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The Mabus Gallery

The pictures displayed here on your screen are small versions -- or "thumbnails" of the real photo.
Click on thumbnail for full photo (which you can save using your browser's "edit" function), 
then use your browser's "back" button to return to this page.

Old time family photos -- Joel's earlier days -- Recent shots -- Publicity Photos

mabus_bro_37.jpg (19709 bytes)Joel's dad and his twin brother,
Gerald and Jerald Lee Mabus in 1937.
Gerald was the fiddler,
Jerald played guitar and banjo.

mabus_bros_3.jpg (20335 bytes) Gerald and Jerald Lee Mabus
with their tall older brother, Narvel on guitar. 
Mascoutah, IL 1936

mom37_car.jpg (14576 bytes)Joel's mother, Ruby Mabus (nee Lee)
with her mandolin.

 

ruby_bumper.jpg (18604 bytes)Ruby in a more casual pose.

 

 

 

oscar_and_minnie.jpg (8183 bytes)Joel's maternal grandparents,
Oscar & Minnie Lee c.1940, Trenton, IL. 
On the Firelake CD, there is a song
written for "Oscar & Minnie."

wsr37_perf.jpg (12154 bytes)The Mabus Bros. with 
Charles "Bud" Lee (Ruby's brother) on bass.
When they worked for Prairie Farmer,
they were called the White Star Rangers.

wsr_w_tire.jpg (19973 bytes)The White Star Rangers with
unknown guest artist on
tire, rubber glove, musical saw and vacuum cleaner.

 

wsr37_dayjob.jpg (20731 bytes)In their off hours.

 

 

prairie_farmer.jpg (164637 bytes)A promotional photo for the Prairie Farmer crew in Illinois. Prairie Farmer was the time honored progressive newspaper for the farm families of the Midwest. In the thirties, PF owned radio station WLS, the home of the National Barn Dance. To sell the paper and promote the station, each state had a crew of musicians who performed road shows similar to the Barn Dance.

Photo taken in Decatur, IL, March 1941. Back Row: (L to R)  Ted Renshaw, Elisabeth "Bess" Lee (nee McCutcheon) , Gerald Mabus, Ruby Lee Mabus, Charles Lee, Henry Glossop. Front Row, (L to R) Larry Renshaw, Lucille & Opal Ives, Basil Musgrave. Lying down: Bill Builta.

Ted Renshaw managed the group -- Larry was his younger brother. Opal Ives was married to Arty Ives, Burl Ives’ brother. Bess Lee was married to Uncle Bud Lee. Her sister, Virginia McCutcheon, married Jerald Lee Mabus. (At the time of this picture Jerald Lee was very ill -- he and Virginia had left the troupe.) Basil Musgrave, the lap steel player was missing his left hand, and had a device to hold his steel bar in place. Bill Builta was the troupe clown.

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jm57_xmas.jpg (9995 bytes)Christmas in 1957. The cowboy 
with the toy trumpet is Joel. 
The older brother is Gerald Wayne Mabus

 

jm75_mndcello.jpg (50101 bytes)Around 1976, playing a Gibson Mandocello
in Elderly Instruments, the famed
music store in East Lansing, MI.
(SS)

jm77_wakefield.jpg (14105 bytes)With Frank Wakefield during the making of
debut recording, "Grassroots," in 1977.
Frank had his Lloyd Loar Gibson F5
Mandolin painted red at the time.
(DM)

 

jm77_barn_mando.jpg (52864 bytes) Also from 1977, holding Frank's other mandolin.
(DM)

 

 

jm77_native_sons.jpg (15079 bytes)From 1978, The Native Sons,
Michigan's premier "folk-swing-bluegrass" band.
L to R, Joe Fitzpatrick, Ray Kamalay,
Joel Mabus, Brian Bishop
(DM)

jm78_fiddle.jpg (9566 bytes)Also from around 1978
(DM)

 

 

Concert shots from the early 80's

jm81_cmu_fid.jpg (55464 bytes)
(PB)

 

jm81_cmu.jpg (29273 bytes)
(PB)

 

jm84_cmu.jpg (120684 bytes)
(PB)

 

 

 

Promo shots from 1987:

jm87_banjo.jpg (29513 bytes)
(DC)

 

jm87_gtr.jpg (27510 bytes)
(DC)

 

 

 

And the early 90's:

jm91_cafe.jpg (111952 bytes)
(DO)

 

 

 

 

 

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Recent publicity shots

jm92_face_hand.jpg (17587 bytes)
(DE)

 

jm92_face.jpg (16141 bytes)
(DE)

 

jm92_kzoo.jpg (18784 bytes)
(DE)

 

jm00_window1.jpg (14017 bytes)
(JM)

 

jm00_gbsn_bw.jpg (15889 bytes)
(JM)

 

 

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All of the above photos were scanned at 75 dpi (dots per inch), which is suitable for on-screen duplication and xerox-quality printing

If you are looking for publicity photos --
scanned at a higher resolution suitable for better printing,  

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS SCANNED AT 150 DPI

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS SCANNED AT 300 DPI

CLICK FOR BANJO PHOTO

 

 

Photo Credits

(c) 2002 Joel Mabus
Last revised: March 14, 2007 .