He and the woman holding the baby have the exact same hairdo.
He and the woman holding the baby have the exact same hairdo.
...
So who exactly is in this photo? There's a note at the bottom, but it's hard to read. It looks like it says:
L to R
Charlie, Sylvia, James William, Birch
Bill, dog, Willie (illegible)
If this was taken in 1932, the baby James William is definitely not Bill's son, since he wasn't born until 1941. Who is Sylvia and baby James William? And who is at the bottom right? Is that his uncle Willie?
Just guessing the woman is Charlie's first wife and baby boy. I have seen one other photo of just Bill and Charlie with Bill holding this same Loar era A model.
That picture gives new meaning to the term "a shock of hair".
Len B.
Clearwater, FL
I'm sorry was there a Mandolin in that picture? I couldn't see past the haircut.
I can state categorically that lots of hair doesn't improve mandolin playing!
Trevor
Formerly of The Acoustic Music Co (TAMCO) Brighton England now retired.
That's bluegrass hair!
JBovier ELS; Epiphone MM-50 VN; Epiphone MM-40L; Gretsch New Yorker G9310; Washburn M1SDLB;
Fender Nashville Deluxe Telecaster; Squier Modified Vintage Cabronita Telecaster; Gretsch 5420T; Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat: Washburn Banjo B9; Ibanez RB 5string; Ibanez RB 4 string bass
Pedalboard for ELS: Morley Cry baby Miniwah - Tuner - EHX Soul Food Overdrive - EHX Memory Toy analog Delay
Fender Blues Jr Tweed; Fender Greta;
I'm glad to see one of my heroes also had big hair when he was young, lol!
Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
I love this picture of Bill Monroe at 21. I found one of myself at 21 and realized how much we had in common, longish hair and both holding snakeheads, lol!
Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band
The mandolin is not an A-4-- there is no fingerboard extension or fingerboard binding. It's probably an A-1 or a plain A.
Charlie's guitar is most likely a Larson; or there's a slim chance that it's an upper-level Galiano. The picture's too grainy to tell for sure.
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
Tom did have a few what I call "typo" errors and this is one of them. It's not an A4. Just an A or A-1 but since it's black topped, likely just a '24 or '25 A model. Bill likely bought it used for $40, so he has been quoted as saying. Then he likely traded it in at a Gibson dealer in the Carolinas in early 1935 for his new F-7. What's interesting that Tom did find out about those rare photos of Monroe with the Loar era Snake A is they were all taken at the same time in Rosine, KY in July of 1934. Previous, others had said it was 1927 or 1929. So when you do the math, Monroe was 22 at the time. His previous mandolin was an old Italian taterbug bowl back, so I'd say he moved up pretty fast to find a Gibson A model.
Maybe he cut the Florida off (pick click?)!
Ok, I will go to my corner again!
Timothy F. Lewis
"If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett
Aside from his famous "hairdo", Larry actually did play fiddle (violin).
Imagine if he played mandolin, and was an inspiration for young Bill. :O
_________________
Northfield F5S
Rover RM-75
Epiphone MM-50E
"Those that know don't close the doors on those that don't know" The Gourds.
A Larson guitar makes sense because I think the Larsons were based in Chicago and Bill and Charlie worked in Chicago at oil refineries, correct? Do we know where the photo was taken?
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