SDPB goes behind the scenes of the collection at the National Music Museum in Vermillion to spotlight historic instruments and local
musicians who love playing them.
Gibson Explorer — The Explorer model was one of a set of modernistic-looking electric guitars developed by Gibson in 1957-1958. This Explorer formerly belonged to John Entwistle, bass player of The Who and a long-time guitar and bass collector. He traded the instrument to his fellow-collector, guitarist, and bandmate Robert Johnson, who performed with him in his band Ox in 1975.
Martin D-28 — The Martin D-28, introduced in 1931, is an icon of American guitar-making. The D-28 is modeled after the wide, deep-bodied, style 111 guitars that Martin produced for Ditson in 1916 and called dreadnoughts after the heaviest class of British battleship during WWI. This large body, combined with steel strings, gave the D-28 a powerful sound that suited the emerging country music style, which needed a guitar that could stand up to a band and amplified voices. In 1941, when NMM 10738 was built, it was Martin’s middle-grade dreadnought, with fancier inlay than the D-18, but not including the extensive abalone decoration of the D-45, first built at the request of the cowboy star, Gene Autry.
SDPB’s Images of the Past is a multiplatform project that offers a fresh look at historic images and documents from the well-known and nearly unknown places, people, and events of South Dakota.
More at SDPB.org/ImagesOfThePast