The Steel Guitar Forum

Having a lot of time on my hands during my recuperation from a heart bypass I find myself reflecting a lot on my mis-spent youth.
During the early 1980's I was on the road a lot in Arizona and New Mexico. There were some really good players on the road at that time like Chuck Back and Neil Harry, but one guy that I remember the most was Donny Buzzard. This guy was a monster steel guitar player.
I ran into Don a few times out on the road, and every time I heard him his playing just knocked me out.
I was playing a club gig in Tucson in '87 or '88 when I heard that he had died.
Does anyone know if Don recorded much, and if so who he might have recorded with? I would really enjoy listening to some examples of his playing.

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Gary Jones, KLVX-TV
Fessenden S/D-12U
Bunch of cheap guitars
Big ol' pile of half-rebuilt amplifiers

Gary, it's funny you mention Don Buzzard. I was about to say something in the "who inspired you" thread. I only heard him once during one of my late 60's hippy fog moments, and I've never been the same since. I would absolutely love to hear anything recorded by him, just to see if the legendary image of him I've created in my mind over the years still holds up. I have a feeling it probably will.

Howdy... If you look in search under Donny Buzzard. and Chris Bauers... Where are they.. Theres is quite a bit of info about Donny. Lee

I once heard a tape of Donnie while i was in Indy. a bass player who knew him had it.this was in the early 70s.i meet his x-wife Linda in Reno when she was playing steel for Helen Long and the Long Shots.I was working with Dottie West at the time.that was my first gig with her. Donnie was a monster player.to me he had the depth of Chalker and could play the coolest melodys within any sustaining chord .he was great.to bad he's gone as many good players are now.

about 1974 Donnie came to my shop with friends on on another matter, he had a guitar he was working on we spent a lot of time working on that guitar it was a12U 10 pedals 6 knees Donnie and i became good friends Frank Turner

I remember being at the Baton Rouge State Fair in about 1974-75?sitting on a big road case next to my friend,and mentor Jimmy Day waiting for our chance to play... Jimmy with Willie,and myself with the late B.W.Stevenson.We were watching Gatemouth Brown with Don Buzzard on steel,he had some 14 string monster...can't remeber the brand,I remember Jimmy telling me that he had never heard anything like Don,and the two of us were blown away with Don's playing,we got to meet him,nice guy.

I met Don Buzzard in a club north of Minneapolis in the early 70s. He was playing a D-10 Domland PSG at the time.
The next time I met Don was at the ISGC in St. Louis, perhaps in the late 70s or early 80s. At this time he played a D-13 BMI PSG.

Donnie and Linda came to Scottys Music while I was working there - it was the late '70's or early '80's I reckon.

They were trying to promote a 'corrected' fretboard that which Donnie had designed that would 'over-ride' the parallax phenom'.

A highly gifted player, a lot of what he played made me think of Julian Tharpe influence.

Lately, I recall seeing a CD of Donnie Buzzard in Scottys office - not sure if Scotty is handling it (for sale) but, might be worth a finding out.

~Russ

My grandpa on my mom's side was named William Buzzard. He died in 1964. I wonder if there was a connection?

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Steve Stallings
The Songs

I met Donny a few times around Denver, and saw him with Gate a couple of times. Not too many recordings on him, though he did record on an Andy Gibb record. I also played steel on the Stallion record listed here. His www.allmusic.com lists:

1975 Listen Now Black Jack Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Pedal Steel

1975 Down South in the Bayou County Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Guitar (Steel)

1977 Flowing Rivers Andy Gibb Guitar (Steel)

1977 Stallion Stallion Guitar (Steel)

very cool player...

Frank Turner: Would that have been with Bob "Colonel" Patterson at your shop? We may have met...

Rick Schmidt: Would that have been in Central City? If you make it to Mesa in January, perhaps we can copy some of the tapes I have.

Steve Stallings: Donny's last name only had 1 z > Buzard

Donny was a very close friend to me and all my family. We have hours of tape, mostly reel to reel, that we need to get on CD one day soon.

There was a video (VHS) of Gatemouth Brown with Don on the band made in the late '70's.
It is called 'Gatemouth Brown and Gate's Express', filmed at the Kingfish Lounge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

I had it on loan from the St. Louis Library in the '90's.
Their online catalog no longer lists it, but there are several other libraries that still have it.

It's not listed as being available (re-issued) on DVD on anywhere via Google, so borrowing the VHS from your local public library thru WorldCat (the public library network) may be the only way to see it.

~Russ

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Russ Wever on 14 September 2006 at 03:19 PM.]</p></FONT>