The Steel Guitar Forum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRv34Cat3Vw

Epi Casinos.

The Beatles recorded with probably EVERY guitar made, but performed with...

Of course, the Beatles used Casinos and other hollowbodies a lot. But by late 66 and into 67, I think the biggest influences on what guitar players were using were people like Bloomfield, Clapton, and the SF bands. I think this added significantly to the drain on the Strat as a viable guitar model.

But either way - my point was that, by 1967, Strat sales were well down and buoyed up heavily by the appearance of Hendrix.

Rich Peterson wrote:
Mr. Ritter, I don't know if Robert Randolph can play country steel, but if he could, would he be able to get a gig? Just how many black country steel players can you name? Darius Rucker is the first black male vocalist to hit the country charts in decades. I don't believe any black woman has.

So what's the point of playing or singing a style of music that shuts you out?

Rich, I don't know anything about Robert Randolph (except what I read on Wikipedia!), but if he did play Country (as defined by most of us here) I am sure he could get a gig. Maybe I am misinterpreting what you are saying but I don't think the lack of black Country artists/musicians has anything to do with racism. I'm also not sure what you mean by people being "shut out" of various musical styles. Maybe I have rose-colored glasses on but I just don't see it. What individuals, groups or even races of people "gravitate" towards musically is another matter entirely, probably best left to sociologists and musical historians.

well, I shouldn't do this to y'all since I can't play steel, but I think someone had to. And a disclaimer for the old schoolers...this is toungue in cheek!!

http://www.ricksharpcountry.com/wma/SSBrevisited.wma

I'll ask in advance...please forgive me!!

Rick

Rick, to me, it sounds just like it looks.

Hahahahahahah...Now if Bobbe wan'ts to talk about something suckin'...there ya go! That'll teach you to sell me a steel, Bobbe! Yeeeeeeeee Hawwwwwww! Head 'em up! Move 'em out.

BTW, Barry, that little guitar sounds better than most on the market today!...if you take the wah, fuzztone, flanger off and plug it into something besides a Soldano half-stack in my pod. hehehehehe. Man, I'm havin' some kinda fun today!!! Let's hear your version! LMMFAO!

What is life if ya can't have a good laugh now and again,
Rick

I thought Jimi's version matched the decor perfectly.
Why didn't you burn a few more flags to get rid of the stench of that performance and the 30 acres of human waste the crowd was rolling around in.

hillbillies... tooo bad

Bo, why don't you pull your head out and get some fresh air?

Concerning the Stratocaster:
I have heard that as young man Hendrix studied Buddy Guy and Buddy Guy had a big influence on Hendrix's playing and showmanship. I believe that Buddy Guy was playing a Strat back in the early '60s (as he still does), and perhaps it was Buddy Guy's use of the Strat that influenced Hendrix to go with the Strat.

Jimi was a big influence on Buddy as well. Each time I've seen him he did a segment devoted to Hendrix and another to Stevie Ray. These were the least enjoyable moments out of rather great shows, as Buddy is way better off doing Buddy than mimicing others.
But from afar, it was astounding to watch what looked like a reincarnation of Jimi wailing away on a dimly lit stage, albeit in reverse.

Bo, I only thought I was funny! You slam Jimi in your post and then post your website where one can listen to you "play" one of his songs.LMAO!! "Making in sound like a guitar" Hahahaha...I wonder what the "G" stands for in PSG? I've heard a lot of "regular" guitars, but I'm afraid your's sounds a little irregular. Maybe taking Ron's advice might help...make sure you're wearing your belt with you name on the back so when you do make that popping noise you'll know who you are!! Back in the real world, you couldn't carry Jimi's guitar case!

Hey Cliff and Ron,
Walter Haynes told me when Jimi was in the Service he spent some time in Nashville and every chance he got he hung around Owen's studio and picked Grady's brain. He certainly knew where to find the great ones!!

Wow, Rick, that's some interesting info.
I wish I'd known known to ask about that the one time I had Grady on the phone.

Rick,
that's great, thanks for that. There is no doubt in my mind that Hendrix knew what was up, and had a comprehensive appreciation for his craft and the desire to reach the jouneyman level of the likes of Grady Martin, Jimmy Bryant, etc. I'm sure he was soaking up as much as he could, and he had good instincts and tastes. There's also no doubt that he was far from reaching his full potential, and I think that people like Gil Evans and Miles Davis could have developed him more. He walked the path of both the artist and the professional--a hard balance to achieve.

My previous post was spoken in anger. The subject is very touchy with me but I should have counted to 10 before I submitted and it would have read as follows.
The national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people. Somehow I don’t think Jimi nor the crowd struck that chord.
The thing that deeply offended me at the time was the irreverence of the crowd during the National Anthem which I blamed directly to the way it was presented.
My favorite rock band is Primus
My favorite Rock solo artist is Frank Zappa
My favorite rock artist in concert, Prince.
I like almost every thing by Jimi Hendrix, who I place in a category all by himself.
I would have been honored to carry the cases of the above listed guitarists worthy or not.
As for my website my son Stuart does a very good job on my site. I have no input on what is listed there so I have no idea about why any one would think I was trying to imitate Jimi Hendrix. I just now went to my site and listened to the clip. Gez lighten up It’s a blues song for gash sakes played at a country venue. Who there would care who played it or how and lest of all who wrote it.
I’m a side man and a theory player and I just play behind the singer whatever genre the song requires or will tolerate. I couldn’t play a good imitation of Jimi or Buddy on the PSG but that is not what I get paid to do. My job is to fill up behind the singer who is the most important part of band and then shut up and stay out of the way.
Let me tell you I stay pretty busy now and played for a living for a lot of years and that’s good enough for me and not too bad for an IRREGULAR GUITAR PICKIN REDNECK HILLBILLY WITH HIS HEAD STUCK WHERE THERE IS NO FRESH AIR AND NOT WORHTY TO CARRY JIMI’S GUITAR CASE.

Cliff Kane wrote:Concerning the Stratocaster:
I have heard that as young man Hendrix studied Buddy Guy and Buddy Guy had a big influence on Hendrix's playing and showmanship. I believe that Buddy Guy was playing a Strat back in the early '60s (as he still does), and perhaps it was Buddy Guy's use of the Strat that influenced Hendrix to go with the Strat.

Years ago, there was a Buddy Guy interview in Guitar Player where he talked about his son who had taken up guitar. Apparently, Buddy's son wanted to play rock and wanted nothing top do with old people's music(blues) and idolized Hendrix's playing. One day the son was reading an article about Jimi where Hendrix was quoted as saying that Buddy Guy was a big influence on his playing. All of a sudden, Buddy's son wanted to know everything about his dad's playing.

No point to this post just a little mindless trivia.

i was under the impression that the Strat had been used on the chitlin' circuit by the likes of Ike Turner & Curtis Mayfield
having seen them both live & jimi quite a few times, i was struck by the similitude in that lazy style of the left hand in makin' chords & thumb over the top of the neck
we do know that Jimi was also influenced by albert king & elmore james....

I dare say Bobbe and his generation are lovable pre-rock dinosaurs and proud of it. Having said that, my Pa brought home everything from Hendrix to Doc Watson albums. Whatever. We like what we like ad libitum. I'm waiting for Lemmy's version of God Bless America.

Hey Bo,
You wrote:

"The national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people. Somehow I don’t think Jimi nor the crowd struck that chord.
The thing that deeply offended me at the time was the irreverence of the crowd during the National Anthem which I blamed directly to the way it was presented."

When asked about his performance of the SSB at Woodstock by Dick Cavett, Jimi said, "I think if was beautiful." I agree, you don't have to. But to blame Jimi for the actions of a very limited portion of a crowd caught on tape, irreverent or not, which I say not, is ludicrous!

Part of the history you speak of above is that at least 58,202 young men and women died in Vietnam, most of which were from those young peoples generation. To me the “stench” was from all the dead bodies. And that doesn’t count the wounded or the ones that came home having nightmares and such…and were spit on if they did make it home! Click over to this legitimate site if you want some stats...
http://www.rjsmith.com/kia_tbl.html


I saw absolutely no irreverence in the crowd. I would bet that off camera there were many hands over many hearts, and some of the young men who made it back from the war saluting. Many from their generation died for your and my freedom and our governments interests! I believe they should have earned our respect, in the same way I believe the crowd and Jimi respected our National Anthem! IMHO

Finally, I hope we can agree to disagree. In your profile you say, “I love everything”. I too love everything and everybody…country music, my strat, my steel and most genres of any music. Our lives seem to parallel in many ways. I too have played music for 43 years now, over 35 professionally. Therefore, that being said I also love you, Bo Legg!

Have and wonderful day,
Rick

Rick Sharp

Part of the history you speak of above is that at least 58,202 young men and women died in Vietnam, most of which were from those young peoples generation. To me the “stench” was from all the dead bodies. And that doesn’t count the wounded or the ones that came home having nightmares and such…and were spit on if they did make it home!

I have friends and relatives within that number and that is precisely why I was offended by the way the National Anthem was presented and received. This is purely a judgment on my part and I could be wrong since I have no way of knowing Jimi’s intent.

When asked about his performance of the SSB at Woodstock by Dick Cavett, Jimi said, "I think if was beautiful."
Rick Sharp

Bo, I only thought I was funny! You slam Jimi in your post and then post your website where one can listen to you "play" one of his songs.LMAO!! "Making in sound like a guitar" Hahahaha...I wonder what the "G" stands for in PSG? I've heard a lot of "regular" guitars, but I'm afraid your's sounds a little irregular

"I think it was beautiful"

LMAO!!! Bo, you're a card...but you can be dealt with!!

Dave Mudgett wrote:In actual point of fact, Fender considered dropping the Strat around 1967. Sales were at an all-time low - if you don't believe me, try to find an original 1967 Strat - they are quite rare and the prices even more exorbitantly high than comparable pieces in adjacent years in either direction. This is also documented a lot of places.

Nope. Sorry. I can't buy that. The Strat always outsold the Jaguar and Jazzmaster, and they never considered dropping them. What you read was a wive's tale started by collectors and dealers. To prove my case, here's the values (from the 2008 Vintage Guitar Price Guide). Judge for yourself how "rare" the '67s are, and how "expensive" they are, compared to other Strats (values are for common colors)...

'65.....$20,000
'66.....$17,000
'67.....$16,000
'68.....$15,000
'69.....$14,000

No one's saying that Hendrix didn't help the model's sales, but the myths that he "saved" the guitar from extinction, or caused a tremendous jump in sales, are obviously just that, myths.

Don't believe everything you read in the price guide. When I see '67 Strats in the flesh, they command a serious premium due to their relative rarity.

Actually, during the surf craze daze, jazzmasters and jaguars were very popular indeed. They were intended to be the top of the line. Nobody really knows whether or not the Strat would have gone down without Jimi, but it is a sure thing that its popularity was waning by '67 or so. Seriously - how do you think this would have gone if Jimi had picked up a Jazzmaster instead?

Strangely - a Jimi-looking '68 or '69 Strat commands insanely high prices these days, in spite of the fact that they are not particularly rare and the clear separation from the vaunted pre-CBS versions.