TWO RARE 1940s-50s SLINGERLAND 4x13 "BE BOP" RADIO KINGS

[Mike Curotto]

HI,
Two more blasts from the past that I never did articles on. The 4 x 13 Sparkling Gold RK “Be Bop” model was one of my earliest purchases (1995) from Ned Ingberman, The Vintage Drum Center and the WMP 4 x 13 RK Bop model was purchased from a fellow musician in SF about 20 years ago. A special thanks goes to my good friend and fellow collector Mark Cooper for helping me to date these two drums.

1948-50 SLINGERLAND 4 x 13 SPARKLING GOLD “BE BOP” RADIO KING MODEL (UNCATALOGUED/SPECIAL ORDER?)
This drum has a solid maple shell. The Sparkling Gold wrap is pretty funky with some “cancer” spots. The nickel plated hardware is in good shape. There is no mention of a 4 x 13 Radio King in early Slingerland catalogs which leads to the speculation that this drum could have been an uncatalogued special order.

EARLY 1950s SLINGERLAND 4 x 13 WMP BOP SNARE DRUM (cat. #444)
This drum also has a solid maple shell. The WMP is in very good shape, the same is true with the nickel plated hardware. This snare was offered with the Combo Be Bop Drum Outfit (cat. #445).

Both of these 4 x 13 Radio King “Be Bop” models are pretty rare. In all my years of collecting I have not seen any other late 1940s side-by-side lug 4 x 13 RKs and I have only seen one other 4 x 13 Bop Snare. I’d love to hear from any others out there that may have one or both of these drums.

Enjoy!

Mike Curotto

[Mike Curotto]

A few more....

Mike Curottoi

[grantro]

Absolutely stunning!! You always bring the best to the table, Mike!! Please, keep them coming...The pics, info and back stories of your snares are very interesting...

Cheers

[leedybdp]

Here's the 4x13 Radio King snare drum given to me as a retirement gift by the owner and his staff at Rockin Robin in Houston after being their Fender rep for 27 years. They have a great selection of vintage drums available for sale and a whole lot of not-for-sale slobber and drool drums.

[Mike Curotto]

Cool...nice to see another one..

Mike Curotto

[leedybdp]

I know that the wrap on mine is new, and the shell may be unoriginal. But all of the metal parts seem to be correct and original. Whatever the case, this drum will never leave my possession.

[jbohan6]

I have not seen one with the side by side lugs like that. Very nice, thank you for sharing. Here is a later one that was in my possession for a short time.

I bought it so I could complete my No. 2n Jobbing outfit but did not much care for the sound. Cheers everyone!

[O-Lugs]

Cool drums as always, Mike, but maybe not as fancy as many drums in your collection...which is to imply that you have some really fancy drums in your collection!

-love those old clamshell lugs, though! I always forget about those, but they are really a cool design as far as lugs go.

[Dan Boucher]

Originally Posted by Mike Curotto

HI,
Two more blasts from the past that I never did articles on. The 4 x 13 Sparkling Gold RK “Be Bop” model was one of my earliest purchases (1995) from Ned Ingberman, The Vintage Drum Center and the WMP 4 x 13 RK Bop model was purchased from a fellow musician in SF about 20 years ago. A special thanks goes to my good friend and fellow collector Mark Cooper for helping me to date these two drums.

1948-50 SLINGERLAND 4 x 13 SPARKLING GOLD “BE BOP” RADIO KING MODEL (UNCATALOGUED/SPECIAL ORDER?)
This drum has a solid maple shell. The Sparkling Gold wrap is pretty funky with some “cancer” spots. The nickel plated hardware is in good shape. There is no mention of a 4 x 13 Radio King in early Slingerland catalogs which leads to the speculation that this drum could have been an uncatalogued special order.

EARLY 1950s SLINGERLAND 4 x 13 WMP BOP SNARE DRUM (cat. #444)
This drum also has a solid maple shell. The WMP is in very good shape, the same is true with the nickel plated hardware. This snare was offered with the Combo Be Bop Drum Outfit (cat. #445).

Both of these 4 x 13 Radio King “Be Bop” models are pretty rare. In all my years of collecting I have not seen any other late 1940s side-by-side lug 4 x 13 RKs and I have only seen one other 4 x 13 Bop Snare. I’d love to hear from any others out there that may have one or both of these drums.

Enjoy!

Mike Curotto

The double lug version looks a bit like hens teeth to me. What a piece! Congrats finding that one.