He has a huge history for sure.

I have just come from the SGHOF website and it would appear to me, with my limited knowledge of Basil's curriculum vitae, that he excels in ALL of the seven attributes required for nomination.

I would earnestly entreat some of you more knowledgeable steelers to support this nomination and hopefully fill in the SGHOF nomination form with the comprehensive information that they require.

There is certainly enough of Basil's CV on this forum to at least qualify him for nomination.

Having met and heard Basil a couple of times at the Aloha Dreams conventions and having marvelled at his consummate skill and expertise on the instrument I am rather surprised that he has not been nominated before.

His knowledge of the minutiae of this instrument borders on the encyclopaedic and his enthusiasm for the promulgation of its use is hardly equalled.

Further, his generosity of spirit in seeking to help players of all levels is clearly demonstrated by the many comprehensive and in-depth postings made on this forum.

If I knew just half of what Basil has forgotten about the steel guitar I would be more than happy.

I submit these comments in genuine admiration of the man and his work.

Just my humble half a groat's worth.

I think an International Player is long overdue.

The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame
Nominating Form

1. Name and list the notable artists and bands with whom the nominee has performed and recorded, as well as the duration.

2. Describe any touring history of the nominee, the length of that touring, and the names of touring bands or artists that he/she has performed with. If the nominee was primarily a club musician, list the names and locations of those clubs and the years spent in club performing.

3. Describe the influences the nominee may have had on other players, such as projecting an identifiable style of playing and innovative musical executions. Provide examples of his/her professional expertise, playing prowess, dramatic delivery, etc. and explain how these qualities influenced others to take up the instrument.

4. List the nominee's recordings as a side musician with vocal artists and his/her instrumental recordings. Assess those musical productions for their quality, innovation, and what influence such may have had on other steel guitar players. List any compositions that may have become classic recordings (tunes that other players feel compelled to learn and likewise perform).

5. Describe the nominee's efforts as an instructor, innovations in teaching methods and notable students who learned from the nominee and also pursued a professional music career. List all other instructional materials published by the nominee and any other writings that advanced the musical performance and/or contributed to the public knowledge of the steel guitar.

6. If the nominee has been involved in the manufacture of steel guitars, explain any mechanical innovations and craftsmanship examples that he/she brought to the guitar building industry and/or enhanced the performing capabilities of the instrument. How long was the nominee engaged in this activity?

7. List other activities the nominee has engaged in that advanced the instrument, expanded public knowledge and acceptance of the instrument, or aided in its proliferation. Examples of such activities might include promoting and/or conducting concerts, forming steel guitar clubs, organizing promotional events, producing, writing and publishing, etc. List the continuous years the nominee devoted to these various activities.

That's how it's done and it works, I've seen it happen, and it won't happen any other way.
Phred

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"From Truth, Justice is Born"--Quanah Parker-1904

[This message was edited by Fred Shannon on 05 October 2006 at 06:06 PM.]

Albert Taylor
Northern Ireland

Basil Henriques Bio.

He is highly experienced as a Musical Arranger-Record producer-Vocal Technique coach.
( Studio and live performance skills )
He has arranged the music, performed as a session musician on various instruments, produced and supervised the vocal
performance, engineered and mixed All of the following :-

Albums :-
Bagatelle (ALL of their original demos for songs such as "Summer in Dublin" etc)
Peggy's Leg ( Album, "Grinilla" )
Philomena Begley ( 8 albums and most of her singles)
Foster & Allen ( 3 albums and 3 singles)
Ray Lynam ( Various albums and singles )
Big Tom ( 16 albums and various singles)
Larry Cuningham ( Various albums, singles and videos)
T.R. Dallas ( Various albums and singles )
Brendan Shine ( Various albums and singles )
Cathy Durkin ( Various albums and singles )
Susan McCann ( Various albums and singles )
John Hogan ( Various albums and singles )
Hank Locklin ( Various albums and singles )
Tony Stevens ( Various albums and singles )
Buddy Boland ( Album )
Sean McGuire ( 2 albums )
Donna Darlene (1 album )
and MANY others in the entertainment business in Ireland

He started playing guitar at eleven years of age and took up Hawaiian guitar at twelve.
His first pedal guitar was a six string gibson 4 pedal electraharp.
At fourteen he was playing in his mother's group "The Blue Hawaiians" and at sixteen formed the "Waikiki Islanders" .
From 1966 to 1968 he was resident at the "Castaways" night club in Birmingham with his group , also playing at the BBC Broad Street studios twice a week recording "Slots" for their national network light music prgs.
He then toured Europe (The American Forces Bases) with his own show which included dancers and a knife throwing/fire dancer from Samoa. (Danny Tigilo)
He signed with EMI Records in 1966 and recorded several albums for them on their prestigious Studio Two Stereo series.

In 1970 he moved to Ireland and was co-founder of a C&W Showband called the Virginians.
At that time Country Music was gathering momentum in Ireland and he was the ONLY pedal steel player working full time pro. He did 99% of the recording sessions for the next twenty years, producing many albums and singles along the way.
He was also in demand by visiting American artists for their TV and road gigs.

He quit session work in 1991 to concentrate on a "Duo" as he had been offered many exclusive hotel residencies.
He is un-trained with respect to formal tuition, but born with music in his soul. As you surely know yourself , it is an intangible thing that really defies description BUT shows in the performance.
He is self taught regarding theory and has used the "Royal Academy" theory books for his studies.
Jazz orientated with his chordal knowledge(Mickey Baker's Jazz Guitar books) and influenced by the thirties through the fifties with his musical taste end styles, He was also lucky to grow up (If he ever did) during the transition from Skiffle to rock
and roll and finally the 60's, all of which formulated his present knowledge and taste.

He has performed as a musician with artistes such as :- Foster and Allen, bandleader with Philomena Begley, Roly Daniels and T.R. Dallas, and a staff musician with for RTE.,
session musician with the top studios in Europe, backing the likes of Gilbert O'Sullivan, Tom Jones, Slim Whitman, Hank Locklin (He also produced two albums of Hank's, recorded during some of his many tours of Ireland), Tammy Wynette ( She always asked for him for her Irish dates and he backed her on her last tour of Ireland and her "Late Late Show" appearance), and MANY more, He also has many solo " Easy Listening " Albums to his credit,
As an instructor for the Irish government agency "FAS" he started courses at local Institutes of Technology for "Steel Guitar" and "Dobro" as well as the RGT various guitar courses, He is an acredited tutor for the "London School of Music".

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Mullen D10,Peavey Nashville 400,Peavey Profex, Peavey DPC 750, Nashville cabs

Everything Malcolm McMaster said!!!

I appreciate his "abundance mentality"....

We know he is the epitome of a dedicated Steel Guitar Professional, Showman, Teacher and a good guy....The shirts are Cool too!!! TX

Rgds,

Ron

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JCFSGC member 2005 "Be of Good Cheer"
"55" Stringmaster D8,
"67" Telecaster,
"60"Fender Concert Amp 4-10's

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

Basil not only knows a huge amount about the steel guitar, but has the ability to impart this to others. He improved my right hand picking technique dramatically in about 15 minutes, and helped me get my copedant set the way I needed it for the kind of music I want to play. He also is very knowledgeable about the mechanics of vintage steels, and gives generously of his time and experience.

Thanks Baz!