Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American lead guitarist, co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band, and respected session musician. He is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in that band, expressive slide guitar playing, and formidable improvisational skills.
A sought-after session musician both before and during his tenure with the band, Allman performed with such established stars as King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Herbie Mann.
His contributions to the 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos went on to become a part of Rock history.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Allman at #2 in their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, second only to Jimi Hendrix.
His tone (achieved with a Gibson Les Paul and a 50-watt Marshall amplifier) was named one of the greatest guitar tones of all time by Guitar Player.
On August 26, 1990, a sold out concert of 30,000 at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, featured an encore jam with Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan and Robert Cray.
On August 27, shortly before 1 a.m., a helicopter carrying Vaughan en route to Chicago, Illinois crashed within seconds after takeoff.
Stevie Ray Vaughan died on August 27, 1990.
Four days later, funeral services were held at Laurel Land Memorial Park in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, with over 1,500 people attending and 3,000 more outside the chapel. Brother Jimmie, mother Martha, and girlfriend Janna were in attendance. Among the mourners were Stevie Wonder, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, ZZ Top, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Nile Rodgers.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was not yet a star when his wife, Lenora “Lenny” Vaughan, gave him a worn 1965 Stratocaster® guitar on his 26th birthday, October 3, 1980.
Vaughan first spotted the guitar in a pawnshop about a year after he and Lenora were married.
It was originally a three-color sunburst model, it had been refurnished at some point, and now it had a dark natural finish and an elaborate design behind the bridge. At $350, he couldn’t afford it. Lenora, however, enlisted seven friends with $50 each, and bought the guitar for her husband for his birthday. That very night, as Lenora slept, Vaughan wrote a beautiful song for her, “Lenny.”
Years after Stevie Ray Vaughan’s tragic death in 1990, and at older brother Jimmie Vaughan’s behest, Lenny became the only guitar from his estate to be made available to the public.
At a historic June 24, 2004, Christie’s auction in New York, Lenny sold for $623,500.
“I love the directness and honesty of the blues,” says guitarist Derek Trucks. “There’s a complete lack of pretension in the blues that just hit me when I was learning to play. I think an education in the blues should be required for any musician who wants to play any form of rock and roll or any American style of music. The blues is the foundation for all of those styles of music.” -Derek Trucks
To read the entire Guitar Center interview, CLICK HERE.
I have been a Ronnie Earl fan for a long, long time.
I had the opportunity to meet him personally and hang out backstage before a concert a few years ago. He is a gracious man who understands the value of giving to others.
Ronnie Earl at The Narrows
For those who do not know, Ronnie is now in his mid-50s and has been part of the blues music scene for many years.
Deeply inspired by Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker and Otis Rush, he started to play guitar in the 1970′s. He left the first major group he worked with in 1988, and moved on to build a solo career with his own band, The Broadcasters.
Along the way, he went on to tour the world with Santana, sometimes playing for audiences of as many as 40,000 people.
Recent years, however, found his career sidelined by a variety of health problems, which are thankfully, today, under control. When he says he’s feeling fine, he is, thanks, but the idea of touring again is as far from his mind as it can be.
“I did that for more than 25 years,” he says, “and nothing is better than one’s own home and one’s own family and friends. It makes me feel grounded. I have a wonderful wife, I’m close to our church, I live in the country and I want to be in my own home, every day.”
These days Ronnie is healthy, happily married and playing with the Broadcasters in the New England area and if you are fortunate to live in that area you still have a chance to see one of the finest blues guitar players — ever.
Visit Ronnie’s web site and follow his tour schedule by CLICKING HERE.
The video below was posted a few days ago on YouTube (thank you ZigBlues) from a concert Ronnie played last month at The Narrows in Fall River, MA.
On that night, Ronnie invited 16 year old guitarist Julie Melucci to join him on stage for a blues jam she will never forget!
My favorite part of the video comes at 5:30 when Ronnie motions that he is going to step back and let Julie showcase her chops!
By the way, a new recording from the Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters titled: “Spread the Love” is set to be released on August 24th, 2010 by Stoney Plains Records. Stay tuned to TheGuitarBuzz.com for more details and a full review as soon as the CD becomes available.
T-Bone Walker (born Aaron Joseph Walker) was born on this day in 1910.
T-Bone was a blues guitarist and one of the pioneers of the electric guitar. His electric guitar solos were some of the first heard on blues recordings.
Most of T-Bone’s music was recorded from 1946–1948, including “Stormy Monday” which he recorded in 1947. He followed with “T-Bone Shuffle” and “Let Your Hair Down, Baby”, both considered blues classics.
Jimi Hendrix referred to T-Bone as his childhood hero.
T-Bone was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
A very wise man told me last week that “copying” is not “artistry” and I have not been able to get that thought out of my mind.
The context of our conversation was about photography and painting (not guitar playing).
He was making a reference to how he felt about someone who had the ability to look at a photograph of a famous painting and reproduce it on canvas with oil colors. It was a friendly and somewhat spirited discussion that left me thinking:
If I can “copy” Eric Clapton’s guitar licks, does that make me a “guitar artist”?
It’s certainly a debatable thought and one that we surely will not all agree on. There are thousands upon thousands of guitar “copiers” in the world. I am referring to those who have the ability to sound like their personal favorite guitar player as a result of studying, practicing and memorizing their licks.
They obviously have the ability…but does that make them an “artist”?
I am going to take the controversial position that artistry happens when someone creates a new sound, a new song, a new feeling, a new emotion, a new musical vibe or perhaps…in the case of the video below..a new way to play the guitar.
I realize that tapping and lap-style playing have been around for a long, long time but I must admit that I have not seen this level of acoustic mastery and artistry — ever.
Slash is widely considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time. He has received countless accolades and awards including a 2007 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside his idols Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.
“SLASH”, his new self-titled album, is scheduled for release in April and will feature Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmeister, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother.
How’s that for a list of jam buddies to call on!
“The idea was really simple in the beginning,” said Slash. “These are all artists I wanted to work with – that I thought it would be amazing to do something creative and collaborative. And I was so impressed with what everyone brought to the table for the project. They were all so committed to doing a good job. And we had a lot of fun making these songs.” Slash did the bulk of the songwriting and handpicked the guest artist for each track.
“Slash” was produced by Eric Valentine and was completed with the rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) and drummer Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails).
The album will be released through EMI Label Services.
Track Listing:
01. Ghost (with Ian Astbury)
02. Beautiful Dangerous (with Fergie)
03. Nothing To Say (with M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold)
04. Crucify The Dead (with Ozzy Osbourne)
05. Promise (with Chris Cornell)
06. By The Sword (with Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother)
07. Doctor Alibi (with Lemmy Kilmeister)
08. Saint Is A Sinner Too (with Rocco De Luca)
09. Watch This (with Dave Grohl/Duff McKagan)
10. I Hold On (with Kid Rock)
11. Gotten (with Adam Levine)
12. We’re All Gonna Die (with Iggy Pop)
13. Starlight (with Myles Kennedy)
[Click the Arrow to play "Starlight" by Slash with Myles Kennedy"]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The new release is available for pre-order now at Amazon.com and on iTunes.
There’s no way else to say it: The man and his music are explosive.
Joe Bonamassa can make his guitar scream and then weep like none other I have ever heard.
Joe will be playing in Phoenix Friday night and I was lucky enough to score front row seats as well as an invite to a pre-show “meet and greet”. Can you say pumped-up?
I have been following the set lists for Joe’s recent tour stops and (as expected) he is incorporating several songs from the brand new “Black Rock” album that officially releases next week.
I am looking forward to hearing the live rendition of one of my new favorites “Blue and Evil” – a track destined to be a mega-hit.
[Click the Arrow to play the Studio Version of "Blue and Evil"]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
While I love the new stuff, I also hope Joe takes 8 minutes and 31 seconds to treat us to the same wicked version of “Blues Deluxe” that he did in Portland 2 weeks ago.
Check out the blues master himself at work in this VIDEO:
It’s St. Patricks Day and my daughter has already pinched me because I forgot to wear something green. So I promised her I would add something green to TheGuitarBuzz.
Grant Green, "The Complete Quartets" Album Cover
Rather than re-posting a picture of one of the million green guitar photos on the web, I thought it would be more appropriate to honor the late Grant Green, who was a jazz guitarist and composer. The world lost Grant in 1979 when he was only 43.
Grant’s extensive foundation in R&B was combined with a mastery of bebop and simplicity that put expressiveness ahead of technical expertise. He was a superb blues interpreter, and his later material was predominantly blues and R&B, though he was also a wondrous ballad and standards soloist as well.
Recording prolifically and almost exclusively for Blue Note Records, Green performed well in “Soul Jazz” and “Latin Jazz” genres throughout his career.
Critics Michael Erlewine and Ron Wynn wrote that Green was “a severely underrated player during his lifetime and one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar…Green’s playing is immediately recognizable — perhaps more than any other guitarist.”
Critic Dave Hunter described his sound as “loose, slightly bluesy and righteously groovy”.
Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American lead guitarist, co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band, and respected session musician. He is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in that band, expressive slide guitar playing, and formidable improvisational skills.
