I'm not sure if this is the correct place to be inquiring. If it's not I apologize. I have aquired a original photo of Emory Martin the one armed banjo player frame in a frame made by his father the photo is the one they used on his book. I'm just trying to find out any information on it. Thanks Stacey
Very cool! can you share an image? There are some banjo photo collectors on here but usually they are into older photos, Emory lived in a time where photography was common and he was a celebrity so there are likely many photos. heres some info on Emory. https://kentuckymusichalloffame.com/emory-linda-lou-martin/
There are several photos of him in the Bear Family boxed CD set of Johnnie & Jack's recordings. The earliest one (before Jack joined) is a band shot against a curtain, and Emory is standing in full cowboy gear.
Next are a couple of band shots against some sort of glittery curtain, and they're wearing shirts and ties and plantation and high homburg hats. Emory is seated at front in both, with a Vega banjo (bracket shoes visible on banjo) perched on the chair's back rail. In one of these photos Paul Warren and Johnie are superimposed (!) kneeling on the rug in full blackface and hands! These two photos are captioned as taken in Charleston WV's station WCHS. Mandolinist Ernest Ferguson is in both photos.
In another photo captioned from KWKH in Shreveport, Emory is posing with the band, standing against a bare wall. Johnnie, Jack, Kitty Wells, Emory, Paul Warren and Ray "Duck" Atkins. Emory's banjo is a tasty 1930s Gibson RB 1 with the dot inlay fingerboard. He's wearing the same grayish double breasted suit coat as in Kyle's photo above, and wearing what appears to be the same tie. Might have been taken at the same photo studio session as Kyle's photo I think.
Also in the Bear Family CD set is another photo of just Emory sitting in a chair playing this same banjo in shirtsleeves (wearing braces). The volute of the banjo is resting on the back rail of the chair with the resonator flat in his lap. He's "fretting" the banjo with the short stub of left arm he has at his shoulder. He's wearing a thumb pick and one finger pick, a la Wade Mainer and Stringbean.
According to the notes Emory was friends with Paul Warren prior to joining Johnnie & Jack. They were both from Hickman County.
