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Topic: Vance Terry ???? |
Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 8:37 am |
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Sonny,
I did know Vance, from when I was a little boy, his father in law at the time delivered my sister in Chico ca, ..A great steel player, and a troubled man....sad ending to his life... |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 9:24 am
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The CD Brisbane Bop,with Jimmy Rivers is one every one should have,GREAT PICKING. DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 10:25 am
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| David Wright wrote: |
| sad ending to his life... |
I spoke with him on the phone during what ended up being his last few hours and it was obvious he was not totally in the dumps about where he was, musically, physically, and mentally. Quite willing to talk freely about the good times, some bad, offer steel lessons/advice, and had a sense towards an even better tomorrow, which unfortunately was not to be. |
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Billy Tonnesen
From:
R.I.P., Buena Park, California
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 1:46 pm
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| In 1992 I was inducted into the Sacramento Western Swing Hall of Fame, along with Bobby Black & Pee Whitewing, It was announced Vance Terry was going to be there and I was finally hoping to see him play in person. Vance was there but he was not playing for the event. When we threw a band together to do some jamming, Vance was sitting in th front row in front of the stage and watching every player. I felt like a rank beginner playing in front of him. I did not get a chance to talk with him which was very dissapointing. i was not aware of the extent of his problems, I had only heard hearsay. I wish I could have met him in earlier years. |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 1:58 pm
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Well Ron,
Vance had his Good & Bad day's, at least you got to talk to him on a better day, I have Vance's paper work on the monster guitar my Dad built him, Vance came and stayed a week with us as Dad finished up the guitar, He was a great friend of our families, and my dad loved his playing, and Him.... |
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 2:34 pm
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He was a true musical master and yet was amazingly generous with his knowledge in the couple of brief times we had together. I wish I hadn't been as starstruck at those times - I might have retained a whole lot more of what he was telling me.
As to the various problems that plagued his life for decades, there isn't much that hasn't already been said. It was painful, though, to see a man of such genius get devoured time-after-time from within. RIP Vance. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 2:54 pm
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| For me, Vance Terry is right up there on the top of the same pedestal as Buddy Emmons, Curly Chalker, Paul Franklin and a few others who are all-time masters of the steel guitar. Vance's solo on "It's a sin to tell a lie" from Brisbane Bop goes beyond the steel guitar into the realm of the best, timeless swing solos on any instrument. |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 3:45 pm
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Sonny,
Here is my little contribution regarding Vance Terry.
A couple of years ago I exchanged a couple of emails with Norm Hamlett. I was asking him about his special style of pick-blocking. He tried to explain as best he could on email how he did it and that it would be a lot simpler to show me in person, and for me to contact him the next time the Merle Haggard show came thru town.
As I best can understand, Norm picks a string with a finger, then the thumb comes up and blocks.
Norm told me that he had learned his pick blocking style from Vance Terry in 1955.
He in turn showed it to Barbara Mandrell when he was teaching her.
Here are a couple of Barbara clips where it looks like she is doing the thumb block. Super picking by the way!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1T0vGP2DEk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2WGso5Yhpo
So that is one way Vance Terry put his mark on the steel guitar.
_________________
BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/ |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 5:06 pm
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David, not at all countering your statement, just that we always hear the downer side to Vance, and as can be said, he had his flip 'up' side as well.
Would love to more about Vance from your experiences!
Mandrell's thumb mutings;
Couldn't pick out anything from those 'just a blur' vids to help visualize the thumb blocking technique she employed.
Bent, what section of the thumb (I'll assume it's the picking thumb, correct?) is to be employed, before or after the thumbpick? |
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Jody Sanders
From:
Magnolia,Texas, R.I.P.
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 7:18 pm
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| I prefer to remember Vance Terry as one of the greatest steel players ever. Jody. |
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Jody Sanders
From:
Magnolia,Texas, R.I.P.
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 7:18 pm
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| Deleted |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 8:48 pm
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I completely agree, Jody.
Unfortunately, it seems references to Vance's circumstances in the last few years of his life will forever be a part of any discussion of him--just as you see comments about airplanes and Patsy Cline every time Cowboy Copas' name comes up. I just wish it weren't so--I spent a lot of time around him in the 1980s and to me, he was just a great guy and wonderful player. |
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Michael Johnstone
From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2009 10:55 pm
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| I listen to him nearly every day. He's the only real peer of Joaquin Murphey. |
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 4 Jun 2009 5:12 am
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I certainly didn't intend the link to the article to be a negative,,,but to let those who were not aware of his talent know that such a talent existed It is a shame there is not more recorded evidence of his talent and genius. I was impressed by the fact that it was not the music world that introduced him to the drug culture,,,but the financial world.
May he be remembered in an understanding and positive light and his musical legacy live forever! |
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Bent Romnes
From:
London,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 4 Jun 2009 5:37 am
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Sonny I agree 100%. He is not alone in succumbing to the bad temptations. What we need to do is dwell on what Vance Terry did for the steel community as a whole. Dwell on what Michael Johnstone's opinion of Vance being the only real peer of J Murphey. Those are strong and wonderful words and shows the true impact of a true steel pioneer.
By all accounts, Vance was a great musician and a wonderful human being, who readily shared his music knowledge with others(Norm Hamlet for example)That, really, should be all that matters to us.
I read the story and was greatly saddened by the bad turn of events.
I was also very buoyed by reading what a great human and teacher Vance was.
It also reminded me: There, but for the grace of God, go I.
_________________
BenRom Pedal Steel Guitars
https://www.facebook.com/groups/212050572323614/ |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 4 Jun 2009 5:46 am
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Ron,
All is well,  I too wish there was more of Vance's playing out there, he was a brilliant man, both in music and Business...I wish I would have spent more time around him after I started playing, his insight for playing would have been Great...I just wonder what ever happen to his guitar, I know he had a single 12 he was working with, just not sure where the Sierra went to...
Sorry if anyone thinks I was trying to show the "other" side of Vance, I'm not,...............................so anyone elese that has stories about Vance, lets hear them  I talked with my Dad yesterday, he told me that Vance's guitar was the very first he built with a new changer head in it, it's the same one they use today,...Maylos, if your watching this, chime in, I know you helped Vance a lot.... |
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Darryl Hattenhauer
From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2009 10:20 pm
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I put this avatar on about a month ago. He was the first steeler I ever heard. He was on the radio often in Sacramento in the early 1950s.
I'd like to recommend his playing on the Billy Jack Wills CDs.
_________________
Steel crazy after all these years.
$100 reward for info leading to the purchase of a fender D8 white, yellow, or butterscotch. |
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Dave Ristrim
From:
Whites Creek, TN
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Posted 6 Jun 2009 4:07 am
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Vance Terry was a fantastic player for sure. I do think hearing about his problems might help steer others away from being caught up in that kind of downward spiral. We should never disrespect someone who has passed away this way, but the story of his life may inspire others to play better, and maybe even save a few lives by showing how bad addiction can grab you.
God Bless you Vance Terry |
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John Roche
From:
England
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Billy Wilson
From:
El Cerrito, California, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2009 7:06 am
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| David Wright: Wendell Moore has the D11 19+1 in Fairfield Ca |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 6 Jun 2009 8:45 am
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Blair Robertson, who wrote the article for the Sacramento Bee, is an excellent writer, IMHO. A very moving piece about an extremely tragic life.
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 7 Jun 2009 2:38 am
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| thank you Billy.. |
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Gary Walker
From:
Morro Bay, CA
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Posted 7 Jun 2009 7:38 pm
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| In October 1960 after a Gretsch promotion with Chet Atkins In San Francisco, I accompanied a group with Gene Breeden and Norm Hamlet to Brisbane to watch Vance do some fine things ala solo. He had attended the Chet show and invited us down to the club. Even without a band, Vance was awesome, playing his Wright Custom. He played some things I had never heard and maybe some, not yet heard on the steel to this day. He was his own man. |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 8 Jun 2009 5:30 am
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Years ago someone handed me an unlabeled cassette tape and said "check these guys out." It blew my mind! I listened to it for a few years until I figured out who it was. It was the Brisbane Bop! Great stuff!
The only other recordings of Vance I know of besides Billy jack Wills and The Brisbane Bop are about 25 live tracks recorded at the 23 Club that didn't make the Brisbane Bop cd.
I passed on an opportunity to take a lesson from Vance when Mylos was helping him out. 
That cassette tape was a huge inspiration.
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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