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  ~ ~
  ©¿©  It don't mean a thang,   
  mm   if it ain't got that twang.
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David's Web Page

M.S.A.

M.S.A. Millennium
S-12 9 & 6
Bb is where it's at!
Peavey-2000-PX-300

[This message was edited by David Wright on 05 April 2004 at 10:57 AM.]

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Billy says Hank was put in a sanitorium, where he had shock treatments that left him mentally scarred for life. "When my mom went to get him, he was like a hole, standing there. Black. He didn't know nothing."

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Now as far as all this conspiracy mess--sorry to say that this is just too much to even remotely believe. There were other fine players in Nashville and non of them had a hit out on them. This brother needs to just stay focused on what an amazing musician Garland was and forget all this tabloid mess. Garland was one of the rare birds that could actually play jazz AND the other studio stuff he had to play in Nville. The current crop of guitar slingers in Nashville do not even come close to capturing Garlands feel for swing and his chord work. Garland was a Django freak and also actually studied chord melody with Barry Galbraith in NY while on tour with Eddie Arnold. I love the stories of Garland being on tour with Arnold who did not want his musicians playing on other peoples recordings and threatened to fire them if they did--that kind of stinks don't you think. They would be listening to the radio in the car and a hot solo that Hank had played on a session would come on and Arnold would say "man, that sounds just like you Hank!!". Garland would say, "nope not me--that's Grady Martin".

Hank and his brother should sit down and do a comprehensive study on Hanks' playing and write it all down in a method book of sorts. This would be a much more worthwhile testament to his musicianship than any of the "they ambushed me because I was a jazzer/free spirit" crap I read in the article. Come on!!

I vote that Eddie Arnold was the man in the bushes with the rifle.

[This message was edited by Bill Hatcher on 07 April 2004 at 09:11 AM.]

Humor edited out in respect to HG.

[This message was edited by Bill Hatcher on 07 April 2004 at 09:00 AM.]

Smiley face added to above post so the world would denote humor.

[This message was edited by Bill Hatcher on 07 April 2004 at 09:12 AM.]

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I'm glad my friend Doyle Dykes got recognition for his visit with the Garland family. Doyle ministered at the church where Hank, Billy and his family attend in Florida.

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Doyle Dykes is a Master Guitarist in his own right and deserves all the recognition he gets.

Gregg Galbraith, another Master Guitarist one confessed , on this Forum, that he had carried a photo of Hank in his Wallett for over 30 years and I believe he got the opportunity to call Hank and talk with him after that post.

Billy and Amy Garland are good and honest people who have cared for Hank for many years. They deserve our respect and admiration for keeping one of our heroes well cared for and in a good home. It would have been much easier for them to put him in an institution and leave him there to die. The love they have for him is very evident and a testimony to their good Character.

I ask Mr Hatcher to drop this before it goes too far and hurts some very fine people. They do watch this forum and have responded to comments I have made about Hank in Previous years. They are quick to offer thanks about positive comments about Hank here on the Forum.

This is a forum. You put on a post and others voice their opinion. I did not for one second say anything negative about the Garland family or heavens sake about Hank G. himself. Ease up. Humor and having fun breaks up all the negativity and stiffness of these posts.

I just find the fact that his brother demonized Hank's jazz interests into a conspiracy of someone actually standing on the side of the road and taking a shot at him with a rifle to be incredibly unbelieveable!!! Atkins made an attempt to record a Jazz recording with his "Progressive Pickin'" record. Johnny Smith even wrote the liner notes. Harold Bradley even took up the Garland torch with Hank's lable Columbia records, recording two easy listening jazzish records in the vein of the "Guitar Artistry" recording that Hank did. Don't forget all the Nashville artist that traveled to the Newport Jazz Fest the year that riots closed it and as a result, RCA records issued a recording done by Hank, Atkins, Randolph, Cramer and others called "After The Riots". I sure don't remember any of these folks involved in the same kind of conspiracy.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the Garland family and HG.
Just stick with his music, and leave all this other tabloid stuff alone.

Conspiracy theory aside, I think that John's point (sorry for putting words in your mouth, John) is that not all humor is in good taste. Thoughtful people might want to weigh their words before they make a "joke." (I certainly speak from experience-- sometimes I unintentionally get carried away, and really regret it when my humor inadvertently hurts someone.) Yes, this is a forum where differing and disagreeing views should and ought to be posted. But others' feelings should be taken into account. You can take this down the "political correctness has gone too far"-route, I suppose, but those are my 2 cents. In both Bill & John's words, perhaps we should leave "all this other tabloid stuff alone" before it "hurts some very fine people."

I am a friend of Hank and his family, as are Pat Coyne and Doyle Dykes. In fact, Pat is the person who re-connected Hank and me after I had lost track of him many years ago, and I will be forever grateful to Pat for that. My first wife (Deceased in 1988) and I were friends of Hank and his wife, Evelyn – also now deceased. We would stop by Hank and Evelyn’s house every time we went through Nashville. Hank was always practicing. He had a reel-to-reel tape recorder and would record himself, listen to it, then try to improve on it. He practiced eight hours each and every day – and that didn’t count the time on the bandstand. I could tell many stories about his phenomenal talent, but here’s one that I always thought was a good example: You may recall the Les Paul records where various guitar parts were dubbed in over the chords and melody, all of the parts having been played by Mr. Paul. Believe it or not, Hank would simulate the sound of multiple guitars as if he were playing all of the parts simultaneously – and if he happened to be in one of the large studios at WSM and the studio was essentially empty, he even got the echo effect that Mr. Paul used. I have seen Chet Atkins listen to Hank jamming in the studio and just shake his head in disbelief.

I could go on with stories about Hank for hours, but I will stop for now. The main point I want to make is, let’s stop the controversy on a subject that doesn’t belong in a thread about that great man. If you know any stories or have any opinions about Hank’s musical talents, let’s hear them. Please don’t contribute to the tarnishing of Hank’s image by speculating about something you know absolutely nothing about.

Thank you for your attention.

Dick Contino was a fine accordian player and
a good looking fellow and his flashy playing
and colgate smile made him a winner and eventually a member of Godfrey's regulars.

Is this what you make reference to? Contino
played "Lady Of Spain" and the girls went wild with his good looks and black curly hair
On one knee he would pull those bellows and
bellow shake that Excelsior accordian.