Guitarest Grady Martin passes away

Janice Brooks · Post by **Janice Brooks** » 4 Dec 2001 8:59 pm

Nashville A team session picker Grady Martin passed away Monday night from conjestive heart failiure.
He was probibly best known for his work with
Marty Robbins and Roy Orbison

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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

Richard Bass · Post by **Richard Bass** » 4 Dec 2001 9:04 pm

Grady invented TASTE. It has not gotten any better than his playing. Maybe a little more "produced" but never any more soulful!!
Richard

Earl Erb · Post by **Earl Erb** » 4 Dec 2001 11:08 pm

What Richard said.

Leigh Howell · Post by **Leigh Howell** » 5 Dec 2001 8:16 am

So sorry to hear about Grady Martin. He was a great musician, and made many a record sound better. That heavenly band is sounding better all the time!

Leigh

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 5 Dec 2001 10:08 am

Grady did most of the acoustic guitar work on Ray Price's albums in the '60s...that was some really great stuff! Also, I believe he did guitar work on Marty Robbins' song, "El Paso".

Grady was one of the true classy players, for sure.

We will miss him.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 5 Dec 2001 10:59 am

Grady's guitar work with Marty Robbins MADE those records. His gut string intro & fills on El Passo remain timeless ... one of the most perfect examples of playing EXACTLY what the song calls for and not one note that doesn't belong. IMHO, Grady rarely played a single note that didn't fit a tune like a glove. Sad news.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Andy Volk on 05 December 2001 at 01:55 PM.]</p></FONT>

Tom Rutledge · Post by **Tom Rutledge** » 5 Dec 2001 12:25 pm

One of my heroes. He certainly taught a generation of guitarists how to always compliment a vocalist with just the right combination of tone, touch, feeling and fire.
They don't make 'em like him anymore.
God's speed Mr. Martin.

Janice Brooks · Post by **Janice Brooks** » 5 Dec 2001 5:15 pm

I happened to have my copy of Ray Prices Nightlife to play at work today.

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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 5 Dec 2001 7:26 pm

A good example of his acoustic guitar work with Ray Price is probably "It SHould Be Easier Now". I'd always wondered who played that. I'm glad that he got to play on the road a bit later in life with Willie Nelson where a lot of people could see him pick it like it was supposed to be picked!! I think he was the guy who had the broken amp or something on Marty Robbin's "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" which started the Fuzz Craze. I wish we could all live forever! At least his music will.

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Have a good 'un! JH U-12

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 5 Dec 2001 7:50 pm

I'm going way back for this one but one of the steel players in Nashville, I cannot recall which one, told me that a cord was plugged into an external speaker jack of an amp. Then by mistake the other end was plugged into the front of a second amp overdriving the input to the distortion we all recognize as Marty Robbin's Don't Worry
Bout Me. FWIW !!

Regards, Paul

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 6 Dec 2001 5:50 pm

I don't know that he toured, but I did see him do a Merle Haggard show one night.

God rest his soul.

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HagFan

Chris Brooks · Post by **Chris Brooks** » 11 Dec 2001 6:08 am

Like most guitarists I was captured by the swirl of Grady's "mexican-style" intro to "El Paso."

Years later, in the early 80s, it was a thrill to meet him on one of Willie's tours, in Missoula Montana. Chris Etheridge, whom I knew from LA days, was playing bass for Willie. I popped in on Chris at the motel before the gig and he took me across the hall and introduced me to Grady ... who, I believe, had drunk a poisoned martini the night before.

Chris got me a seat on stage that night, so I was sight there in the middle of all that music coming from Willie, Chris, Grady, Paul English, et. al.

May he rest in peace.