Cool Guitar Story Video

[Marshall]

Over on AGF's Amplification Forum there's discussion about a new LR Baggs pickup; The Hi-Fi. And Baggs just posted this video with Gordon Kennedy about his dad's old 1950 Martin guitar. The whole video is such a lovely story. Gordon Kennedy has been a guitar idol of mine for decades. I actually met him once. There was a touring show in Rockford IL, that was billed as Rocket Town Records Grammy artists with Wayne Kirkpatrick, Gordon Kennedy, & Phil Madiera. It was in a church. Wayne and Gordon were my idols (still). I got there early and even thought of sneaking downstairs in the church to see if I could meet them. But didn't. As it turned out, after the show they went and stood by the door and talked to whomever was interested. I shook both Wayne and Gordon's hands and said how much I enjoyed their music.

Fast forward to today; there's this video about Gordon's dad's guitar. And I learned more about Gordon. Very touching (but long) story about the guitar. And at the end he plays it with the new LR Baggs pickup.

[Shannon]

Those 3 guys are all killer players. Wish I could have seen them.

And no, I'm not tempted to try the Baggs Hi-Fi. At least not yet.

[millring]

Maybe the best guitar story I've ever heard.

"How did my mother do this for me?"

His story was even longer than mine. But it's better.

[Shannon]

It occurs to me that most of us who play a guitar owe a debt to someone who went to some trouble to put that first guitar in our hands.

I got my first guitar at age 10; my parents found it in a salvage store and took it to the local mom-and-pop instrument seller to get it cleaned up and strung. I think they paid $10 plus whatever the strings cost. It wasn't much of a guitar, but I didn't know that then, and I slaved away until I had learned a little something. The guitar got away from me years ago, passed on to someone else who wanted to learn to play. I hope they did.

That's a great story, Marshall. Thanks for posting it.

[millring]

It's a great story...but one little thing keeps eating at me. I wonder if or what they paid the family to get the guitar back?

[billhammond]

May 25, 2023 15:50:08 GMT -5 Shannon said:

It occurs to me that most of us who play a guitar owe a debt to someone who went to some trouble to put that first guitar in our hands.

I got my first guitar at age 10; my parents found it in a salvage store and took it to the local mom-and-pop instrument seller to get it cleaned up and strung. I think they paid $10 plus whatever the strings cost. It wasn't much of a guitar, but I didn't know that then, and I slaved away until I had learned a little something. The guitar got away from me years ago, passed on to someone else who wanted to learn to play. I hope they did.

My maternal grandpa had a ratty Gibson L-something parlor-size guitar with "The Gibson" on the headstock, and it was black and beautiful to look at, but just horribly fragile, impossible to keep in tune, etc. He let me borrow it, though, as he only played it once or twice a year at family gatherings ("Red River Valley" being his go-to song) and I got a chord chart and started learning what I could on my own. I had part-time jobs since age 14 and eventually saved up enough $$$ to order a Silvertone acoustic from Sears that was a dreadnaught, as I recall, and was finished in a hideous greenish sunburst, but it was built like a tank and played pretty well. We had a family friend who owned a music store, and he sold me strings and occasional tuneups and eventually I bought a used classical from him and took a few lessons at that store, but the teacher wanted me to learn notation and I was in too much of a hurry for that.

The only time I recall my parents helping me with a guitar purchase was in the late '70s when I had the opportunity to buy a Guild F-50R at a good price from a guy who worked in a Milwaukee music store, and I only had about half of his asking price. They fronted me the other half, and I paid off their loan within a year, as I recall.

[Marshall]

OOOOOhhh Hideous Green Sunburst ! My favorite.



My dad did buy me that 1957 Les Paul Gold Top in 1961 when I was 12. I played it into HS, but switched in jr year to an acoustic, Gibson 12 string, and really was not an electric guy after that.

Conversely when I got serious about music in HS, my parents were afraid I'd try to become a musician and discouraged me getting too serious.

I remember 40 years later I was playing in our church band. My mom came to church and we went out to lunch afterwards. I told her I was playing better now than when I was in HS. She shockingly said, "You're not going to quit your job and be a musician, are you?"

[billhammond]

May 25, 2023 17:32:58 GMT -5 Marshall said:

OOOOOhhh Hideous Green Sunburst ! My favorite.

Well, green-ISH. I think this was the model, a 633:

[TKennedy]

That’s a great story. Thanks Marshall.