LA/Hollywood Steel Players & The Night Spots - 1940s

[Dave Sichak]

I've recently come across a collection of old black and white negatives and have been gradually scanning them into digital format. By and large, these are of many musicians who played in the LA / Hollywood hillbilly music scene in the 1940s. And I am indeed enjoying discovering pictures of many older steel players, some I'm learning of for the first time from this task.

So far, Eddie Martin, Noel Boggs, Curley Cochran, Dick Stubbs, Leodie Jackson, Beryl Harrell and others.

As for the venues, this guy apparently frequented a lot of them - the Four Aces; Murphy's; Al Royer's Red Barn; Dave Ming's; and other venues.

If any of you were on the scene in the 1940s, I would like to pick your memories a bit.

I'm thinking that this effort will result in doing a presentation at next year's ICMC conference in Nashville. Basically I'd like to put a story to these pictures.

My interest would be in what you remember about those old venues as well as the musicians. You can contact me off line as well by email.

I've seen some old threads on some of these guys on this forum going back several years ago. Hopefully there's a few who remember those days...

The pictures will gradually make their way into the web site. The steel players I'm adding as I discover them in this collection.

Thanks!

[Ron Whitfield]

I can attest to the awesomeness of Dave's time consuming collection, having been privy to viewings via our mutual friend, Don Triolo, who's Mom (steeler Beryl Harrell) is found in a few. They'll certainly be an asset to the many interested parties and I can only say thanx a bunch for the effort in getting these photos out for public perusal. That these pix were taken, survived, and now are in the hands of a caring and sharing individual is a lucky break that rarely happens.

[Billy Tonnesen]

See your E-mail. I can give you a lot of the information you might be looking for !

[Ron Whitfield]

This thread is gonna miss out on all the fun if we can't hear the stories and info.

[Dave Sichak]

Let's see if I can post a few pictures so that maybe you can help me identify not only the steel players, but the band members or the singer's they're backing. Here's one that is of Kirk Patrick. First time I've heard of him. But here he is playing at the Hitching Post in the 1940s. Anyone familiar with that venue? Or this artist?

[Dave Sichak]

Here's another band I had not heard of before seeing these negatives. Billy Carter and his All Stars? I'm pretty sure it's not THE Billy Carter, brother of Pres. Jimmy Carter. The notes with this negative indicate it was at the Mule Kick Club. Anyone know of that venue? Or this band?

[Dave Sichak]

Finally, as I am able to interview anyone, I will try and post a summary of what was learned as I tend to dabble into sometimes the trivial details, but I realize memories of those days can be fuzzy sometimes. Here's one last one - part of a batch labeled "John Rives and Other Groups". Anyone know the steel player?

I've also updated my site for what little I could find on Leodie Jackson and incorporated the pictures I've found so far.

Here's the steel player.

[Jerry Hayes]

Dave, I don't know the steel player(s) but the name "John Rives" brings back a memory. He was a fiddle player if it's the one I knew. I used to play with him in the sixties on Sunday and Monday at a club in Compton called "The Skylite". I was on lead guitar and we had a steel player named J.L. Jenkins who had played with Johnny Lee Wills band at one point.........JH in Va.

[Billy Tonnesen]

The Hitching Post was in Gardena, Ca. near the corner of Western and Redondondo Beach Blvd. Many ofus So.Calif. musicians played at this club owned by Al Royer. A couple of miles West at Hawthorne Blvd. in Lomia, Ca. was the "Red Barn" also owned by Al Royer. I worked both these Clubs in the late 50's with Teddy Wilds. Thesed two clubs usually supported five an six piece Bands.

Johnny Rives who played for years at the Skylight on Atlantic Blvd. in Compton, had a couple of Steel Players, Earl "Peewee" Duran, and one named "Jesse" (can't remember last name). I also worked the Skylite later on with the Horton Bros. and then with Sonny Thomas.

Billy Carter was a great Guitar Player out of Texas who spent time in So.Calif. playing with Billy Armstrong at the "Western Corral" in Long Beach and fronted his own group at differen't times. He was considered on par with Jimmy Bryant for speed and Jazz.

[Ron Whitfield]

Jeez, how did all these really good to great players get so lost in time? You'd think any Bryant contemporary would have had more prolific historys, instead many of these names are new today. Such an unfair shame!

[Tracy Sheehan]

See your E-mail. I can give you a lot of the information you might be looking for !

Billy. Please check you PM. I used to play with the Horton bros also. Tracy

[Tracy Sheehan]

See your E-mail. I can give you a lot of the information you might be looking for !

Billy. Please check you PM. I used to play with the Horton bros also. Tracy

Also knew the Bacon Bros and used to go see them at the Hitching post. As i recall i was too young to play in bars the first time i met them but used to sneak in.Was doing radio and tv work at the time playing fiddle before i took up steel. Tracy

[Will Brown]

David thanks for the info stuff you gave me on Leodie Jackson. I gave it to his family today and they were so happy to get the info. they told me totell you thanks so much they really appericated it. so THANKS DAVE FOR YOUR HELP and keep up the good work thanks. you really made some people happy today. THANKS

[Dave Sichak]

This is a long effort. So far, over 360 negatives have been digitized. Still have quite a few piles to go through. Since this is a forum dedicated to the steel guitar, thought I'd upload a few more that have a steel player in them. A few I know, some I don't. Maybe you do?

[Dave Sichak]

As an FYI, I did get to talk with Billy Tonnesen the other night - most enjoyable - for over 90 minutes. My only frustration is that I have a day job and can only do so much in my spare time. But when I do - it's a nice way to relax. Enjoy a few more from the past.










If you can, help me identify who some of these folks are...

Dave
http://www.hillbilly-music.com

[Billy Tonnesen]

This is for your latest photo posting.
l. Danny Michaels on double neck Lead Guitar, Not sure of Steel Player.(might Be Bobby Boyd))

2. Looks like Les (carrot top) Anderson fronting Band and playing Steel. He started out as a Steel Player.

3. Looks like Jack Tucker, dark shirt fronting Band. Steel player looks like Chuck Mills. Possibly Gene Davis is one of the others, He and Chuck started out with Jack Tucker, left and formed their own group, played at the Band Box on Vermont Ave. in So. Los Angeles.

4. Looks like Chuck Foreman playing his Multi-Chord Steel. Chuck also recorded some country records with
Rock & Roller Eddie Cochran before Eddie was killed in an auto accident.

5. Don't know

6. Dick Stubbs on Steel - see front of Steel

7. Don't know


Many off the other side men in the photos look familiar but I can't place their names right now.,

[Jussi Huhtakangas]

Pic no 5: Chris Lucker just confirmed that behind the reverse Bigsby it's Earl Duran.

[Billy Tonnesen]

Sorry I didn't reckognize Earl Duran. I talked to him on the phone last year. He lives up by Folsom, Ca. east of Sacramento. He still had his Bigsby.

[Dave Sichak]

Sorry no new pictures tonight. In response to a few offline notes I've gotten, the reason I posted that these were from the 1940s was mainly because many of the dates, where they were included in the labeling of the negatives, were the 1940s. Your eagle eyes and expertise as to the instruments and who was playing them is surely appreciated as I try and place them in a historical context. To me, I am constantly amazed at how much has survived over the decades to be re-discovered and enjoyed again as if it were 'new'. Country music fans - I tip my hat to that early generation.

Someone told me offline they think the last picture is of Al Vernon and I may try and do a closeup of the name that seems to be written on that triple neck steel.

This weekend, I think it's time to take a break and get out my steel guitars and let the music flow.

Thanks for the feedback - I've gone through about 360 negatives so far and have quite a few more batches to go.

If they only made history in school as interesting as it is with something like this...

Dave
http://www.hillbilly-music.com

[Kevin Brown]

Hi Dave, just a quick thanks for the time and effort you have put into this project, fantastic pics, priceless documents of the era, many hanks for sharing.

[Mark van Allen]

Wow, left-handed Bigsby... how many of those can there be?

[Larry Miller]

...and he's playing it right handed.

[Joe Goldmark]

When did they start making Fender 400s and 800s? Wouldn't it have been the '50s?

Joe

[Joachim Kettner]

According to the "Fender" book by Richard R. Smith, the Fender 400 came out shortly afer the 1000, in 1957.

[Joe Goldmark]

So a number of those pictures are from the late '50s.

Joe