Billy True was truly one of a kind.  A saxophonist, innovator and inventor who pushed the limits of what one person could do with Conn saxophones, playing 3 saxophones at once in perfect 3-part harmony.  Billy would say to emcees introducing him just before he was about to perform, “I play saxophones”, always placing the emphasis on ‘phones’.  Billy spent over five years designing, building, patenting and learning how to play the most unique saxophone setup in the history of the instrument.

Billy started out as a professional musician/saxophonist in the Vaudeville days of the 1920s.  He performed, toured and composed many  original tunes that he performed along with popular songs of the day.  He later on joined the Wheeling Steel Company (perhaps a family tradition) as a shift in profession, although continuing to perform as a professional musician as well.

In 1997, Dr. Paul Cohen (saxophonist, composer, collector, educator and historian) wrote a an article in The Saxophone Journal detailing the history of Billy True and his invention.  We have posted the original article in our Guest Conntributions section, here.  Paul has since acquired Billy True’s saxophone setup, along with photos and audio of Billy.  As a follow-up to the original article, Paul Cohen and Connsortia proudly present our very first “Conncentration on a Horn – Billy True’s Marvelous Conntraption”.

A combination of complex saxophone modifications and foot pedal controls attached to the saxophones via wires allowed Billy to realize his dream of being a one-man saxophone section.  He made the modifications to two Conn 8M C Melody and one Conn 6M alto saxophones himself, designed the pedalboard foot controls and linkages to the modified saxophone lever mechanisims, and mounted the horns to a stand he could sit behind to play.  Although Conn did not help him with any of the modifications, they did buff, gold plate and custom engrave all three horns after Billy’s modifications were complete. Conn also built Billy a custom case that held all three saxophones, mouthpieces and reeds.  Billy customized another case to store the saxophone stand, pedalboard and stool.

Paul Cohen shares here how he came to learn about and ultimately aquire Billy True’s one-of-a-kind, one-man saxophone section…

Pedal to the Mettle

Paul Cohen

Of the many unique items in my saxophone collection, Billy True’s One Man Saxophone Section is my most cherished – and most improbable – acquisition.  It was a gradual process that took over 20 years to accomplish.

During my graduate school days of the late 1970s and 1980s, I would spend an inordinate amount of time at the New York Public Library Research Division and the Library of Congress in Washington DC, learning about the history of the saxophone.  I also began purchasing my own original historical documents by attending ephemera fairs and conventions which were quite common at the time.  This was before the internet and web sites (as we know them), before eBay, and at the dawn of workable personal computers. An era hard to comprehend today.

My research was divided into different categories:

1. History of the saxophone and instrument manufacturers
2. Unknown or forgotten music for the saxophone
3. Careers of saxophone performers
4. Performing groups that used the saxophone

Most of my library research involved reading thousands of newspaper clippings, articles, trade magazines, catalogues, brochures, publicity flyers, and much more.  In a timeframe spanning the late 1930s – 1940s I came across a few references to a Billy True and his One-Man Saxophone Section. These included performances at the Conn Company NY store and radio broadcasts on popular nationwide radio shows.  Little was mentioned of his background, except that he was from Steubenville, Ohio.

In the early 1990s, while on the faculties of Baldwin-Wallace College (now Baldwin-Wallace University) and later the Oberlin College Conservatory, I was able to expand my research efforts to take advantage of local history. I interviewed surviving members of the Sousa saxophone section, wrote about the Cleveland-based King Instrument company, chronicled/notated the remarkable guest saxophone appearances that took place at Baldwin-Wallace, Oberlin and in Cleveland decades earlier, and learned about the rich band history of Northeastern Ohio.  But I never forgot Steubenville.

I was commuting between Cleveland and New York City during this time, as I was performing a lot in New York and I also began to actively perform in Cleveland with the Blossom Festival Band, the Red Orchestra, Cleveland Symphonic Winds records, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Ballet, etc.  I often would drive out to Cleveland at the beginning of the semester and fly back and forth till the holiday break.  But I never forgot Steubenville.

On a pre-internet whim, I called Steubenville information to ask for any addresses and phone numbers for the name True.  Yes, it was 50 years since the last reference I had, but sometimes family ties run deep.  On the third number called, Billy True’s grandson answered the phone. He knew all about his grandfather and had carefully preserved his instruments, documents and recordings.  He could not believe that someone outside of his family knew about his grandfather and was stunned that there would be such interest.  I was invited to his house.

On one of my trips back from Cleveland to New York I took the 70-mile detour from Route 80 at Youngstown down to Steubenville.  Situated 40 miles due west on historical US Rt. 22 from Pittsburg, Steubenville was a center for steel production for over 120 years.  Located along a 30-mile stretch of the Ohio River from Weirton in the north to Wheeling in the south, it was flanked by mills and associated support industries up and down the Ohio River.  Steubenville was the home to nearly 40,000 people at its peak in 1940 at the time Billy True was both working for Wheeling Steel and actively concertizing with his One-Man Saxophone Section.

I was warmly greeted by Michael True, Billy True’s grandson, at his home in Steubenville.  I was given full access to the two suitcases; one contained all three saxes, the other held the stool and pedalboard. I examined and took pictures but did not assemble the One-Man Saxophone Section or play any of the instruments.  Accompanying the instruments was a giant photo of Billy in performance, as well as a series of 16-inch glass-based transcription records of numerous radio broadcasts in which Billy True was featured.  Michael True was thrilled that there was such interest in his grandfather’s musical legacy; a legacy that combined such special musical skills with design and technical ingenuity.  The instruments were to stay with him, but he graciously allowed me to borrow the fragile transcription discs to be converted to digital files back in NYC.  All the audio files heard on the CONNsortia web site are from these discs.

After the holidays, on my way back to Cleveland, I returned the discs with a cassette copy for Michael True.  A few months later (1997) the Saxophone Journal published my article as one of my “Vintage Saxophones Revisited” columns (reprinted for readability on the CONNsortia web site here). Michael and his family were thrilled to receive a copy of the article and to see so much interest in Billy True’s legacy.

Nineteen years later (!!), in 2015, Michael contacted me.  He had retired, moved to Kentucky, and was ready to find an appropriate home for his grandfather’s instruments.  He remembered me after all these years and inquired about my interest.  The interest was high! I assured him that I was interested in preserving – in a public setting – the instruments and history and that they would become a prominent part of my public collection.  These instruments would not be resold. He was excited and relieved.  A few weeks later my wife Jeannie and I drove to a town some 50 miles south of Lexington and were once again warmly greeted.  I purchased/collected all of Billy True’s materials; four instruments (including a C tenor prototype that was an experimental horn for his modifications), the pedalboard and stool, accessories, pictures, cases, and more transcription discs.  A real treasure trove of Americana and saxophone history.

Paul reflects below on assembling the setup for the very first time…

Billy True Assembly Party

Paul Cohen

Months after I had acquired the Billy True instruments, I began to redesign my display area to allow a prominent place for their set-up and close examination by students, colleagues and visitors.  It would be a daunting task to remove the instruments, stool and pedalboard from their cases (perhaps for the first time in 50 years!) and regulate and assemble them into a functional, playable set.  It would require the mind of a technician, soul of a musician and skills of a professional instrumentalist to recreate Billy True’s One Man Saxophone Section for a 21st century audience.

The answer was to throw a Billy True Party.  In August of 2016 I invited many of my saxophone colleagues – some were repair technicians,  some mechanically inclined, and others who were naturally inquisitive and wonderful players – for an afternoon of high-spirited assembly, good humor and very focused and patient work.  An inspired crew of Charles Gray, Alex Gray, Gregory Fassuliotis, Mike Delia, Oliver Santana, and Ray Kelly attended and partied hard.

The instruments were completely intact, but the pedalboard was out of adjustment and many of the pull wires were loose, missing, or broken.  Some pads on the saxes had deteriorated, the mechanisms were stiff and needed lubrication and adjustment, and the neck corks needed assistance.  The elaborate customized mechanisms on the saxophones had to be scrutinized and solved.  Figuring out the attachment of the instruments to the custom stand, as well as the wire pattern from the foot pedal to the middle saxophone with only the big publicity picture as a guide was an iconographic riddle of formidable proportions (the team did not have the original patent, shown below).  As you will see from the pictures and video, the tasked party team was intrepid, inspired, and filled with curiosity and considerable awe.  They were brilliant at working through the literal maze of wires and mechanisms, custom-modified saxophones, saxophone attachments and hundreds of logistical details to recreate Billy True’s One Man Saxophone Section.  And now, through the kindness and interest of CONNsortia, Billy True is available for all to hear, to learn and to enjoy.

How Billy Did It – An Inside Look at His Invention

John Eaton

Billy-True-Patent-US2232151

Aside from the elaborate modifications Billy made to these saxophones, there are several other things which make these saxophones even more amazing.  First, take a close look at the engraving, and you will notice the 3-pentagon window surrounding Lady M.  The engraving pattern found on these 6 & 8Ms was only offered for gold plated horns, and  was eventually reserved for silver plated 26 & 30Ms only.  These are the only gold plated “Naked Lady” 8M saxophones known to exist.  The two C Melody saxophones (left & center) are sequential serial numbers, however, take note of the distinctly different engravings, particularily around the 3-pentagon pattern, and Lady M herself.  Side-by-side one can easily see these were done by different engravers.  Can you tell who the better engraver was? 

If you look closer at the engraving, you will notice that all the engraved lines are brighter than what can be typically seen on the gold plated horns in our galleries.  What you are seeing is the  the underlying silver plate vs. the typical darker lines of engravings that go all the way to the base brass.  According to Jaice Singer DuMars, even though most American engraved horns use a ‘Florentine liner’ for their engravings vs. a ‘flat graver’, as in the case of these saxophones, the technique to engrave gold plated horns so the underlying silver plate shows through is a trickier technique to pull off, requiring a steady, experienced hand and a light touch.

Upon inspection of these horns, Sherry Huntley commented “When a similar effect of gold plated saxophone with exposed silver is desired this is the method we followed…  Anderson Silver Plating would triple sliver plate the instrument before the final finish of gold plating. Using this method ensured the exact desired results.”

Below are examples of a standard graver and a ‘Florentine’ liner, and their subsequent effects on the engraved design, courtesy of Jaice Singer DuMars.

But there is still more that makes these saxophones truly unique.  The two C Melody saxophones are sequential serial numbers: 279,915 & 279,916, placing their manufacture, or at least their assembly and sale, around 1937.  These serial numbers are very late for C Melody horns.  Conn all but stopped production of C Melody horns around 1930, and although they did continue to sell a handful after 1930, we have not yet identified any as late as these.

Although these are very close to the last C Melody saxophones ever produced by Conn, they are not the last known, which stands at serial number 284,937.

There was still one more saxophone contained within the Billy True collection Paul acquired.  A much older Conn New Wonder I C-Melody, serial number 113,711.  This saxophone was Billy’s experimental prototype. A testbed for mounting brackets, pull line & pulley mechanism designs.  One can see from the images below that all non-used tone holes were soldered shut, giving Billy the ability to focus on perfecting the design of the middle saxophone in his one-man saxophone section setup.  The rest of the saxophone modifications look very close to the final designs used.  Neither gold plated nor adorned with the high-end artistic engraving of the other three, this saxophone may in fact be the most significant of them all, in that it was where the genius of Billy True’s ideas & concepts first became reality for his one-man saxophone section.