Rick Alexander 1947-2009

Cathe St. Jean · Post by **Cathe St. Jean** » 24 Jun 2009 7:21 pm

I felt compelled to come back again to thank you all for everything. I'm still overwhelmed by the support shown to us by the steel guitar community. I can see why Rick loved and respected so many members here. There are just no words to thank you enough. A special thank you to those who took the time to reply to me and said such kind things, when you didn't even know me. Also to Roy, who posted the theme song Rick wrote for me. He wrote quite a few for me, but that was one of my favorites. It brought back a lot of memories. He was the one who encouraged me to sing lead and let people hear my songs. I was a backup singer and felt I was not strong enough to carry the lead. That's the kind of guy he was. Always encouraging others to do what they feared they could not do. I would never have had a CD, neither would my daughter and numerous other people, if it had not been for Rick.

Often when people die, they are memorialized, but then forgotten. I can see he will never be forgotten, because he touched the lives of so many people. More than he could have imagined, I'm sure. Rick was always led by his heart, which is one of the things I loved most about him. He will remain in mine forever and I'm sure by other hearts he touched, in his short time on this earth. There was so much more he wanted to do, especially for steel world. He did leave quite a musical legacy and I will do the best I can to keep that alive. I do hope he is remembered for the contribution he made, but more for the loving, caring, "groovy" guy, with the heart of gold. In the end, all we get to take with us is love and it's all we get to leave behind as well. He went with the love of many, left many broken hearts here, but his love will always remain with us. A life well lived. I certainly could have done without this pain, but I'm still forever grateful that I didn't miss "The Dance."

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 25 Jun 2009 3:45 am

Cathy,I know how difficult life has been since losing Rick, not only was he your husband, he was you're best friend......

http://youtu.be/pJWo6YVpV-o

http://youtu.be/CURLqdrNXJg

http://youtu.be/dresvqIg9nA Marilyn's favorite Hymn

Dear Cathe Rick( god rest his soul)he always called me his buddy............now if he were here he would have the this most beautiful song ... from you Cathe to our Rick to you to my dear friend and buddy Rick He was my Buddy and I miss him very much God Bless His soul The Late and Great Teresa Brewer whom I recorded with many times and always thanked me hence Jody that was really beautiful, I'm not on this but it's for Rick My Buddy......and that he was to me.

http://youtu.be/WSVVPcgDes4

Cathe St. Jean · Post by **Cathe St. Jean** » 25 Jun 2009 8:05 am

Thank you Jody, that was beautiful and really expresses how I feel. I keep forgetting that others have been where I am and understand. I literally lost the roses, as he always made sure I had plenty of those. I have to try to forget what I've lost and remember how much he gave me and gave to others as well, who miss him too. May God Bless you all.

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 25 Jun 2009 10:23 am

Cathe, you're most welcome. God be with you during these difficult days, I know what it's like to lose a loved one. It will get a bit easier, but you will never ever forget and it's best to remember the good times.God Be with you.

Jody

~Psalms 23:1-6~

The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Amen.

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 25 Jun 2009 2:57 pm

Cathe; I'm glad to learn that you've joined all of us here on the Forum! I never met Rick in person, only through this Forum, when he purchased the Pewter Fender T-8 Custom from me, but; I still considered him to be a good friend through our email exchanges. He will be missed always and by everyone who knew him. Again, welcome to this Forum and thanks for carrying on Rick's influence on us all!

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 25 Jun 2009 4:37 pm

Cathe St. Jean wrote:...He was the one who encouraged me to sing lead and let people hear my songs...That's the kind of guy he was. Always encouraging others to do what they feared they could not do. I would never have had a CD, neither would my daughter and numerous other people, if it had not been for Rick...

That was the thing about Rick. He encouraged others and brought out the best in them. Everyone thinks that they had a personal and exclusive relationship with him because, no matter how many friends he had, he treated everyone as though they were important.
By the way, I liked your track on the "Old Country" album. I think I'm one of many who would like to buy a lot more of his material.
I never met Rick in person, though I communicated with him and consulted him for his opinion on projects for some time. He was always a resource out there that you could count on, and I valued his opinions. He was encouraging me to turn up for next year's meeting, and I was looking forward to meeting him. Like many others in the Forum, I routinely "searched" for his comments.
I can only imagine how hard this must have hit you. The best thing to say is what they said of Abraham Lincoln as he passed away, "Now he is part of history", and Rick will be part of the history of the steel guitar, and of many people's lives, as long as there are people out there playing.

Hank Pell · Post by **Hank Pell** » 26 Jun 2009 4:19 am

Hello Cathe, Welcome to the forum .I am sorry for your loss.Rick was a dedicated musician to the steel guitar.He reminded me of myself when i first got my 6 string harmony guitar. in the year of 1956. He made a lot of friends on the Forum.I spoke to him a few times. He was very nice to talk to.

Ron Brennan · Post by **Ron Brennan** » 26 Jun 2009 11:58 am

Cathe,

I have to echo Alan Brooke’s eloquent thoughts above as to how I personally feel about Rick....."Now he is part of history".

As you know, Rick created” history” here and is a part of many happy memories, not only in my mind, but in the minds of thousands of others here and around the world.

Moreover, I am happy to say I had the pleasure and honor meeting Rick. I was touched by his warm generosity in making myself and my wife "feel at home" on a visit to Ft. Lauderdale last year.

Cathe, I look forward to your participation on the forum and hope that you find solace being with us.... Rick's friends.

Blue Skies for Rick....TX

Rgds,

Ron

Steven Cearley · Post by **Steven Cearley** » 26 Jun 2009 7:52 pm

Life is too short. His personal touch with emails to someone he didn't even know made you want to meet him in person. What a loss!

Cathe St. Jean · Post by **Cathe St. Jean** » 28 Jun 2009 7:39 am

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. It does make me feel better to be among Rick's friends and he would be so proud to know people thought of him like this and realized what a sincere person and friend he was. He has always been that way. When he was a kid, they called him "Little Ricky Nice." (Not sure he would have liked me to tell that story.) There were no strangers to him, only friends he had not yet made. He made friends easily, because he genuinely liked people. However, he did not like injustice and it would make him angry if people were mistreated or maligned. He was a great champion of the underdog.

I will certainly make his material available, Alan. I like what you said about him being "part of history." He would have liked that too, as he so wanted to leave a lasting legacy with his music. He had an amazing history actually. He led an exciting life for sure. I'm moving a little slowly, but plan to get things together at some point. I'll do the best I can to help. I'm certainly not a steel player, but am a great fan and supporter. It meant so much to Rick, that I couldn't help but share the enthusiasm. I will also have some of his steel guitars and equipment available and I know he would have liked his friends to have first choice. They were his "treasures" and should be played and shared with those who would most appreciate them. Rick was all about sharing, as those who knew him well have realized.

The guitars were very important to him. He would just sit and look at them all sometimes and remark about how much he enjoyed them and appreciated them. I feel sad that he can no longer look at them, but I know he would love it if others did. Thanks again for remembering Rick. He was the best part of my history and I will be forever grateful for the time I had with him.

Marty Smith · Post by **Marty Smith** » 4 Aug 2009 5:19 pm

I never met him in person, I know he was a good guy, and he said good things about me,he got me to join SGF. I hope he got to recorded on that big ol' National quad I sent him.
RIP

M

K.J. Tucker · Post by **K.J. Tucker** » 22 Sep 2009 4:25 pm

Well here goes ;

It has been 120 days since he left us .

I have to watch my step cause when I think of him throughout my day I still start to tear up !

He made an altering impression on me a the first time we talked that still leaves me with a hole where his smile used to fill.

You will have to excuse me as I am not a man of words as some of our trusted colleagues on this "The House Bob Lee built for us ".
I am more of an instinctual person and it shows sometimes.

He was my friend and I miss him ,seems so little to say about Rick he was so much more .

I miss my friend .

Tuck

Evelyn Whitney · Post by **Evelyn Whitney** » 24 Sep 2009 12:03 pm

I listened to his CD on my drive from Muskegon Mi to Grand Rapids yesterday and the day before.
Thanks for making the trip pleasant, Rick.
My son Dennis did the same thing in his studio,
created all the music and voices, has passed away, at age 49, and wanted to leave a legacy of his music.
Do I know this pain, OH MY YES.
Still, I listen to their music and wish they had met.
Maybe they have. Evelyn

K.J. Tucker · Post by **K.J. Tucker** » 28 Oct 2009 7:11 pm

I waited to see if there were going to be any more that wrote on the 22 but I guess not .

I still miss my friend and it hasn't gotten any easier .

Tuck

Cathe St. Jean · Post by **Cathe St. Jean** » 31 Oct 2009 7:40 am

Thank you for continuing to speak of Rick and remember him. I realize sometimes it's hard to speak about it. I still find it surreal when I look at his name here. It should be in Steel Without Pedals, not Gone Home. He loved the forum and the people on it so much. I have a hard time speaking about him myself right now for some reason. I can't even listen to his music yet and his music was essentially who he was. I guess that will come with time. I haven't done his Memorial and feel bad about that, but I can't seem to handle it yet. I don't know why. Maybe it's the finality of it, I'm not sure.

It is good to know there will be a tribute to him in Dallas. That would mean a lot to him, as that's where his heart was. He wanted to do so much more for Steel Guitar world and had so many plans. I hope he will always be remembered for his heartfelt contributions to it. He was always into his music, but I never saw him that passionate about anything before. I just wish he had more time to carry out all his ideas. I hope his music will live on, as for some reason his legacy had become most important to him. I am glad he finished that last CD, as it was a struggle for him. Thanks again for the support. I feel he is at peace now, but your thoughts and prayers are still appreciated, for those of us left broken hearted by his absence.

Mike Gross · Post by **Mike Gross** » 31 Oct 2009 8:58 am

Cathe,

There is very little that I can say that the others haven't. Great to have you with us on the Forum.

Cathe St. Jean · Post by **Cathe St. Jean** » 1 Nov 2009 9:44 am

Thank you, Mike. To be honest, it's still kind of painful for me to come here right now and I don't know why I am compelled to keep looking, as if I expect it won't be here any more or something and won't really be true. It is true, it's all been said, but I guess I was just comforted by the fact that others still missed him, were remembering him and I wanted to acknowledge that. (Thanks K.J. and Evelyn) Often there are no more words, we have to accept it and move on. Just because people don't say anything, doesn't mean they don't remember. I know that. I'll just say thank you one more time, as I know he would have wanted me to do. Then he probably would tell me to shut up, move on and let his music do the talking for him.

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 1 Nov 2009 11:30 am

Cathe: I know it's painful, and it always will be, but I think Rick would be happy if you could get someone to put together some of his material and release some more CDs. I know a lot of people will be happy to hear him singing and playing again. He has so many friends on the Forum that I'm sure you could get no end of people to do the project for you.
Hang in there.

Cathe St. Jean · Post by **Cathe St. Jean** » 2 Nov 2009 9:28 am

Thank you for the suggestion, Alan. That is a good idea and at some time, I may be able to follow through with it. He has volumes of material, some from way back. He wrote a lot of great songs, in all kinds of genres. He did it all. I do have quite a few copies of his last CD, "Songs From The Old Country." Maybe I can send some to Dallas with Jeff, if anyone is interested. I always thought his voice lent itself to country more than anything. He was 1/4 Texan, after all, as he was fond of telling. I had asked him for a long time to do a country CD and I'm so glad he got to complete it. I think he saved the best for last.

Red Kilby · Post by **Red Kilby** » 8 Nov 2009 4:39 am

WE ALL MISS YOU RICK!!!!

K.J. Tucker · Post by **K.J. Tucker** » 23 Jan 2010 7:39 pm

Well it is a very tough time in Texas we have started planning Dallas and Rick is not here . I have talked to Jeff and he is still amazed at the grace and ease Rick planned & executed things like "Rick's Room"
Red said it for all of us no need to repeat it .

As I said Jeff & Howard are planning "Ricks Room " and as Jeff said it takes two just to try to do what Rick did so easily . I still can't say I don't think of his smiling face most days as it makes me happy but when I saw Howard's Poster it started all over again and I am glad 'cause I don't want to forget my friend .

I haven't been around lately but I still care.

Later

Tuck

Evelyn Whitney · Post by **Evelyn Whitney** » 30 Jan 2010 7:01 pm

He was missed so very much at L Ts Hawaiian Show in St Louis last Sept.
He is missed every day.

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 2 Feb 2010 5:04 pm

Katelyn (my 6-year-old granddaughter) using the flat bar that Rick so graciously mailed to her just before leaving us.

Rick will always be remembered as a friend to myself and my family.

Don Sulesky · Post by **Don Sulesky** » 3 Feb 2010 4:09 am

Cathe
Welcome to this great Forum.
I knew Rick through our mutual friend Mike Gross and we wrote eachother often.
I finally met Rick in Dallas last year and we had a great talk.
I spent most of my time in the non pedal room listening to the music he loved best.
I will miss his smile, his frienship and many more things about him such as his giving ways to those he never met before and they soon become his friend.
He will never be forgotten on this Forum or anywhere else with those folks he has touched in his short life.
Carry on with the Lord.
Don

Cathe St. Jean · Post by **Cathe St. Jean** » 3 Feb 2010 6:43 am

Thank you Don. I remember Rick speaking of you. I feel I know many of you, because he spoke of you so often and was so happy to be a part of the group of people he so greatly admired.

It really touches my heart that I am not alone in missing him every day. It's very strange and lonely without him. Today is his birthday. I am going to try very hard to celebrate his life, rather than crying all the way through this day. I'm glad I came here to see if anyone else was remembering him and it's comforting to know I'm not alone anyhow.

I know for a fact he would be overwhelmed to know the people he so admired and respected will be playing in Dallas this year. He had so many plans to help further promote steel and was so excited about the conventions. He just loved it. I had never seen him so enthusiastic about anything before. His music meant everything to him and he left a great body of work. I wish he had more time, but God had other plans for him. Bless you all for still keeping him in your thoughts and prayers, keeping his music alive and for paying tribute to him at the convention this year.

Happy Birthday, Rick. You are loved.

The Steel Guitar Forum

Rick Alexander 1947-2009

Rick Alexander And his music

It is September 22

It has been another 30 days

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