Oil on 6”x8” cradled wood panel

So, this painting will take a little explaining.  Taylor’s Kentucky Boys did not exist as a band per se.  The “band” was gathered together in 1927 by scout, manager and booking agent Dennis W. Taylor   to make a few recordings for Gennett Records in Richmond, IN.  Taylor, of course, named the band after himself.  Along with Marion Underwood (banjo), and Willie Young (guitar), it featured Jim Booker  (fiddle) of Camp Nelson in Jessamine County.  Jim Booker came from a musical family.  He also recorded with his brothers under the name The Booker Orchestra. 

Now then, why do I have the image of Jim Booker “redacted” in the painting? Because in the publicity photo for the band, Gennett Records had no intention of showing an integrated band on their label.  So, Taylor, who could not play any instruments, posed as a substitute for Booker.  Given that information, I am sure you will be surprised to learn (being sarcastic here) that “throughout the 1920s, Gennett pressed vanity records for the Ku Klux Klan with red labels and gold KKK lettering, often listing performers such as the "100 percent Americans."  So, as there is no known photo of Jim Booker, I try to call attention to this injustice with the redaction.  It is all kinda ironic, because these recordings with Taylor’s Kentucky Boys are notable because they are thought to be the first racially integrated recordings ever made.

$475