Author Archives: sixstrstories
“Are You Awake?”
First things first: Happy New Year!!! Every December since 2011 I’ve put together a personal “Best of…” playlist that I call Discoveries & Resurrections. The list draws from all of the music I’ve read about, written about, discovered, listened to, heard … Continue reading
A Christmas Jazz Piano Sparkler: “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” by Dave McKenna
I know. My Sparklers category is supposed to feature: “Recordings of outstanding performances by noteworthy guitarists – or outstanding guitarists giving noteworthy performances.” Oh, well! Not today. Dave McKenna’s Christmas Ivory is very high on my list of all-time-favorite Christmas music … Continue reading
‘Tis The Season…
…to reflect and share. One day a couple of months ago, quite out of the blue, I started singing part of an old song of mine called “Pavement Ends.” I located the complete lyrics of the song, undated, on page … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: Merle Travis
I first learned about Merle Travis in the September 1976 issue of Guitar Player magazine. GP editor Jim Crockett began his introduction to Bob Baxter’s cover-story article/interview with Mr. Travis with this statement: “Countless guitarists, particularly in the country music … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: November 23, 1936, The Gunter Hotel, Rm.414, San Antonio, Texas – Take 2
They had travelled from Mississippi to Texas, the young black man with a guitar and the older, white business man. Years later, people along their route would still remember this unusual sight. The business man was Ernie Oertle, a talent scout … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: Wanda Jackson
Wanda Jackson – the singer, guitarist & songwriter who became known as the “Queen of Rockabilly” – was born in Maud, Oklahoma on this day, October 20, in 1937. In 1956, 19-year-old Wanda signed with Capitol Records and soon saw … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: Chuck Berry
This songbook has been in my music library for many years. Fred Sokolow’s excellent note-for-note transcriptions of 17 Chuck Berry classics have repeatedly proven themselves to be invaluable to me as a guitarist and as a teacher. The Michael Ochs Archives … Continue reading
The Beginning
The first time I gave a guitar lesson was on Monday, October 13, 1975. My student’s name was Catherine. She was 13 years old. Catherine’s Mom was a classroom teacher at the elementary school where I was the brand new, … Continue reading
One Thing Leads To Another
That’s me. I’m standing in the middle of Jones Street, just off of West 4th Street, in Greenwich Village, the borough of Manhattan, in the city of New York. The picture was taken by my son on a magical Saturday … Continue reading
