Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: basses

"The Instrumental Aires, featured at the Sapphire Room, Hotel Floridan, Tampa, Florida." A real photo postcard showing the three suave fellows who performed as the Instrumental Aires at the Hotel Floridan (now the Floridan Palace Hotel ). An ad from 1955 identified the musicians as "Bill Horn, direct from 2 years in Las Vegas, Bill Byers, Tampa's favorite vocalist, [and] Rickey Powell, wizard of the strings" (I'm not sure who's who in the photo, however).

"Majestic Quartette, Irwin, Pa., musical sketches and songs for all occasions. A. Carlson, manager, first tenor. J. Carolan, second tenor. J. Carlson, baritone. A. George, bass." This Majestic Quartette may be the same one that's pictured on the cover of the sheet music for the 1905 song, Someone Thinks of Someone .

"Maslin Quartette of Maryland, address--Rock Hall, Md. S. B. Maslin, silver-tongued tenor. W. L. Briers, second tenor. W. H. Davis, first bass. W. H. Coleman, second bass."

A machinery photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Although this real photo postcard shows what looks like a complicated Rube Goldberg contraption , it actually appears to be some sort of elaborate one-man music machine. The postcard dealer who sold this to me described the scene simply as a "pipe organ player at keyboard," but upon closer inspection I was able to identify a number of other musical instruments--a guitar, string bass, and bell, for instance--among the pulleys, belts, tubes, and pipes (mouse over the image to see my tentative identifications of some of the instruments). Although this unique machine seems to be related to the fairground organ , orchestrion , or some other type of mechanical musical instrument , I haven't been able to uncover any specific information about it or the man playing it. Has anyone else ever seen anything like it? Update: See The Mighty Nelsonian (One-Man Music Machine Mystery Solved) .

In addition to the musical instruments--a bass, guitar, mandola (I think), another guitar, accordion, and jug --that the members of this country-western band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, are holding, there are also three more--a banjo, musical saw , and fiddle--on the floor in front of the group.

Mary Jane and Her Merry Melody Makers gave performances in Pennsylvania and other states in the 1940s. One newspaper ad billed the group as "A big company of maiden musicians with a comedian who gets laughs" ( Gettysburg Times , Oct. 1, 1943), and another described the show as a "program of dances, acrobatics, marimbas, songs, and comedy" ( Reading Times , Aug. 16, 1946). For other photos of the group on Flickr, see Rita's Mary Jane & Merry Melody Makers and Colin Aitchison's Mary Jane & Her Merry Melody Makers 1930's .

"Arizona Kid and His Cow Girls, Reading, Pa., 1941. Arizona Kid, Sun Set, Texas Jean, Moon Beam, Utah Ginny, Montana Patsy, Popeye, Chuckles, Winnie, and Sheriff and Cactus Sam. WYZ."