1963 Houston Post Article (courtesy of Freeman Mendell)

Houston Post, 16 November 1963 (credit: Don Hardy)

Houston Post, 16 November 1963 (credit: Don Hardy)

Daddy Banjo Versions

There were at least 3 Daddy Banjos. The earliest is on the left, and the most recent is on the right. As the pictures show, the snare drums on the left and middle banjo have coated heads, and the snare drum on the right banjo has clear heads. 

The Mandolin

The mandolin on the mantle (left), and with Val Dane and the Spinners.

From an interview with Frank Davis,
published in KPFT Radio Guide (June 1975)

"Old Man"

CLICK HERE to hear the Frank Davis recording of "Old Man," which appears on the 1980 Hally Wood LP, Songs to Live By. [Digital transfer by John McCracken.]

Daddy Banjo Genesis

Photo source: Freeman Mendell

"Daddy Banjo. Made using a snare drum from the drum set of one of our mutual cousins, Billy Branson. He was 19 or so I think. The first time I saw the Banjo, he played it. I asked him where that came from. He said it was the snare drum from Billy's drum set. His mother and my mother and her sister Eva had always been close since childhood. Eva was always helping out someone. I am sure she gave Billy's entire drumset to Frank. Those women talked on the phone almost every day. Billy was 9 years older than Frank. Billy went to the Marines early. So the drumset was gathering dust."

[Freeman Mendell, Facebook, Friends of Frank Davis.]

Pink Lamé

Photo source: ?

Air-Raid Siren Loudspeaker