The Steel Guitar Forum

Just revisiting.

I wish I could've met Shot Jackson because I love Sho-Bud steels. His sons, David and Harry built my current steel. I also wish I could've seen the Sho-Bud factory. I remember a video on YouTube where a man was visiting with Shot and Shot told him about a steel that had just been built for Jimmy Day. Sho-Bud built some great steels!

My first Sho-Bud was a 6139 3/1K my parents bought for me in June 1973 for my 10th birthday.The first trip to the SHOP in Nashville was in the summer of 1975,thats when I saw my first pak-a-seat,and just had to have one.Paid for it myself with my money I made pickin gigs in Louisiana and East Texas.Shot and Harry were very nice and helpful,Shot made me one hell of a deal,I asked how much ,He said you got $50.00 ....I'll take it.Everytrime i went back I always stopped by to say hello.

I took the following photos when I was on a bus tour to Nashville & the Opry from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario during the Easter weekend of 1968. The 1st photo was taken from in front of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop (I had just bought Don Helms Steels the Hits of Hank Williams. Hank Williams Jr. & original Drifting Cowboys played in the Soo 10 days earlier). The 2nd shot was taken inside the Roy Acuff Exhibits, just down from Sho~Bud. The last two shots were taken just around the corner from the Sho~Bud shop on Broadway.

I wanna say I was there around 74 or 75. I had a short visit with David Jackson and he took me upstairs and let me sit behind a few Steels that were in for repairs ,I am guessing. I do recall that there were no Steels set up in the store which at the time I found odd, being a Steel Guitar company .

Who woulda thought that 40+ years later we would be looking at photo's of such a location that is basically an "ICON".

And yes, I totally missed that the Roberts sign is the former and original SHO-BUD store sign !

t

Thanks for the pictures, Jim. I moved to Nashville on New Years day, 1963. I remember that scene so well after Shot moved to Broadway. A lot of history there. I believe that Friedman's Pawn show was in between Sho-Bud and Tootsie's. Many of my instruments spent some time in Friedman's between paying gigs. I probably have mentioned before about standing out in front of Tootsie's and looking down the avenue and seeing Roy Acuff standing out in front of his museum. Roy was a daily visitor to Tootsie's to get some chang. Great pictures. Way before they tore down som Nashville history across from the Ryman Auditorium and replaced it with the Convention Center. I used to play at the Hitching Post which was right across from the Ryman. Hank Jr. had a museum just north of the Hitching Post. Dang it's great to be old and have all of those memories.
Dave A. Burley

and might that be tubbs first
green hornet parked in front
of buckleys?
~rw

Russ Wever wrote:
and might that be tubbs first
green hornet parked in front
of buckleys?
~rw

Very GOOD, brother Russ!!!

Sidebar: By 1968, Charleton was playing "Brand X."

In 1969 Tubb had a double decker. First one I had ever seen. I'm thinking that Ernest had that double decker earlier than 69. The bus in the picture looks like a 55 or 56 Flex. Can't read the writing on the top side of the bus.
Dave A. Burley

In the 70's I was in a band that had a double-level Flxible, and I think it was a '54. I'm sure the company manufactured several different models each year.

I just ran across this old thread about Shot's Sho-Bud store on E. Broadway in Nashville. The entire thread is so interesting that I read every one of the post's. I hope this pop's up again because I believe this thread is about five or six years old and definitely worth revisiting. Dave A. Burley

Speaking of the ladies . . .

I lived and worked in Nashville from 1985-1988. Played many many afternoons with the late great Steve "Bulldog" Bivins in the window at Tootsie's, for tips mostly.

I don't recall "Sucking Sue:, but a "Miss Ellie" would come in and rib me lasciviously about my "long slidy thing" . . . yes, I was doubling on trombone!

Anyone remember her? And no one has mentioned "Skull," sitting on a chair in the alley in back. What club was that?

Chris

This might have been mentioned before, or it is old news. For the umteenth time I have visited this site, something in the picture of the Sho~Bud sign, caught my eye. The address on the sign is BR549, The same BR549, that Junior Samples used in his Hee Haw card, for his phone number. Yes, I visited Sho~Bud too, played some steels there, and wound up buying my LDG. All good memories.

Ronnie Boettcher wrote:This might have been mentioned before, or it is old news. For the umteenth time I have visited this site, something in the picture of the Sho~Bud sign, caught my eye. The address on the sign is BR549, The same BR549, that Junior Samples used in his Hee Haw card, for his phone number. Yes, I visited Sho~Bud too, played some steels there, and wound up buying my LDG. All good memories.

BR5-49 is also the name of the band that got their start at Robert's, where Sho-Bud was. Their steel player was Don Herron. If you look really close in the movie Coal Miner's Daughter, right when Loretta is singing "I Fall To Pieces", the camera goes past the Sho-Bud sign

And, also, Willie Nelson got his legendary guitar "Trigger" at the Sho-Bud shop because he was friends with Shot Jackson, and Shot installed the pickup into "Trigger"

For those of you that have visited E. Broadway recently..... When Shot first opened the store on E. Broad there were a total of five taverns from the corner of 5th and Broad all the way to the river. Mostly furniture stores and pawn shops and warehouses. There were only four restaurants. Ma and Pa Freeman's Opry Corner that was on the southeast corner of 5th and Broad.....Linebaughs restaurant which was the only real restaurant that served food and no booze. The Merchants Hotel and Tootsie's. Tootsie's had a little kitchen right to the right of where the stairway goes up to the second floor. Maggie was a large and jovial colored cook who would serve dinner specials during the daytime and hamburgs and whatever at night. She was such a sweet thing and worked there for Tootsie for several years. Everyone knew and loved Maggie. She called all men Mister and their first name. Lot's of great stories about that area from the sixties. The sixties and seventies are the times that Broadway May, Suckin' Sue, Cowboy Jr. and Muscles were in the area. City View was also an E. Broadway character during those times.

WOW, I'am loving it. I just found this thread. I love this kind of history and thanks to the forum the people that lived and worked their can share their stories. What an era it was. I have a 79 LDG and have always been a Sho-Bud fan. Thanks to all for sharing and to Bas for starting it and sharing his pictures. Keep them coming, Thanks, J.R.

Opps, Sorry David Ball for I think you started this, J.R.

I remember the first time i saw the ryman, it was back in the fifties and i was just a kid. From Alabama traveling back and forth to Painesville Ohio where my dad move us to due to lack of work at home. He pointed out the Ryman to me, told me about it and i always wanted to see it everytime we passed thru Nashville. I took my 3 kids to see it back in the mid 70s and got to stand on the stage. Nobody there, but it sure felt ghostly just thinking about the hstory of it.

Around 24 years ago I was a carpenter and was hired to help restore the old Ryman. I also wrote a few songs there. One gospel song and one called
"Phantom of the Opry" Its now published by one of the best publishers in town. I havent sang it in 24 years I guess I should.

"If I were a carpenter and you were a lady...." comes to mind. Sure you didn't write that one too ??

Regards, Paul

Sure wish I did Paul! $$$ hehe.

That is one of the few mentions of a Baker Piano Guitar I have been able to find. I just purchased one from a classified ad and I am still trying to figure out just what I have! Two things for sure: it is unique and it sounds wonderful.