'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 29

To piggyback on a post I did recently on Bach for the guitar, here's another version of what is commonly called "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". To all you hotshot guitarists out there, all I have to say is: Try. To. Play. This. Then fall down on your knees and worship true rock'n'roll guitar, as shown by fine classical guitarist Ronnie Wiesauer:



This guy has serious skills, and deserves a listen.

'Cause I can play this here guitar

There's a certain connection between sophisticated country music and jazz. Both rely on good musicianship, and improvisation that blurs the lines, yet remains true to the genre. And in the beginning, rock shared most of these roots as well. Rock has moved in different directions, some good, some . . .

And as I've said frequently here, the average country guitarist is miles above the average rock guitarist. But a great guitarist can play anything. Listen & learn.

Here's Merle Haggard doing "Mama Tried", which was a track we covered on the album I recorded in '69 with an L.A.-based group called Wild Oats:

Check out the guitar solo. Jazzy yet appropriate playing from Clint Strong:

His incredible improvisations pay tribute to jazz guitar and sax players of the past, yet are filled with youthful modern explorations. Clint has performed and recorded with numerous jazz and country artists including Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Red Garland and fellow guitarists like Howard Roberts, Herb Ellis and Tal Farlow.

While likely self-written hyperbole, Clint does show some mighty skills and musicality. Check this video, Clint's solo is about 1:30:

And for some straight-up jazz, here's Clint playing the sublime "Here's That Rainy Day":

Oh, and any songwriter alive would sell his/her soul to have written "Mama Tried". Sheer country/pop genius. That's Merle.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 28

I know I've written about this before, but have patience with me as I make a new point. There were two occasions in pop/rock music, pretty close together in '69-'70, where Everything Changed:

The first Led Zeppelin album came out in January 1969.

The first Black Sabbath album was released in February 1970.

Upon hearing both albums, every musician I knew realized that the bar had been raised, and music was entering new territory. And while the bands were really quite different, they do share many influences as well as mythologies: both are often mentioned as the first "Heavy Metal" band.

While both are indeed heavy, I think Sabbath is a better candidate for the title, as Zep, under Jimmy Page's direction, was a more experimental, blues-driven group, where Page could use Robert Plant's unique vocals as part of an orchestration along with guitar tones that were different and pretty exciting.

But Sabbath had the hands-down edge in Heavy, with Tony Iommi's use of what came to be known as power chords, and simplistic, insistent, and compelling "riffs", or repeated musical motifs.

So did Iommi invent the use of "power chords"? For those unfamiliar with the term, a power chord is a note grouping using just root and fifth notes, with no third. Thus, a C power chord would use C & G notes, with no E. This means that there is no 'major' or 'minor' distinction, but rather a universality of a solid chord. The 'prettiness' of the major, and the 'darkness' of the minor are non-existant, and all that remains are the solid, resonant foundation of the chord.

And back to the question, did Iommi invent power chords? No. Several players and bands were exploring these chord formations, including a certain Mr. Hendrix. But who actually used them first?

The first real usage of the power chord was much earlier, in my opinion, and it was by the unlikely but very talented Scotty Moore, guitarist for Elvis Presley, in the recording of Hound Dog. The song, originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton, is what is called a "12 bar blues" format. A chord chart would look like this:

I---I---I---I---IV---IV---I---I---V---V---I---I---

with each Roman Numeral representing the chords of the progression relative to the root key. If the song is in the key of E, then I = E, IV = A, and V = B.

All this is to set up the following premise: Listen the the original recording of Hound Dog, and listen to what Scotty Moore is playing on the I chords: Root-fifth notes, with no thirds. And thus was the power chord born.

Oh, and listen to the solo. Pretty serious rock chops for the day. For both of those, Scotty Moore is the latest Under-Appreciated Guitarist in the series.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 27

Once I discovered electric guitar, I would watch anyone play, anytime. My family was very much into the pop music of the times, and sadly that didn't include a lot of guitar. Except for 2 TV shows: Town Hall Party, and Lawrence Welk. The '50s and early '60s may have been Golden Ages of Rock, but not according to media of the time.

We'll talk more about Town Hall Party later, but this is about Lawrence Welk and his guitarists: Buddy Merrill & Neil LeVang. While working within the confines of Welk's limited musical palette, they played some bad-ass guitar.

Here's Buddy:



Here's Neil:



Here are both of them together shredding the Green Hornet theme:



And here they both are playing a duet of the previous "San Antonio Rose":

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 26

There are geniuses in every style and genre of music, and they play every instrument. As a guitarist, I've always been interested in other guitar players. Excellence can come in the form of virtuoso solo and facile lead playing. But it can also manifest itself in rhythms and tunings, and very different approaches to the instrument.

Someone who took acoustic guitar stylings to a different place was Joni Mitchell. Her Martin D-28, tuned to different open tunings, presented both a challenge and a roadmap to guitarists in the late '60s.

Here she is doing Both Sides Now:



Here's Chelsea Morning:



Big Yellow Taxi:



1966, Circle Game:

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 25

I've always had a tenuous appreciation of "Southern Rock". Marshall Tucker Band made some nice trivial music, but the low-grade idiocy and oafishness of Lynyrd Skynyrd turned me off. And so help me Jeebus, if I never have to hear FreeHolyFuckingChristWhatASillyEmbarrasingLameJamBird ever again, I'll be a happy guy.

But the Allman Bros. are unique, in that they are indeed from the south, yet as rockers offer some subtleties and swing not really found elsewhere. While they had their problems, including drugs, alchohol, and, you know, two original members dying, they made some special music that transcended the "Southern" appelation.

While Duane was the fiery inspiration for the admiration of the band, with his wonderful slide guitar playing, Dickie Betts became the musical focus after Duane's tragic death. His signature song "Jessica" showcases the Allman's sound: 2 drummers who merge into 1 creature, guitars not distorted to death, bass lines that truly sing like another melody, and an overall swing that would make Glenn Miller proud today.

Here's Dickie playing "Jessica" in 1982:



To prove this isn't an accident, here's the original lineup, including Duane, doing "Whipping Post" in 1970. For the musically trained, the intro is in 11/8! Part 1:



Part 2:



Rock on.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 23

Quick, name your fave female rock guitarist:


Bonnie Raitt: Sure, that was easy. Hardly unappreciated.

Jennifer Batten: Flash rock skills, to be sure.

But then . . .

No, we won't count the following, for while they're guitarists, and women, they're competent but hardly great rock guitarists:

Joan Jett
Chrissie Hynde
Nancy Wilson
Melissa Etheridge
Lita Ford,
Kaki King

And others, of course. Comments are welcome, as are disagreements.

But I have a follow-up question: Who was the first female rock guitarist?

Here's my nomination:



But wait, that's Gospel, you say. Maybe, but listen to that solo starting at 1:25. Now are you convinced?

Rosetta Tharpe (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was a pioneering Gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock accompaniment. She became the first great recording star of Gospel music in the late 1930s and also became known as the "original soul sister" of recorded music.

Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her inspirational music of 'light' in the 'darkness' of the nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, her witty, idiosyncratic style also left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists, such as Ira Tucker, Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While she offended some conservative churchgoers with her forays into the world of pop music, she never left gospel music.

Born Rosetta Nubin in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, she began performing at age four, billed as "Little Rosetta Nubin, the singing and guitar playing miracle", accompanying her mother, Church of God in Christ (COGIC) evangelist Katie Bell Nubin, who played mandolin and preached at tent revivals throughout the South. Exposed to both blues and jazz both in the South and after her family moved to Chicago in the late 1920s, she played blues and jazz in private, while performing gospel music in public settings. Her unique style reflected those secular influences: she bent notes the way that jazz artists did and picked guitar like Memphis Minnie.

Rosetta also crossed over to secular music in other ways. After marrying COGIC preacher Thomas Thorpe (from which "Tharpe" is a misspelling) in 1934 and moving to New York City, she recorded four sides with Decca Records backed by "Lucky" Millinder's jazz orchestra. Her records caused an immediate furor: many churchgoers were shocked by the mixture of sacred and secular music, but secular audiences loved them. Appearances in John Hammond's 1938 extravaganza "From Spirituals To Swing", at the Cotton Club and Café Society and with Cab Calloway and Benny Goodman made her even more popular. Songs like "This Train" and "Rock Me", which combined gospel themes with bouncy up-tempo arrangements, became smash hits among audiences with little previous exposure to gospel music.

Based on the guitar, an interim Gibson Les Paul Custom, introduced in '61 or so, this is probably an early '60s TV appearance.

Here's a recording of Sister Rosetta with some nice acoustic work, and a fun video showing some live clips, and some great photos as well. Note that she plays Gibson exclusively. Great taste in instruments.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 22

Sometimes wonderful guitar players aren't merely underappreciated, they're largely unknown. Here's one small attempt to correct that.

Mention 'steel guitar' and most people think syrupy country music. More hip listeners will know that steel guitar, in country and elsewhere, is practiced by some bad-ass players, and the instrument can do far more than accompany a mediocre country popster.

Only the truly hip will know of "Sacred Steel":

Troman and Willie Eason brought the electric steel guitar to House of God services in the late 1930s. While Troman played in the straight Hawaiian style, Willie, who never had lessons, imitated African American singing with his instrument. His voice-like single string work became the basis of the House of God steel guitar tradition. Willie traveled widely playing the steel guitar and singing, first to tour with Bishop J. R. Lockley's Gospel Feast Party, then later by himself to perform street corner music ministries. He recorded a total of eighteen sides in the 1940s and 50s

Read the whole piece, it's interesting and informative. There's also a Wikipedia entry that has some good links. But still, what's the point you might ask? Robert Randolph, the most well-known practitioner of this art. From Wikipedia:

Randolph, a native of Irvington, New Jersey,^[1] began playing the steel guitar in the House of God Church, which used steel guitars in worship services.

. . . Randolph himself has explained that in his adolescent years before his discovery by the secular community, he was almost completely unaware of non-religious music, saying "I never heard of the Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, none of them. I wasn’t into that music, only the church thing."

He learned really fast. This isn't Willie Nelson or Merle Haggard's (as wonderful as they are) steel guitar. Robert is really special. His website: robertrandolph.net

Here's one of his signature songs:



Starting to get the idea, see the possibilities?

Try this one:



I'm sure you saw that coming. But here's one that will suprise you, some old-school r'n'b:



And last, for the 3 of you that have made it this far, here is more proof that any instrument can work in any Genre. Witness Buddy Emmons, one of the earliest and still best masters of country steel playing, blowing some serious jazz:



(full disclosure: The original author of this video disabled embedding in YouTube. I downloaded the video using TubeSock, and uploaded it to my YouTube page. I hope he's not upset.)

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 21

Many rock guitarists in the seminal '50s and '60s brought skills from other musical areas. In the '50s, for example, Scotty Moore was a country player who helped define the new rock genre.

But in the early '60s, folk, and by extension country, had a big influence on the developing rock sound. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, for example, started off as a country player:

Between 1962 and 1964, Garcia sang and performed mainly bluegrass, old-time and folk music. One of the bands Garcia was known to perform with was the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, a bluegrass act. The group consisted of Jerry Garcia on guitar, banjo, vocals, and harmonica, Marshall Leicester on banjo, guitar, and vocals, and Dick Arnold on fiddle and vocals. Soon thereafter, Garcia formed a jug band, inspired by the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, whose membership also included Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.

Many of the giant contributers from the '60s are irrelevant today. In some cases, due to death, in others, due to their coasting on their reputation.

But one who has returned to his roots, while retaining all his prodigious skills, is former Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen. From his website:

He was a founding member of two legendary bands, The Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna, a Grammy nominee for his highly acclaimed “Blue Country Heart,” and the most in-demand instructor in the galaxy of stars who teach at the guitar camp that he and his wife operate in picturesque Southeastern Ohio.

Indeed.

His wonderful solo acoustic "Embryonic Journey" was on the first real Jefferson Airplane album (sorry folks, the Signe Anderson Airplane was transitional at best). It showcases not only great guitar skills, but a melodic sense that is still captivating.

Here's Jorma playing "Embryonic Journey" when the Airplane were inducted into the R'n'R Hall of Fame in '96, with some nice still photos:



And here's Jorma's electric side back then:

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 20

Lots of people have heard this guy's name, mostly in connection with electric guitar pickups often referred to as "Charlie Christian" pickups. And while most educated guitarists know something about Charlie landing a job with Benny Goodman's band in 1939, many musicians don't quite get it, especially in historical context. And then factor in the erroneous belief that rock'n'roll really only started in the '50s and before that electric guitar players were country bumpkins and uneducated blues players, and suddenly, a whole thread of musical history is lost.

Watch this short bio piece, and listen, and you'll likely see what Charlie was all about, almost 70 years ago:



And here's another showcasing Charlie's groundbreaking jazz style, with definite indications of rock to come later:

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 19

Another entry in the Underappreciated guitarist series...

Billy Idol was one of the iconic performers of the early MTV era. Attractive, with exciting songs, and willing to do elaborate videos, he became a star in large part because of the influence of the video world. His songs rocked, even though most were constrained by the innovative (at the time) use of a LinnDrum drum machine.

But he wouldn't have rocked as much without his main performing partner, guitarist Steve Stevens:

His hit-making collaboration with Billy Idol began when Idol moved from the UK to the U.S., shortly after the latter's band Generation X disbanded. Stevens co-wrote and played on the albums Don't Stop EP, Billy Idol (1982), Rebel Yell (1984), Whiplash Smile (1986), and the remix collection Vital Idol (1985).

Musical differences during the Whiplash Smile sessions led to the pair's parting of ways (namely, Steve's jazz-laden guitar work on the cut "Man For All Seasons"). In (1987) Michael Jackson hired Stevens to back him on the Dirty Diana track.

. . . After an extended hiatus, Stevens and Idol reunited in 1999 for a series of tours across the USA and Australia. This era included a recording captured for the VH1 show Storytellers, which was subsequently released on CD and DVD. Stevens also appeared in the Billy Idol episode of VH1's Behind The Music.

Such was the success of this renewed collaboration, in 2005, along with producer Keith Forsey, the duo released Billy Idol's Devil's Playground album. This was the first album to feature the trio since 1986's Whiplash Smile. Also touring with Idol was keyboardist Derek Sherinian - Stevens played and co-wrote three songs on Sherinian's 2004 solo album "Mythology".

Great guitarists are often obscured by the more visual talents of the singer, it's the price they pay. Still, so many front persons would be so lacking without their star instrumentalists and collaborators behind them.

Here's Steve playing a song for some little movie starring Tom Cruise, often credited to other fine guitarists:



And here's some nice acoustic playing:



As an added treat, here's a live, unplugged video of "Rebel Yell". Stripped of the production elements of the recording, this video proves 2 things: 1) a good song doesn't need a big production to be great, and 2) Steven's contribution to Idol's success is invaluable.



Here's Steve's website: http://www.stevestevens.net/

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 18

Continuing on with my series about under-appreciated guitarists:

The one required ingredient for guitar greatness is passion. Sure, mad skillz are great, but unless there's some 'soul' behind them, technical chops are fairly empty.

There have been, through the years, breakthroughs in skill. Witness Van Halen's first album release in '77. Unless you had been lucky enough to have caught one of their shows at the Whiskey, you were likely caught off guard by EVH's technical wizardry. But absent passion, which Edward clearly has, it would have been just a bunch of notes.

Another breakthrough came in the late '50s, when a young singer-songwriter-guitarist from St. Louis, MO, began recording for Chess Records:

Chuck Berry had been playing the blues since his teens and according to the 1987 Taylor Hackford film "Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll," by early 1953 was performing with the Johnnie Johnson Trio, a band that played at a popular club called The Cosmopolitan, in East St. Louis, Illinois and whose namesake would become Berry's long-time collaborator. Although the band played mostly blues and ballads, the most popular music among whites in the area was hillbilly. Berry wrote, "Curiosity provoked me to lay a lot of our country stuff on our predominantly black audience and some of our black audience began whispering 'who is that black hillbilly at the Cosmo?' After they laughed at me a few times they began requesting the hillbilly stuff and enjoyed dancing to it."

Berry's calculated showmanship began luring larger white audiences to the club. He also began singing the songs of Nat King Cole and Muddy Waters. "Listening to Nat Cole prompted me to sing sentimental songs with distinct diction," he said at Blueberry Hill. "The songs of Muddy Waters impelled me to deliver the down-home blues in the language they came from. When I played hillbilly songs, I stressed my diction so that it was harder and whiter. All in all, it was my intention to hold both the black and the white clientele by voicing the different kinds of songs in their customary tongues."

Indeed. Chuck was a pyramid, with the 4 supporting corners being pop, country, blues, and his own innate genius. And the peak of the pyramid, the confluence of related but yet divergent styles, was Chuck's songwriting and guitar playing.

Listen to the YouTube and imagine his double-string and triple-string guitar stylings as horn lines. Chuck is truly the bridge between Swing and Blues and the nascent rock'n'roll movement of the late '50s:



Roll Over Beethoven from '65, live:



And while I could find no video of Chuck doing my favorite song live, this lets you at least hear it:



Here's Chuck's web site: http://www.chuckberry.com/

Update: From darkblack in the comments, a reverent and fun reading of "You Never Can Tell" by the late Ronnie Lane & friends:



These lyrics are as much American literary treasure as anything Steinbeck, Frost or Hemingway wrote:

It was a teenage wedding,
and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre
did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur
and madame have rung the chapel bell,
"C'est la vie", say the old folks,
it goes to show you never can tell

They furnished off an apartment
with a two room Roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed
with TV dinners and ginger ale,
But when Pierre found work,
the little money comin' worked out well
"C'est la vie", say the old folks,
it goes to show you never can tell

They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records,
all rock, rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down,
the rapid tempo of the music fell
"C'est la vie", say the old folks,
it goes to show you never can tell

They bought a souped-up jitney,
'twas a cherry red '53,
They drove it down New Orleans
to celebrate their anniversary
It was there that Pierre was married
to the lovely mademoiselle
"C'est la vie", say the old folks,
it goes to show you never can tell

Indeed.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 17

I've long said that the average top-tier country musician is a better technician than the average top-tier rocker. Agree, disagree, discuss, I think there's ample evidence to support this. And there are couple of country singer-songwriters who are also truly great pickers. So I introduce today's underrated guitarist: Keith Urban.

Sure, he's married to Nicole Kidman, but that's not important right now, because he can play some guitar. And how many country guys regularly play Les Pauls.

Here he takes Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down To Georgia" and spins it a bit with a Telecaster:

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 16

Fleetwood Mac started in an auspicious way. Several British blues musicians, including ex-members of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, started a new band, named after two of the members, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, and featuring guitarist Peter Green. The biggest hit of this membership was Black Magic Woman, later covered by Santana.

But to quote Airplane!, that's not important right now. Fast-forward to 1975, and the Mac, which had undergone all sorts of personnel changes and troubles, added 2 new members: Stevie Nicks, and Lindsey Buckingham.

Buckingham, an unconventional post-folk finger style guitarist, added some instrumental zip missing, in my opinion, since the Peter Green days. He played with his fingers, not using a pick, and while clearly having studied at the Clapton-Page Institute of Technology, he added his own style.

Instead of depending on flashy technique, playing notes faster than anyone else, Lindsey played fewer notes, in a much more emotional and expressive style.

Here's "Rhainnon" live from '75. Note the fingerstyle technique, it's really lovely:

And note his tendency to play what I call "one note" solos, with the emphasis on emotion and tone, rather than flashy technique. In many ways it's more expressive.

Here's an example of Lindsey's pure folk style fingerpicking:

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 15

I saw a guitarist once, in a little club, in 1969, who knocked me on my ass. I wrote about him over 2 years ago here:

Chicago Transit Authority, Fall 1969, The White Room, Anaheim, CA

On their first pass through LA, they played The Shrine Friday night. My girlfriend saw them, heard them say that they were playing in OC Saturday night, and made me go. In a tiny room, on a stage 12 inches high, horns blasting, they created a sound totally new at the time. This was the Chicago of "25 or 6 to 4", not "Color My World." This was the Chicago of Terry Kath, and Peter Cetera before anyone told him he was a star. This was a bunch of guys living in a ratty house in Hollywood, playing their asses off, making new music.

In the '60s, as previously, ALL bands started out as Top-40 bands. Think I'm wrong? Look at The Beatles' and Stones' first albums: full of great covers. The great bands eventually wrote their own music, but still, it was common to cover other artists' great songs. The Spencer Davis Group's first 3 hits (Keep On Runnin', Gimme Some Lovin', and I'm A Man) were all popular with bands of the time.

CTA, later shortened to Chicago, started off as an eclectic R'n'B/Rock band, using sharp instrumental skills and the somewhat unusual addition of a horn section to create some tough, hard rock, but with jazzy influences and sensibilities. None of us at the time had heard anything like them.

Here they are doing their cover of "I'm A Man", originally a vehicle for young Stevie Winwood's weary beyond his years full throated blues singing. Instead it became a rave-up for Terry Kath, today's under-appreciated guitarist. Sadly, 2 things kept Kath from guitarist superstardom: Chicago's descent into maudlin pop noodling, and his shooting himself dead. Sadly, both fatal incidents.



Here's a promo video for the Spencer Davis Group version: compare, contrast:



And here's more Chicago live, with Kath on lead vocals. Dude could sing, too. Sad...

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 14

Recognize this guy?

Either one of them, actually. One was in some band, named after a bug. The other is the Godfather of British rock guitarists.

Continuing in my series on under-appreciated guitarists, let's talk about Bert Weedon:

Thames TV did a "This is your Life" on Bert Weedon. Among the people paying tribute to Bert were ;- Eric Clapton, Brian May, Hank Marvin, Phil Collins, Adam Faith, Val Doonican, Joe Brown, Lonnie Donegan, Marty Wilde, Frank Bruno, Henry Cooper, Paul Daniels, Gloria Hunniford, Basil Brush and many other stars from the world of show-business.

. . . As a result of his exciting solos on the early rock records. Bert was asked by Top Rank to make a record as a solo artist, and so Bert became the first British guitarist to get a solo record in the Hit Parade - the memorable "Guitar Boogie Shuffle". He subsequently notched further hits with "Apache". "Nashville Boogie". "Ginchy". "Sorry Robbie" "Tokyo Melody". to mention but a few. His L.P. `s have sold in tremendous numbers; "Bert Weedon remembers Jim Reeves" sold over 250,000 while his "22 Golden Guitar Greats" L.P. reached the No 1 spot in the Album Charts, and he once again made disc history by becoming the first solo guitarist to reach the coveted top of the Hit Parade - receiving both Gold and Platinum L.P.'s for his record breaking sales of over one million copies. The tremendous success of his L.P.'s and C.D's ensures that Bert is still among the top recording artists of Britain.

Wikipedia has this:

Bert Weedon OBE (born 10 May 1920, East Ham, London) was an influential English guitarist and composer during the 1950s and 60s.

Weedon began learning the guitar at the age of twelve. The first British guitarist in the UK Singles Chart, with "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in 1959, he was an influence on many of today's big names, including Eric Clapton, Brian May, Mike Oldfield, The Shadows and The Beatles.

Indeed. Bert was a transitional player, crossing from the '50s into the '60s, from gold lame tux jackets to overdriven amps, and making the guitar a truly popular and populist instrument.

Bert's version of Apache wasn't a hit, but many of his other recordings were. Here he is at the height of his popularity:



Here's Bert with some kid who achieved modest success in the '70s:


And here's Bert in '52 with some guy who had a Gibson guitar named after him. From left to right: Ivor Mairants, Les Paul, Bert Weedon:


True guitar geeks will notice that this early Les Paul model has a very unusual control arrangement. It looks like a single Volume and Tone, with some sort of switch added, and the jack is on the top rather than on the side.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 13

There are rock, country, classical, and folk guitarists. And then there are players who transcend a genre, who transcend every genre, and just simply master the instrument. At that point, they have mastered the language of the instrument, and any sound or voice is a possibility. Of course, these players are few and far between.

Ever hear of Lenny Breau? I didn't think so (from Wikipedia):

Lenny Breau (August 5, 1941–August 12, 1984) was a brilliantly innovative American-born Canadian jazz guitarist who brought together country, classical, flamenco and jazz guitar techniques. Breau developed a great deal of technical ability; inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used a fingerstyle not often used in Jazz guitar. Largely unknown in popular music, he is known today as a musician's musician.

1941, in Auburn, Maine. His francophone parents, Hal "Lone Pine" Breau and Betty Cody (nee Coté), were professional country and western musicians who performed and recorded from the end of the Second World War until the late 1950s. Their son began playing guitar at the age of eight, and by the age of twelve he was the lead guitarist for his parents' band, billed as "Lone Pine Junior", playing Merle Travis and Chet Atkins instrumentals and occasionally singing. Breau made his first professional recording in Maine at the age of 15, appropriately titled Boy Wonder.

Read the rest, it explains a lot.

Here's a video of Lenny showing how all styles of guitar are really the same:


And here's some video from a '68 documentary that shows Lenny's mastery of the instrument:


When he was on his game, no one showed more independance as player. By that, I mean, he could sound like 2 players at once: one playing bass & chords, piano style, while the other played the lead part. Some of his recordings really do sound like 2 guys playing at once, when in fact they are just Lenny.

I saw him play only once, at a NAMM show, with Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs playing (unnecessarily) rhythm guitar, and smiling like he had just won the lottery. Even Morse, a truly wonderful player, knew when he was in the presence of genius.

Lenny is gone now, but his legacy as a player leaves much for any of us who fancy ourselves players to strive for.


Update: from darkblack in comments:

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 12

Everyone knows serious electric guitar playing started in the late '60s. Before that, we had some country guys, some lame pop, and . . . who's that guy with the Gibson solid body named after him . . . oh yeah, Les Paul. Whatever, he was cool, I guess, but so totally lame by today's standards.

Ahem! Seriously, does anyone remember Oscar Moore?

Oscar Moore (1916 – 1981) was an American jazz musician and guitarist. A superb and influential guitarist, Moore was himself influenced by Charlie Christian. Oscar Moore was an integral part of the Nat King Cole Trio during 1937–1947, appearing on virtually all of Cole's records during the period. Barney Kessel once said that Moore practically created the role of the jazz guitarist in small combos. He also recorded with Lionel Hampton, Art Tatum (1941), the Capitol Jazzmen, and Lester Young. Unfortunately, Moore's post-Cole career was not very successful. He played with his brother Johnny Moore in the Three Blazers from 1947 to the mid-'50s (the group declined in popularity after the departure of pianist/singer Charles Brown). He also recorded three records for the Verve and Tampa labels during 1953 and 1954. After that he was outside of music with the exception of one Cole tribute album in 1965. Eventually he left music altogether and settled in Los Angeles, where he worked as a bricklayer.

Here's what Oscar was doing with Nat "King" Cole on 'Nature Boy' in '51:



And here they are with 'Route 66':



Serious badass electric guitar. Deserving of more appreciation, indeed.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 11

Part 11 in my series of under-appreciated guitarists, spotlights someone . . . well, who seems to already be appreciated. Sadly, I don't think he's appreciated for what he has contributed.

As I've written here before, I was attracted to The Yardbirds as soon as I heard their quirky guitar-driven pop. Thus it should be no surprise that I waited impatiently for the debut album their former lead guitarist Eric Clapton released with his new group: Cream.

Too many know Clapton today as an Armani-clad aging rocker, whose playing, while very nice, doesn't seem to be inspirational, but rather sort-of...well, generic. This is the Clapton of the slow, unplugged version of "Layla", of countless major events like 'The Concert For George".

The reason Clapton sounds generic today is that, simply put, he wrote the book for the modern rock guitarist, and everyone else is copying him. Period. Certainly he studied the black blues masters of the '40s, '50s and '60s, and clearly was influenced by Buddy Guy, but I can remember the '60s very clearly, and no white guy played like that before Clapton.

Before he adopted his famous black Strat, he was a Gibson guitar devotee. Plugging into 100 Watt Marshalls, created the basis for a sound that is still relevant today. Clapton with a fire in his belly, with something to prove, was a force of nature. For a brief time, he was the electric guitar. Of course, quickly on his heels came Jeff Beck, and others, but Clapton was the first of his day.

I offer, as proof, this live "Crossroads" by Cream, 1968:



Here is a clock-stopping "I'm So Glad" from the farewell concert at Royal Albert Hall, '69:



And here is the studio version of Crossroads, from "Wheels of Fire", for comparison:




Update:

Here's a brief interview, then "Steppin' Out" from the Farewell Concert. 3 gifted musicians at the peak of their power. Makes many of the "jam bands" of today sound tame:

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 10

Mandatory reportoire for any aspiring fingerstyle guitarist is the chestnut, "Freight Train". But sadly, few know the song's composer and real history:

Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (January 5, 1895 - June 29, 1987) was an American musician. Her style was traditional blues and folk, but was original since she was self-taught, and had no knowledge of traditional guitar tunings (eg. standard 'EADGBE' tuning or any standard, established open tunings).

Cotten was born in Carrboro, North Carolina to a musical family; her parents were George Nevills and Louise Price Nevills. Elizabeth was the youngest of five children. She began writing music while toying around with her older siblings instruments, sometimes having to sneak into her older brother's room to lay the hidden guitar across her lap and play. After more tinkering with these instruments she began playing the guitar upside down, since she was left-handed. This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers, and the melody with her thumb. Her signature, alternating bass style is known as "Cotten Picking". By age 8 she was playing songs, and after scraping together some money she bought her own guitar, which she named "Stella".

She possessed the remarkable ability to play a song exactly after hearing it only once. By her early teens she was writing her own songs, one of which, "Freight Train", would go on to be one of her most recognized.

Here is a video of Libba in the '60s, with Pete Seeger:

And here she is, in '87, not long before she died. How many shredders, rockers, and guitar pyrotechnicians are still relevant at age 92?

Yeah, that's what I thought:

Two things for guitarists to consider: She wrote "Freight Train" when she was 12; and she played a credible fingerstyle guitar backwards, holding a traditional strung instrument upside down because whe was left-handed.

Thus, she had to completely re-engineer her playing. Instead of thumb doing bass-chord and fingers doing melody, she did the opposite: fingers doing bass-chord, and thumb playing the melody.

So what? Try it. And feel humbled. This wonderful woman had no local music store, no "Guitar Player" magazine, no MTV to show her what to do. Yet she created a piece, and a legacy, of music, that will live on forever.

Here are a few more videos:

By the way, there is a great program called TubeSock, that allows downloading and saving of YouTube and DailyMotion Flash videos to Mac & PC. While I leave the copyright issues to others, here is the link: http://stinkbot.com/Tubesock/