Aliases: Bob Lester, Mac McFarland, John Sackett.
In Groups: Kentucky Mountain Boys, Mac & Bob.
Lester "Mac" McFarland was from Gray, KY and Robert "Bob" Gardner was from Oliver Springs, TN. They met at around 1916 where they were both studying music in teh "Kentucky School for the Blind". Mac played the piano, coronet, trombone, guitar and mandolin and later became a music teacher. Bob made a living as a piano tuner as he had a perfect ear for pitch and tone. About 10 years ago (1932 publication date) they teamed up as a harmony duo and recorded about 200 songs with sales totalling over a million. When Mac and Bob learned a new song, the notes and words were read to them and they punched them out on a sheet using the "point system" as their names are written at the top of this page.
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This gifted musician was part of the duo Mac & Bob, which featured two blind musicians who met while studying music at the Kentucky School for the Blind. They teamed up in the early '20s and soon attracted record company scouts. During their active career they recorded at least 200 songs with sales reported to be more than one million copies. The duo apparently taught each other songs by punching out representations of musical notes and song lyrics that approximated a crude variation on the braille system. ~ Eugene Chadbourne