Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection XIV

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

La Brea

Year:

1990

Notes:

Natural, Acoustic

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Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection XIII

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

Lead II, Black

Year:

1981

Notes:

Maple Neck, Single Humbucker, Volume, Tone

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection XII

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

Telecaster Deluxe

Year:

1976

Notes:

Mocha Brown

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection XI

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

25th Anniversary Stratocaster

Year:

1979

Notes:

Maple Neck, 3 Single Coil Pickups, 5-Way Selector, Volume, Tone

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection X

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

Music Master

Year:

1978

Notes:

2 Single Coil Pickups, Volume, Tone, 3-Way Selector, Rosewood Fretboard

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection IX

Specs

Make:

Coral

Model:

3S19 Electric Sitar

Year:

1968

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Instrument Description

Donal Gallagher:

Rory had written the track ‘Philby’ about the Cold War and was keen to have some mysterious Eastern flavour on the track. The answer lay in having the sitar guitar to get a kind of balalaika effect, but Coral had only made 50 of these guitars and we only knew where 5 of them were.

Fortunately Pete Townsend had one so we rented it from him for the sessions, which Rory loved. After the recordings we were due to go on tour and Rory was faced with the problem of duplicating the sound in a live setting. Of course Pete was happy to hire us the same one but it would have been very expensive considering how long Rorys tours were. As it turned out I was in the US for a few days and I picked up a flyer for a guitar trading company in New Jersey. The had a Coral on sale for $1500, which worked out much cheaper than hiring one for a whole tour.

I came back on a flight with Cliff Richard and his band and when it came to customs I tried to walk through as one his session guitar players, but a customs officer stopped me. I acted coy and explained that it was my brothers guitar and was old and not worth much but he pulled out the same flyer I had seen in New York from his catalogue book and said its $1500! That taught me a good lesson.

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection VIII

Specs

Make:

National

Model:

Triolian Resonator

Year:

1932

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection VII

Specs

Make:

Martin

Model:

D35 Acoustic

Year:

1968

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection VI

Specs

Make:

Gretsch

Model:

Corvette

Year:

1963

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Instrument Description

Donal Gallagher;

While on a guitar shopping therapy session in downtown LA, we went into a store called Guitar Village, after a few minutes of the other customers blasting the same guitar riff over and over through mega amps, my head caved in and I told Rory I was going outside to feed the parking meter. Inadvertently, I had parked in front of a pawn-shop so, as an excuse to stay out of the ‘cacophony canyon’, I entered the shop to inquire about the Gretsch guitar wedged into their window.

“That’ll set you back $75” the keeper told me from behind his cell like grill, “You wanna look?” “Not sure I can afford it anyway” I haggled, with no intention of buying it but to waste time. “What you wanna spend?” “Around $50” I replied. Unknowingly I left the shop with a rare Gretsch ‘Corvette’ and put it in the car.

“No luck” Rory said when he finally returned to the car. “I picked something up, but if its no good the case will come in handy” I said and showed Rory what I had bought. “You’re kidding, how much?” he asked “$50” I said meekly “Quick let’s get out of here before they find out what they gave you and want it back” Rory said with glee.

The guitar would become a Rory favourite and would travel in Guitar Trunk 1 thereafter.

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection V

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

Stratocaster, Sunburst

Year:

1958

Notes:

Maple Neck

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection IV

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

Esquire

Year:

1959

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOK

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection III

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Instrument Description

Specs

Make:

Fender

Model:

Telecaster, White

Year:

1966

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Donal Gallagher:

“Rory loved this Telecaster, he played it on many songs mainly for his slide playing, on tracks like ‘Sinnerboy’ or ‘Who’s That Coming’ from Irish Tour. One time we were waiting to board a flight while on tour in the U.S. and we looked out the window as the luggage loading vans were driving towards our plane. Suddenly a guitar case fell off the first trolley, and the second van didn’t bother to swerve out of the way it just drove straight over the guitar case, we couldn’t believe it. The ’67 Tele was in the case and the top of the body of the guitar was badly scuffed and chipped. We gave to Chris Eccleshall to fix, who did a lot of work for Rory, maintaining his guitars and amps. Chris thought, as a kind, patriotic gesture for Rory, he would re-finish the guitar emerald green. Though this did not go down too well with Rory who, as you can tell by his ’61 Strat, was not keen on re-finishing the paintwork on his guitars. Thankfully we got it back to a natural cream white colour!”

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection II

Make:

Fender

Model:

Stratocaster

Year:

1961

Notes:

Originally Sunburst (See Instrument Description for Details)

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Instrument Description

Rory Gallagher on his 1961 Strat:

“Early on, I got the Stratocaster - in fact it was the first one I ever saw. It’s supposed to have been the first Strat brought into Ireland. The guy who had it before me was in a show band and he ordered a red one. They actually sent a sunburst so he decided to wait for a red one to arrive, and I had the sunburst - it was luxury! It was easy to play from the start and I’ve kept it ever since - in fact it’s getting better!

I’ve had to take the neck off occasionally and dry it out – it was getting damp with doing so many gigs and I started to have tuning problems. The pots have gone and the pick-ups have been rewound and things like that. The tremolo arm is broken - but other than that it’s still in one piece!

It’s a ‘61 model and it has a very flat kind of neck. Although they were making the bodies out of Alder and Ash, somebody said mine is actually Maple - which is really a one off!

It was in good condition when I bought it, but it’s got so battered now it’s got a kind of tattoo quality about it. There’s now a theory that the less paint or varnish on a guitar, acoustic or electric, the better. The wood breathes more. But it’s all psychological. I just like the sound of it. ‘It’s also a good luck thing. It was stolen one time and it came back It’s kind of a lucky charm; the guitar is a part of me. BB King might have several Lucilles, but I’ve only got the one Strat. I don’t even call it a woman’s name. It’s what it is. I still play it every day, I just love playing it.”

Donal recalls when Rory’s Strat was stolen in 1961 from the back of the tour van:

“I remember the incident happening in Dublin. Just the sheer horror of it! What made it doubly bad is that a friend of Rory’s in York lent Rory his Telecaster® for an upcoming gig in Dublin. To play in Dublin was the next big step for Rory at the time, so he borrowed this Tele so he could play slide. Sadly, they stole the Tele® as well. That whole week felt like someone we knew had been kidnapped. It was that profound! Rory was so depressed. And, as family, you’d take on the depression as well.”

“In Ireland at the time, there was a television show called “Gardia Patrol.” They featured Rory’s stolen guitar. And, since there was only one television channel in Ireland - everyone watched and the item became hot property. The next thing that happened was the cops found that it had been abandoned. We were very grateful. But, at the same time, when they aired the recovery on “Gardia Patrol,” the cop said, “The thief was probably doing the neighbors a favour!” The corny comment made Rory cringe. I remember screaming at the television, “If you only knew how good this guitar player is!” But, Gardia Patrol was instrumental in getting it back to him.”

Features:

The battle-scars of Rory’s Strat were not down to roughshod treatment, but due to his blood group type, extremely rare, that had a very high acidic content. So when Rory sweated on stage - and he sweated buckets -it was like paint stripper.

Rory Gallagher Guitar Collection I

Specs

Make:

Unknown

Model:

Flat Top Acoustic

Year:

1958

Notes:

Rory's first guitar

PHOTO BY SHU TOMIOKA

Sony Music in association with Capo Records and Legacy re-issue of Rory Gallagher- Notes From San Francisco - Review

This is one that you don't want to miss! This is a lost Rory Gallagher album from 1978. After some internal distress after the end of his 1977 tour Gallagher shelved this album which he was recording at the time and broke up the band. Disc one is made up of 12 songs kicked off by Rue The Day which shows Gallagher's intensity was still up from the tour. Mississippi Sheiks highlights Gallagher's great guitar tone an presence on his soloing. Wheels Within Wheels is a much calmer Gallagher than I'm used to with a guitar playing in more of an ethereal manner. Overnight Bag is a great blues tune of course with strong guitars. You can actually hear Gallagher's inspiration for Brian May on this tune. Cruise On Out is uptempo and a real ripper! Fuel To The Fire is a modern style blues with a great guitar interlude. Cut A Dash is a great rock tune with great guitar and drums throughout. Out On The Tiles is a hard driven track almost literally paving the way for Stevie Ray Vaughn!

The second disk was recorded live in San Francisco in 1979 with Gerry McAvoy on Bass and Ted McKenna, a band he had after seeing the Sex Pistols. The influence is definitely apparent. Gallagher is always at his best when recorded live and this is no exception. This recording really kicks butt. it starts off with Follow Me and Shinkicker. Both tracks definitely present a more driven raw attach of the great master. He doesn't completely abandon his roots and Off The Handle is a more traditional blues. These tracks show a definite change in deliver from earlier recordings and a must have for Gallagher enthusiasts. Even traditional Gallagher tracks Calling Dard, Tattoo'd Lady have new perspective and Bullfrog Blues is absolutely on fire!! Gallagher concludes the release with Sea Cruise which is a slide guitar enthusiasts dream. If you haven't had the chance...don't wait!
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Carolina Chocolate Drops mentor, Joe Thompson, passes away

Carolina Chocolate Drops mentor, Joe Thompson, passes away Music Maker was sad to learn yesterday of the passing of Joe Thompson of Mebane, N.C. In recent years the revered African-American fiddler mentored the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, who in their early days as a group spent time playing with him at his home and various festivals. Said Dom Flemons, "Joe Thompson changed my life. When I first met him in 2005, I had no idea that I would be so heavily involved in making music with him and then making a group that has helped get his name out there further than he might have by himself. One thing for sure is that from my end it has been a constantly humbling journey to be able to have said I worked with him and that my music has forever been affected by his guidance and willingness to share his music with me. He opened up the idea of the "American Songster" to me at a time when I was only searching for the way to express it in the dark. And he only did this by playing and singing a song. I am eternally grateful to you, Joe Thompson. May the man have a solid place for you up yonder because you've more than earned it." Read the article by David Menconi about Joe Thompson here. Listen: Joe Thompson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops - Going down the road feeling bad Ironing Board Sam heats up North Dakota! Ironing Board Sam will play the North Dakota Museum of Art (NDMOA) the evening of February 25th, and will play a "blues brunch" the next day as well! NDMOA is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and was founded in the mid-1970's. They present contemporary, international art as well as the visual history of the region, and have begun assembling a collection of contemporary Native American art as well. Check out this article in the Grand Forks Herald about Ironing Board Sam's show - note though that while Big Ron will be performing at NDMOA in April, the article is incorrect in mentioning Ron will join Sam at his February shows. If you're in the area and want more details, click here! Drink Small plays Jazz Foundation's "Howlin' for Hubert" Drink Small will play at the Alhambra Ballroom in NYC as part of the Jazz Foundation's fundraising event "Howlin' for Hubert" on February 24th. The event, which will start at the Apollo Theater, has an all-star lineup from Eric Clapton to Kenny Wayne Shepherd. The fundraiser is a celebration of the musical legacy of the late Hubert Sumlin and his influence on every guitar hero of today - and will benefit the Jazz Foundation's mission to assist musicians in need. Diggin': Joe Thompson and the CCDs' "Going down the road feeling bad" We thought this week's Diggin' should showcase a track from the album Carolina Chocolate Drops with Joe Thompson. Joe takes the lead on the vocals in "Going down the road feeling bad," and you can just hear the fun they were all having playing this in front of a live audience. Joe's legacy will live on in artists such as the Chocolate Drops. As Rhiannon said, "How I wish I had known about Joe Thompson earlier, but I'll take what I can get! I feel incredibly blessed and fortunate to have been able to get the time I got with Joe. He was a great man, and so patient with us. He also had a fabulous group of supporters around him that is a testament to the kind of man he was. His was a voice that will never come again, but I'm sure glad he stuck around long as he could to share it with the world. My playing and outlook on the musical world changed forever when I met Joe, and I thank God for him." We hope you enjoy this week's Diggin' in memory of Joe. -- Corinne Photo of the Week Ironing Board Sam by Jimmy Williams Quick Links: Website Merch Music

Upcoming Shows: Click here for more info on upcoming events 2/21 - Ironing Board Sam - SOOTS Fat Tuesday Film & Music Festival 2/24 - Big Ron Hunter - The Eddy Pub, Saxapahaw, N.C. 2/24 - Drink Small - Howlin' for Hubert, NYC 2/25 & 2/26 - Ironing Board Sam - North Dakota Museum of Art 3/03 - Ironing Board Sam - Armed Forces Retirees Club, Greensboro, N.C. 3/09 - Pura Fé, Deer Clan Singers - UNC Pembroke 3/10 - Shelton Powe - St. Anne's Chapel & Event Center, Tarboro, N.C. 3/23 - Leyla McCalla - The ArtsCenter, Carrboro, N.C. 3/29 - Ironing Board Sam - Art with a Heart, Washington D.C. 4/13 - SOOTS 6th Annual Blues Review featuring John Dee Holeman, Tad Walters, & Justin Robinson & the Mary Annettes 4/14 - Big Ron Hunter - North Dakota Museum of Art 4/27 - Guitar Lightnin' Lee, Leyla McCalla - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 4/28 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 4/29 - Ironing Board Sam - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. helps the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs. We present these musical traditions to the world so American culture will flourish and be preserved for future generations.

Every Saturday Night - Young's Creole Jazz Band

Bernie Young - cornet
Preston Jackson - trombone
Philmore Holly - clarinet
Lil Hardaway - piano
Mike McKendrick - banjo
Eddie Temple - drums

A Mike McKendrick by any other name would probably have been helpful, at least to discographers. This musical dynasty of the Chicago jazz scene, consisting of multi-instrumentalist father Gilbert McKendrick, Sr. and his five sons, took one of the strangest approaches to recording credits in the history of any style of music. Perhaps to nullify any sense of competition amongst the brothers, all of them were identified as Mike McKendrick whenever they were documented for posterity at recording sessions. Hard to believe as it is, these credits were not just pulled out of a hat -- all five brothers were given the same nickname, Mike, so all five had legitimate claim on the name, a right to be a Mike, so to speak.

The average discographer would have the perfect right to go hide in the attic or basement, wherever the record collection is not kept, when faced with such a situation. Nonetheless, the real problem involves the Mikes who played the same set of instruments, that being a combination of banjo, guitar, and sometimes dobro. While the other McKendrick brothers fancied violin, piano, and trombone, the pair of pickers needed to become further identified as "Big" Mike McKendrick and "Little" Mike McKendrick. The difference had to do with age rather than size, the former McKendrick having been born only two years before his little brother. In terms of actual bulk, the men apparently weighed pretty much the same, but the question of contrasting sizes can also be applied to their respective discographies, providing someone has the courage to enter this

Mike-crocosmos and sort it out.

"Big" Mike McKendrick's relationship with the great Louis Armstrong -- he was among the Satchmo sidemen who were also given the responsibility of managing the Armstrong band itself -- is responsible for a pile of sides large enough for several people named Mike to hide behind, big or little. This McKendrick's professional career began in the '20s with groups such as Edgar Hayes' Eight Black Pirates. Through the late '20s McKendrick performed with Bernie Young, Tiny Parham, and Dave Peyton. The following decade began with him working with an orchestra under the direction of Jerome Carrington, but he quickly became involved with Armstrong as well as leading a combo of his own.

Other collaborators in the '30s included drummer Zutty Singleton and violinist and bandleader Erskine Tate. McKendrick also had a successful duo with partner Ikey Robinson, who also played banjo and guitar as well as piano. In the '50s and '60s McKendrick was involved in both jazz and blues on the busy Chicago scene, dropping in and out of Franz Jackson's trad jazz band and performing and recording with Little Brother Montgomery respectively. He was also in the house band at the Jazz Limited venue until health problems developed in the mid-'60s. His other musical siblings were Richard McKendrick, Daniel McKendrick, and James McKendrick, at least when they weren't calling themselves Mike. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi
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Saint Louis Blues - Papa John Creach

John Henry Creach was born in Beaver Falls, Pa., on May 28, 1917 into a family of five brothers and four sisters. Members of his musical family played piano, guitar, bass, and drums. His uncle, a merchant seaman, on a visit to Beaver Falls, brought a violin he purchased in Europe. After hearing his uncle play hymns, John was enamored with the violin. His uncle gave him the violin and taught him the basics. John was soon able to play with his sister accompanying him on piano.
During the 1930's, John Creach formed the cabaret band Chocolate Music Bars that played jazz, blues and popular music. They toured the United States and Canada. Later Creach played with Roy Milton's six piece band in Memphis. In 1943 Creach purchased a National electrified violin and amp allowing him to be heard in larger bands. Creach moved to Los Angeles in 1945. For the next 20 years he performed in cocktail lounges in California. He studied and played classical music by day at a symphony workshops. At night he played Jazz. In 1950 he joined Teddy Rudolph's band Three Bits of Rhythm and appeared with them in the nightclub scene of the movie "Cry Danger" starring Dick Powell and Rhonda Fleming.
The Jefferson Airplane invited Creach to make a guest appearance with the them at Winterland in October 1970. Impressed by the audience’s reaction to Creach’s playing, the made him a permanent member of the Jefferson Airplane and Paul Kanter’s side band Hot Tuna. The Airplane members nick named him Papa John.
He toured with the Jefferson Starship in 1992 through 1994. Despite suffering from by arthritis he brought audiences to their feet with soulful electric violin riffs. In January of 1994 he suffered a heart attack during Northridge earthquake and died from pneumonia in February of 1994 at age 76.
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Is It Because I Am Black - Syl Johnson

Syl Johnson (born July 1, 1936) is an American blues and soul singer and record producer.
Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States, he migrated with his family to Chicago in 1950; blues guitarist Magic Sam was his next-door neighbor. Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed for Vee-Jay in 1959. He made his solo debut that same year with Federal, a subsidiary of King Records of Cincinnati, backed by Freddie King on guitar.

He then began recording for Twinight Records of Chicago in the mid 1960s. Beginning with his first hit, "Come On Sock It to Me" in 1967, Johnson dominated the label as both a hitmaker and producer. His song "Different Strokes", also from 1967, featured on the Ultimate Breaks and Beats breakbeat compilation.

Like other black songwriters of the period, several of his records at this time explored themes of African-American identity and social problems in songs including "Is It Because I'm Black", which reached Number 11 in the US Billboard R&B chart in 1969.

In 1971, Willie Mitchell brought Johnson to Hi Records, the two recording three albums which spawned a number of singles. Produced in Memphis with the Hi house band, these yielded the hits "We Did It", "Back for a Taste of Your Love" and "Take Me to the River", his biggest success, reaching Number 7 on the R&B chart in 1975. However, at Hi Records, Johnson was always to some extent in Al Green's shadow commercially, if not artistically. Mitchell also chose to use mainly in-house material rather than Johnson originals.

After the Hi years ended, Johnson produced two LPs for his own Shama label, the latter of which (Ms. Fine Brown Frame, 1982) was picked up for distribution by Boardwalk Records and produced Johnson's last hit record, the title cut.

Around the mid-1980s, Johnson started a fast-food fish restaurant business, and became semi-retired from performing, only making occasional appearances at blues club gigs.

In 1992, Johnson found out that his song "Different Strokes" had been sampled by number of rappers including Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Kool G Rap, Hammer, and the Geto Boys. Stimulated by this fact, he decided to make a comeback in the music industry. In 1994, he released the album Back in the Game on Delmark Records. The album featured the Hi rhythm section and his youngest daughter Syleena Johnson.

Blues guitarist and singer Jimmy Johnson, and bassist Mack Thompson are his brothers.
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One Hand Man's Band - Free Download!!

One Hand Man's Band has offered this cool download for free. I know I've got my copy!! Help yourself!!

I've looked a bit but can only find that this is from Madrid. One Hand. If you see this...send me a bio please! Thanks Bman


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One Hand Man's Band (La Boca del Lobo, Madrid, 13/06/2010) from Gon on Vimeo.