This cat has just about reached the pinnacle in the above, with the exception perhaps of touring with the "Professional Well Known Artists". Maybe even some of the other referenced qualities above don't apply to this individual. I really don't know and darn it, he won't tell me all of his escapades. But I have been able to glean some facts from extensive research into his background. Here we go.

This individual first saw the light of day on October 22, 1930 in the southern part of the United States. Eight years later he heard his first Oahu steel guitar in the living room of his parents house. A gentleman was in the neighborhood selling the guitars and lessons to accompany them. An older brother was signed up and a guitar purchased for him. Older brother's attention was a waste of time, but our player would run home from school at lunchtime, play the guitar and hurry back to school. After school the routine was the same. Our player simply couldn't get enough of the instrument and a decision was made to allow him to complete the older brother's contract for the lessons part of the purchase. A statement made by this gent to me and others is, "No other instrument would ever replace the Hawaiian Guitar in my heart and soul." He has lived up to that statement to the fullest. His stated biggest influence lie in the souls of Jerry Byrd, Curly Chalker, and Alvino Rey.

He played in several small groups during high school, graduated in 1949, and joined the Navy. After the Korean War he was discharged and returned to his home. He started playing with several unknown groups around his home locale, but was visited regularly by an "unknown" with a name of Elvis and the two of them used to play at the local grocery store for baloney sandwiches (southerners don't know how to spell 'bologna'--thank God) and root beer. Sometimes they managed to play at a local Air Force Base in some of the clubs for a cool $7.50 each. A few of the others who played there went on to become "Professionals"; folks like Jim Reeves, Hank Williams, and a couple of others.

In 1957 he decided to go back into the Navy after a year at one of the State Colleges in his state. He played his guitar all over the world but his love of job security and family kept him in the Navy until he retired in 1973. He decided to go on tour with Marty Martel and Johnny Duncan for a short time, but his family necessities required him to seek a more steady source of income and he went to work for a ship building firm in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He also spent a tour in Saudia Arabia as a consultant, but his love for the steel guitar was and remains never ending.

After owning such guitars as a homemade double ten in the late fifties and in 1973 a homemade double twelve, his concept for a S-14 Universal was born.

He worked for Sierra for a time, making horns for such notables as Joaquin Murphey (sic), and Alvino Rey. Alvino's last guitar was fashioned after this gentleman's guitar which was the prototype for more than 12 string guitars manufactured by Sierra. While there he also formulated the 14 string Universal tuning and Sierra published a booklet on this new tuning procedure.

Afterwards he bought and opened a music store in the 80's and eventually turned it into a studio for the high school kids interested in music. After meeting Mitsuo Fujii at one of Scotty's conventions, Mitsuo offered to build him an Excel which our player mortally eats alive when he plays. His artistic talents aren't limited to music. This guy is one of the best Artists with oil paints you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting. Just fantastic with his artwork.

He has recorded several CD's and one LP Album. His most prized acknowledgement, with the exception of his family, is the award of the Jerry Byrd Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame Committee at Jerry Byrd's direction. I guess that tells you if he is a "Pro" or not!!!

Enough said about this guy...Who is he?

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The spirit be with you!
If it aint got a steel, it aint real

[This message was edited by Fred Shannon on 22 November 2003 at 08:47 AM.]

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Billy Easton
Casa Grande, AZ
Southwestern Steel Guitar Association

Fred

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The spirit be with you!
If it aint got a steel, it aint real

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JUST 'CAUSE I STEEL, DON'T MAKE ME A THIEF

quote:

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I First met Bill Stafford in 1967 in Key West Florida. I was playing in a club on weekends in a trio and Bill came to our Sunday afternoon jam session. He asked if he could sit in and started to bring in a rig that I had never seen the likes of. A great big Sunn Amp with a Fender Leslie tone Cabinet to make his steel sound like an Organ. As soon as I heard him play, I knew I had to work with him. This didn't take too long to happen as our regular steel player was high strung and soon threw one of his tantrums and quit. Bill was hired immediately and this started a 34 year friendship and association that I am extremely proud of. When I grew tired of Nashville in 1977, I took a Job in Mississippi and soon was reunited with Bill and we played around the Gulf Coast for almost 3 years. Bill and I went to the Steel Guitar Convention in 1979 together and I introduced him to my Buddy, Curly Chalker. That started a Friendship between the two of them and has influenced Bill's Music greatly. Bill has a gift of knowing who the truly great ones are and is only influenced by them.. Bill introduced me to Jerry Byrd and Jerry told me if he were to play Pedal Steel, He would want to do it just like Bill Stafford. Jerry just happens to be Bills lifelong hero and when you get a compliment like that from your hero, you " certainly have arrived in this world". Today Bill Stafford is one of the most respected players in the world. About three years ago, thru the magic of the internet, I was able to get back in touch with Bill and We soon started talking about picking together again. We agreed that we would meet at the Saluda, S.C. Show in May 2001. We met at that show and played there for the first time together since 1979. It was magic! I went back to Saluda in August 2001 to record this CD. The Saluda show always has some great pickers, Bill and I have made some great friends in Woody Ledford, Wayne Stowers, Wayne Smith, Johnny Thomas and Bob Strickland. The Saluda show is absolutely great, laid back and just fits Bill's style. Special thanks to Buddy Walker and Charles Reece for putting on this great show. John Floyd

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He ain't half bad for an Ole Phart

Just don't get to see him often enough.

quote:

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This cat has just about reached the pinnacle in the above, with the exception perhaps of touring with the "Professional Well Known Artists".

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Fred
Thanks for posting this and he didn't miss anything by not touring with "professional well known artists" except getting corrupted.

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[Edited for bad english and spelling, since I'm a Redneck]

May our precious Savior continue to nuture his talents, and bless all of you,

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Be Blessed........HAL
'85 Emmons LeGrande D-10, Rack w/Evans, Lexicon MPX100 (2)1501-4 BW's IN PRO Cabs, & a Sound Tech PL500 Power Amp.

I missed the PSGA show back in the 1990's due
to illness,but a friend was at the show where
Mr.Stafford performed and taped the segment where I heard some of the best steel playing ever. My friend gave me a full description on the tape as I listed to Mr.Stafford,and his comments were..Jody,you should have seen this man play,he was dressed appropriate in a light gray suit that matched the shade of his 14 String Sierra guitar. And his connection with the audience answering questions showed what a PRO should be.

His comments were.I have never seen such a class person such as this with a personality few have,and his playing was absolutly wonderful.

Thanks for this thread.You do Bill Stafford
Proud and he deserves it.

Thank you Fred. You do all of us proud.

edited spelling error.

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 24 November 2003 at 05:35 AM.]

FRED

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The spirit be with you!
If it aint got a steel, it aint real

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

quote:

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Bill Stafford: Steel guitar spokesman
He played with Elvis; now he plays for the world
By MIKE CUMMINGS
THE SUN HERALD

GULFPORT - In the early 1950s, steel guitarist Bill Stafford played impromptu concerts with Elvis Presley at Rosetti's Grocery Store in Gulfport.

"We'd play for bologna sandwiches," Stafford said.

Stafford eventually lost touch with Elvis, but his passion for the steel guitar has never wavered.

Last year, he helped found the Deep South Steel Guitar & Musicians Association, a 65-member club for steel guitar enthusiasts.

Stafford routinely invites local steel guitarists to his home in Harrison County for jam sessions. His wife, Betty, said the gatherings often last deep into the night.

"You can tell they really love this," she said.

A vibrant subculture exists around the steel guitar. The Internet contains hundreds of sites and chat rooms devoted to the instrument.

"This thing has grabbed a lot of people," Stafford said.

Jerry Jaye, a former rockabilly recording artist and a Gulfport resident, plays many instruments, but loves steel guitar the most.

"It's kind of like a drug," he said. "It gets you hooked."

Jaye, whose catalogue of songs includes "My Girl Josephine" and "Honky Tonk Women Love Redneck Men," said the steel guitar's enchanting sound mimics human emotion.

"It'll cry for you, and it'll laugh for you," he said.

Stafford is the steel guitar

Stafford, 73, started playing steel guitar in 1938 after a guitar teacher visited his family's home in Gulfport searching for students. The man played a Hawaiian guitar.

"I was hypnotized by it," Stafford said. "I still am."

He plays a 14-string, single-neck pedal steel he designed and a Japanese company built for him. Last year he received the Jerry Byrd Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, which is located in St. Louis.

Jaye said Stafford has built a strong reputation within steel guitar circles.

"Billy is the steel guitar," Jaye said.

Stafford demonstrated the instrument's versatility last week by playing a rendition of "Unforgettable."

He used picks attached to the fingers and thumb of his right hand to pluck the strings while his left hand glided a small bar along the instrument's neck.

His knees manipulated a series of levers on the guitar's undercarriage while his feet danced from pedal to pedal, raising and lowering the guitar's strings, creating a steady string of new notes.

The song ended. Stafford smiled.

"You don't need Nat King Cole when you've got a steel guitar," he quipped.

As a young man, Stafford often backed Elvis while the future king of rock 'n' roll was in town during the summers visiting a girlfriend. They frequented Rosetti's but played other venues.

On Wednesday nights, they staged performances at the Airmen's Club at Keesler Air Force Base. They were paid $7.50 each, he said.

His guitar wasn't very complicated in those days. It didn't have the pedals and levers that adorn his current model. In the early 1950s, Stafford started tinkering with the guitar to expand its sound.

"They didn't make guitars that had the notes I wanted," he said.

He rigged a pedal using a wire coat hanger and an accelerator from a Studebaker. His innovations continued over the next five decades as he developed his signature 14-string, single-neck pedal steel, which produces as many notes as steel guitars with multiple necks.

He scored a movie

Stafford was designing steel guitars for the Sierra Instrument Co. in Portland, Ore., when director Gus Van Sant hired him to perform the background music for the 1991 film "My Own Private Idaho," which starred River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.

Van Sant, whose films include "Good Will Hunting" and "Drugstore Cowboy," entered the store where Stafford worked looking to rent a steel guitar.

The director was dressed in dirty dungarees and wore a baseball cap turned backward, Stafford said. He was accompanied by a man in a dark suit.

Stafford offered to play for Van Sant. The director asked him if he knew how to play "Home on the Range."

"I played it," he said. "The guy in the suit was a session musician from Los Angeles. He told Van Sant to hire me."

In addition to the movie credit, Stafford has recorded several albums. He performs live as much a possible.

Stafford and Jaye take a lot of pride in their club and its members hail from all over the South.

The club is hosting a special event Saturday at the VFW on Dedeaux Road in Gulfport featuring several prominent musicians, including Pee Wee Whitewing, a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. Steel guitarist Roy Ayers, who cut the original recording of "Tennessee Waltz," also is scheduled to play. The day will include mock recording sessions to show audience members how professionals lay down tracks.

Ken Henderson, a Gulfport resident and steel guitarist, helped Stafford build a stage inside the VFW to accommodate the performances.

Stafford announced the event on an Internet chat room called the Steel Guitar Forum.

The announcement sparked a long discussion among a group of fellow enthusiasts.

John Floyd, who lives in South Mills, N.C., said he wants to attend the show. He said he appreciates an opportunity to learn from Stafford.

"This isn't a recent thing with Bill. He has always been known to pass on his knowledge to others and especially young and upcoming players," Floyd said. "He is one of the best spokesmen the steel guitar ever had."

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