Memories Of The Old Sho~Bud Retail Store

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 30 Jun 2006 2:44 pm

I've got an old Sho-Bud lighter and a pack of them matches too. I opened my first bar in 82 just down from Sho-Bud and was playing a Pro-I at the time so you know I was in there. Harry put on a new fretboard for me and when I got the Pro-II they moved some knee levers around for me too. I bought my first Chorus pedal from Shot and still have it. It was A J Nelson, Shot, and Harry I remember there then. I don't remember her name but that might have been Leslie. Was that you back then around 82-85 Leslie? Shot moved out and they turned it into a whiskey store for a while and then it became Roberts Western world. You see it all the time on TV commercials. The old Sho-Bud guitar is still out there under the Roberts sign. Johnny Cox has the old plastic one that hung on the back wall in the alley. I thought about that sign when they moved and he beat me to it. I never knew where it went until I seen it at his house.[This message was edited by Frank Parish on 30 June 2006 at 03:46 PM.]

Sonny Priddy · Post by **Sonny Priddy** » 30 Jun 2006 6:03 pm

The Girl I Knew was Kathey Anderson. She Was There In 1981 To--- Then She worked For Bobbie seymour A While. Good Singer. SONNY.

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Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 1 Jul 2006 2:34 am

Chick, I remember Carl's shop being across the street from Gruhn's original store. He may have moved it later.

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 1 Jul 2006 6:00 am

This brings back so much memories!!!

First met HARRY JACKSON in 1970,had a PROFESSION D-10 built. Best steel i had ever played.

Got the bug to trade, and been sorry ever since!!!!
I tryed to find the guitar a few yrs. ago.and finally found the family that bought it. Finally did and the man was dead,I ask where is the steel??? come to find out it burned in a bar fire!!!!

Harry had me another D-10 built in 78, it was a pro2 never really liked that one.the sqare front i didn't care for!!!

HARRY took me upstairs 2 times i was there,man my eyes seen all that birdseye lumber WOW. Lots of old steels sitting upstairs. I remember seeing one with banjo string on for the 3rd.
I said wow must of been a real string breaker.

and the sho-bud show case, sit up most every sat.night till way hours of the morning listening to it.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS
farris

Alan Kendall · Post by **Alan Kendall** » 1 Jul 2006 1:49 pm

I was in Nashville playing guitar for the Bee Gee's around 75 /76.I'd recently bought a single neck Sho Bud in Miami ,so I took it over to Sho Bud to have it checked out.I'm sorry to say I can't remember the the name of the guy who took me over there, but we went up stairs and there was Shot Jackson winding a pickup.I couldn't believe my eyes.Everyone was really friendly, and several steel players stopped by while I was there. After a few beers,a couple of the guys showed me how to chew "chaw",and all they kept saying was "whatever you do, don't swallow the juice,you must spit it out" I was so excited to be there, I forgot I was supposed to be at sound check,and I was late ."No problem" said one of my new found friends "we'll get you there."So they shoved me and my steel (still set up)in the back of a pickup truck and drove me over to the gig.
I'm sorry that I can't remember anyone's name ( I could hardly remember my own in those days)but I have often wondered who those guy's were, and if they are forum memebers.Hey maybe one of them was you John?
Alan.
[This message was edited by Alan Kendall on 03 July 2006 at 09:23 AM.]

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 1 Jul 2006 9:43 pm

I bought my first Sho-Bud in ’57, but; didn't get to move to Nashville until ’67! (although I did visit in ’60 for a few days, but; everyone was out of town!) After I moved in ’67, I was pretty much a regular daily fixture around the Sho-Bud store up until about the end of ’79. One day I was sitting in the showroom across from Curly Chalker who was tuning his guitar and having a problem hearing the Low-A string on his C6-neck. He turned the key and then asked me: “Is that in tune?” And I wondered, why in the world he was asking me! In the years that I hung around all the guys (gals) at the store and upstairs, I also did a lot of trading of instruments. I think they built about 12 or 13 for me in all! (Including a 4-neck 10-string that Shot and Jim Webb built.) _ _ _ _ If I remember the location correctly, Carl's speaker reconing shop was part way up 4th. Ave. No. but; on the East side of the street, across from the new Ryman entrance! My first ‘home’ in Nashville was the ROSS Hotel! They had a room where you could leave your unneeded belongings when you left town for a road~gig. Then when you returned, you just picked up your belongings N/C and they assigned you a new room! Those were realy the good 'ole days when people trusted each other! I really miss those days, although I do live under slightly better conditions today¡ ho~ho! It was pretty easy to pick up work by hanging at Linebaugh's Resturant too! My first job, when I moved here came from Linebaugh's. I arrived here, all the way from Pa.; on a Tue. and left on Fri. for a (3)-wk. gig! (All the way back through Pa. and on up to Boston, MA!) I got used to traveling in a hurry! The only thing I didn't like in Boston was that the Hotel Laundry starched my shorts! Where has all the elasticity gone?

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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
Current Equipment
[This message was edited by John Bechtel on 01 July 2006 at 10:49 PM.]

Jody Sanders · Post by **Jody Sanders** » 1 Jul 2006 9:53 pm

I stopped in my last time in 1975 during the CMA awards and the Opry's 50th Birthday Celebration. Loyd Green was there and I litterly bumped in to Ron Elliott going uot the door as he was coming in. Jody.

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 2 Jul 2006 1:07 am

I went to Sho-Bud on Broadway on my first trip to Nashville in 1969. I believe I spoke to Jack Boles behind the counter and he invited me to go to the loft work shop upstairs. I hung around and visited with Duane for awhile.

I visited the Sho-Bud store on a few trips to Nashville in the early 1970s also. On one visit George Edwards was working with Duane. I met a very skinny Jerry Brightman at Sho-Bud one time. He was having Duane work on his guitar.
I was there talking to Duane on a saturday afternoon in the early 1970s,when Sonny Burnett brought Weldon's guitar to have all the E-9th pedals moved to the far right, as Weldon had a motorcycle accident and had a minor injury to his left leg. Weldon had to play the Opry that night.

I saw the S-10 Sho-Bud Keyless proto-type guitars that Hal & Weldon were using on the Opry one time. How many of them were built?

I had the pleasure of meeting Speedy West in Nashville in the early 70s across from Sho-Bud at Roy Wiggin's music store. He was playing his Marlen built Speedy West Guitar and Phil Baugh was playing guitar. Kayton Roberts was there too.

I had a good time on all my trips to Nashville.

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 2 Jul 2006 7:49 am

The only thing I didn't like in Boston was that the Hotel Laundry starched my shorts!

Sounds like a lot of Boston, actually

Mickey Lawson · Post by **Mickey Lawson** » 2 Jul 2006 1:19 pm

Don't remember the year. I went in to have an Emmons pickup rewound. Someone was playing dobro downstairs. Shot Jackson said, let's go upstairs to rewinding machine. Wooden stairway was on the left, in the front storeroom. Upstairs was in some disarray, with bodies of steel guitars laying around. One pedal steel had 20 or more strings, wow. Shot threaded up the pickup wire and started to rewind the pickup. I went downstairs and looked at instructional magazines, while the pickup was being wound. Didn't take long, and I paid and left. Still remember it clearly.

KENNY KRUPNICK · Post by **KENNY KRUPNICK** » 2 Jul 2006 6:38 pm

I'd like to see pics of those golden days when Sho~Bud was there on Broadway. Roberts occupies that store,and there are some Sho~Bud memoribilia in there.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 2 Jul 2006 10:24 pm

I went there a few times in the '70's. The first time was in 1972 and ran into Jerry Brightman trying out a new Professional upstairs on the top floor. I went there a few other times and they were always willing to let me rummage around in the parts bins upstairs and grab a few parts for my 6139.
The last time I was there was in 1981, and I came pretty close to buying a very cool orange birdseye S12. This gtr was unusual in that had the "fluted" endplates like the SuperPro II's had, and I've never seen another single neck like it since.
I remember the Sho-Bud store as being a pretty cool hang, and I wish I'd been able to have gone there more often.

BTW... there's a scene in the Burt Reynolds movie "WW and the Dixie Dancekings" that was shot in the showroom.[This message was edited by Skip Edwards on 02 July 2006 at 11:30 PM.]

Mike Sweeney · Post by **Mike Sweeney** » 3 Jul 2006 7:30 am

I'm gonna be working in that building this evening. I always have a feeling that Shot's looking after us steel players in there still yet.
A very cool vibe for sure.

Mike[This message was edited by Mike Sweeney on 03 July 2006 at 08:30 AM.]

Mike Lovell · Post by **Mike Lovell** » 3 Jul 2006 7:45 am

Another who strolled into the the Sho-Bud store was Eric Clapton. He bought several Strats. Gave away a couple and used the rest to assemble his Blackie which he used through the 70's and early 80's.

Kenny Davis · Post by **Kenny Davis** » 3 Jul 2006 7:37 pm

My family went to Nashville for vacation in '72 or'73, and Broadway was the focus for me as a young steel player. I met "Little" Roy Wiggins at his store. If I remember correctly, he had a bandstand towards the front of his store, and a lot of Grammer guitars.

I got to meet Shot and David, and Shot got us Opry tickets! Back then, they were like gold! I'm trying to find the pictures taken upstairs...Me playing a blue 12 string single, Shot standing behind me with his hand on my shoulder while I sat at a red Professional, and the "Big E" keyless. No steel guitar purchase that day, but my brother recieved a fiddle after some slick salesmanship from David. I've got the pictures of Tootsies, ET's, and Roy Wiggins, but I can't seem to find the all-important Sho~Bud pics!

I did find this one:

[This message was edited by Kenny Davis on 03 July 2006 at 09:09 PM.]

Winston Street · Post by **Winston Street** » 4 Jul 2006 6:59 am

Guy, here's the only three pictures I could find that I have of the old Sho-Bud upstairs area. Made in October of 1982 while attending the Jeffran College. Also a couple of pictures of Buddy during the concert that he gave the class on Friday night. Notice the Boston Baked Beans between the necks of his guitar. He was throwing these up and catching them in his mouth while he was playing. Also threw in a couple of Curly Chalker. Buddy had just snapped the connector of on his eighth pedal. My only claim to fame is that I took one off of my guitar and replaced it for him so he could get on with the show. Here's the address of the pictures. Hope it works. http://pictures.aol.com/ap/myAlbums.do?albumId=2090.1350.1152025152942.1
Winston

Tom Moorman · Post by **Tom Moorman** » 8 Jul 2006 7:48 am

My only visit was in 1977. As I climbed the stairs to the upper floor, Shot pinched me on the butt, asked me when I got out of jail and laughed. This was the first time I had ever spoken to Shot.

I remember seeing a guitar with Curly Chalker's name on it and was told 'don't even ask.'

Thanks for the memory reboot.

Nate Hofer · Post by **Nate Hofer** » 8 Jul 2006 9:31 am

Cool! That's now Roberts Western Wear! (Not that you all didn't know that.) Thanks for the history lesson!

Nate Hofer · Post by **Nate Hofer** » 8 Jul 2006 9:35 am

Okay so, did Shot and Buddy put up that sign? Or was it something else before that?