Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers in a scene from the 1939 Columbia picture, "Stranger from Texas".
(Roy Rogers Family Trust photo)
This is one of a few rare photos of Bob playing a guitar. The song they are singing, "Ridin' on the Sunshine Trail" by Tim Spencer had been previously recorded and the boys are lip-syncing in this scene. Note Karl Farr's expression. Bob Nolan could play the guitar but he was not in the same class as Karl Farr or Lloyd Perryman. He knew enough guitar to accompany himself as he composed his songs but he was not an instrumentalist. In the early days, he learned to play the standing bass but quickly passed it over to others like Pat Brady or Shug Fisher who were more proficient.
Bob owned several guitars over the years. One he donated for an auction to help the widow of Lloyd Perryman, another was given to Dick Goodman by Bob's widow and his favorite, a little Martin, is lost.