's playing. What do we know for sure?

Here's a fuzzy zoom-in on his extension as he plays the last note:


As I look closer, I think he's just playing fret 22 and there's still a gap at fret 27.

[DavidKOS]

We often talk about Apollon having a fret pulled to help him finger a high note on the extension. Do we have any evidence that he ALWAYS pulls the SAME fret?
.

I'm not sure. Frankly I'm waiting for someone to write a really detailed well researched book about DA's like and music.

Looking at the pics on this thread alone:

Both L and H mandolins seems to have all frets

The F12N seems to have one fret pulled

The Gibson ad has a missing fret

The one in the 1941 "gebby" autograph has all the frets.

Others not clear

[Ken Waltham]

We often talk about Apollon having a fret pulled to help him finger a high note on the extension. Do we have any evidence that he ALWAYS pulls the SAME fret?

On the "Gypsy ... Violin Cry" clip above, it sounds like the last note is a D (fret 22). Pulling the 27th fret would let you finger a G# (28th fret) if I'm counting correctly. In that video, it looks like there are at least 3 frets still present higher than the fretted note.
But maybe that's not a pulled fret where he's playing. What do we know for sure?

Here's a fuzzy zoom-in on his extension as he plays the last note:


As I look closer, I think he's just playing fret 22 and there's still a gap at fret 27.

Good point. My response is based on one piece of data.. perhaps, as you point out, it wasn't always the same... Very interesting!
My other question still begs an answer.. he didn't die poor, did he??

[Timbofood]

Aw, KEN! Now we have another fish to catch! Too late for me to start down that road now but.....tomorrow?

[f5loar]

Pretty sure after getting that first F5 in 1923 he was pulling that FL fret out and it was the same one. As far as why an F12 and not an F5 ? He was an endorser of Gibson instruments. They used him in mandolin ads up through the mid 60's. He got them free as an endorser and I feel certain would visit the factory when he was ready for new one. He would likely play the ones ready for shipping and picked out the best one and if you know your F5/F12 differences, the F12 of that same year likely sounded better than the F5 due to the less weight on it. So he picked out this '54 F12 and had them add the F5 fretboard so he could get his last note in there. And he was also known to send them back to the factory for free repairs, which could explain why the '54 F12 got a later style tailpiece. If the Dawg has pulled off that TP, it should show the screw holes from the original clam TP. I know he used that one up into the 60's so likely it needed repairs. We do know his last custom ordered F5 was in 1962 in which his name appears in pearl at the headstock. Did he die rich? Dawg should know that one as he has the family background after he died. Also known about Dave is he often sold his used F5s to his students. I have seen a receipt from Dave to a new owner of the '37 F5 and the price was $250 (the new price of the F5 in 1937). I know of another student who acquired one of his 50's F5. I will post photos I have of Dave after I get my new computer up and running right. I want to see others post first! Then I can post what has not been shown.

[johnbaxter]

Here's the article on Dave Apollon written by David for Mandolin World News.

Russia to Vaudeville 1897-1940

[DavidKOS]

Here's the article on Dave Apollon written by David for Mandolin World News.

Russia to Vaudeville 1897-1940

Good adrticle...but

"It is interesting to note that throughout his career, Dave used the Gibson F-5 mandolin exclusively"

So why the pictures of him with an L and H? Sure he played Gibsons, but not exclusively, at least not at first.

[Phil Goodson]

Here's the article on Dave Apollon written by David for Mandolin World News.

Russia to Vaudeville 1897-1940

Interesting! This article ends with: "... One of his favorite "tricks" was to remove one of the high "teeny" frets (usually the 26th) on his Gibson F-5, so that he could play the 27th fret (high G) clearly."

And on Dawg's pictures above, it was the 27th fret in question. Makes one wonder whether DA on occasion removed different frets OR ... was the 27th fret grooved from having the string pushed against it and looked wonky after needing replacement at some point. You wouldn't think that Apollon would have hit that fret enough to ever need replacement though.

If the 27th fret was consistently removed, it might imply that DA played in the key of E major a lot. (Although Ab or B might also need the G# frequently.)
Do we know if he favored certain keys?

The mystery remains.

[JeffD]

While not a photo, it does show virtuosi doing their thing!

There used to be a version of this video with much better sound. I can't seem to find it however.

I love that young Victor Borge.

Its cool that Dave Apollon did all that pyrotechnical playing without once putting on a "mando-face". To look at his face you would think he is merely being fitted for a suit.

[DavidKOS]

Its cool that Dave Apollon did all that pyrotechnical playing without once putting on a "mando-face". To look at his face you would think he is merely being fitted for a suit.

He was a stage performer - and probably had worked on being pleasing looking while playing.

Apollon's playing is first rate and belongs in the lofty company of Bill Monroe and Jethro Burns, some of the finest 20th century players in America.

I frankly believe ALL mandolin players should be required to listen to his playing, ESPECIALLY Bluegrass players. The reasons are obvious.