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Post new topic Curly Chalker's Guitar For Sale On Ebay
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Author Topic:  Curly Chalker's Guitar For Sale On Ebay
George Rout


From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 25 Sep 2011 7:30 pm    
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If this subject has been mentioned already,just pull the plug on this one.

A bit of a strange item, this one.

The guitar that is for sale (a battered Gibson 355) is described as having been owned by Curly Chalker and bought from his estate.

As additional proof, the seller includes a video showing him playing the instrument. However, when you watch the video, you see Chalker playing his steel, and then someone else (Jimmy Capps, in my opinion) taking a guitar break on a Gibson 355 (the same guitar - who knows?).


Check it out:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-1972-GIBSON-ES-355-TDSV-STEREO-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-EXCELLENT-CONDITION-/120783940521?pt=Guitar&hash=item1c1f48aba9#ht_6162wt_745

Geo
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 25 Sep 2011 10:19 pm    
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Yup. That's Jimmie on guitar.
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Barry Blackwood


Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 6:33 am    
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Quote:
It is clear that this guitar was probably hand-picked by Chalker, or his bandmate and Gibson endorsee Roy Clark, while visiting the Gibson factory in Michigan during the early 1970s.

The word "probably" raises a lot of issues. Caveat emptor ….
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Michael Douchette


From:
Gallatin, TN (deceased)
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 7:15 am    
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Just called Curly's son. Waiting for a callback...
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Cal Sharp


From:
the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 8:53 am    
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Huh, it sounds like the seller thinks Curly was a guitar player. Which he was, of course, but not germane to this situation. He's actually playing his beloved MSA in the video.
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Jim Cohen


From:
Philadelphia, PA
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 9:17 am    
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Yeah, from the write-up, it sounds like he thinks Jimmy is Curly. Perhaps it was Jimmy's guitar...?
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Chris LeDrew


From:
Canada
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 9:51 am    
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What a beautiful guitar. Wow. Whoa!
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.


From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 2:34 pm    
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I'm not sure, but I think Curly is still on the Sho-Bud in the video. As he is here.

pick

Arch.
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 8:25 pm    
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Yup, a Sho~Bud for sure. Possibly around the same time as the other video was shot. You can see this Gibson guitar on the floor next to Curly leaning against an amp.
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Ernie Renn


From:
Brainerd, Minnesota USA
Post  Posted 26 Sep 2011 11:11 pm    
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Bruce Zumsteg sent me this a few years back. I could be this guitar.

Curly on guitar and Buddy on steel - Deemon's Den, Nashville - 1972.

<center></center>
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Dave Mudgett


From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2011 6:08 am    
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Cool guitar any way you want to look at it. Of course, it is obviously not Curly playing the guitar in that video, and Curly died in 1998, not 88. But none of this necessarily impugns the provenance of the guitar if it was really bought from Curly's family. Real interested to hear the rest of the story.

The guitar in that last picture appears to have a Bigsby vibrato on it. Still could be the same guitar, it's not too hard to switch those in and out.
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Chris LeDrew


From:
Canada
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2011 6:33 am    
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The guitar that Curly is playing in the above pic is not the guitar for sale in the ad. It doesn't have the five-way chicken-knob switch on it. And, as Dave said, the Bibsby could have been temporarily added, but seeing that the guitar was supposedly very new at this point (and the original was on it in the Jimy Capps footage the same year) I doubt that was the case.

No matter what the history, the guitar in the ad looks like a real gem is and proably worth close to the asking price without any provenance attached to it. I've been thinking of making an offer. It's got a vibe for sure, and is in great shape. Worn in just the right places.
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Russ Wever

 

From:
Kansas City
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2011 12:53 pm    
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Quote:
Curly on guitar and
Buddy on steel . . .


. . not to mention
that Jimmy Day
is playing bass!
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Olli Haavisto


From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2011 1:22 pm    
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Freddie King !
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Brint Hannay

 

From:
Maryland, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2011 4:57 pm    
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Dave Mudgett wrote:
The guitar in that last picture appears to have a Bigsby vibrato on it.

Hard to see clearly, but it actually looks to me like Bigsby Palm Pedals.
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Dave Mudgett


From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2011 8:23 pm    
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Brint Hannay wrote:
Dave Mudgett wrote:
The guitar in that last picture appears to have a Bigsby vibrato on it.

Hard to see clearly, but it actually looks to me like Bigsby Palm Pedals.

By golly, I think you're right.
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John Floyd

 

From:
R.I.P.
Post  Posted 28 Sep 2011 10:40 am    
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I remember That Curly's 355 Gibson was just like the One I special Ordered in 1964 for $900. Mine was Minus The Stereo, Varitone and Gold Plated Hardware and added Grover Rotomatic Keys. I Later added A Bigsby Vibrato. Worst Mistake I ever made was selling it to get married.
The last Time I saw and Played Curly's 355 Gibson was in July 1977 and I remember a Bigsby Vibrato on it. He may have had more than One, If Johnny Cox reads this, He might know. Curly owned a mountain of Instruments and Equipment The Extent of Which I'm not sure.
Curly was a Super Fingerstyle Guitarist as well as a Jazz Guitarist. He could do it all.
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Jim Cohen


From:
Philadelphia, PA
Post  Posted 28 Sep 2011 11:04 am    
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John Floyd wrote:
Worst Mistake I ever made was selling it to get married.

According to the latest statistics, 50% of US marriages end in divorce, whereas a good guitar can stay with you forever, y'know... Wink
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John Floyd

 

From:
R.I.P.
Post  Posted 28 Sep 2011 11:12 am    
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Damn I LOVED That Guitar

I seriously Doubt that the Guitar on Ebay was Curly's Gibson 355 Guitar
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Gary Walker

 

From:
Morro Bay, CA
Post  Posted 9 Oct 2011 4:25 pm    
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In July 1969, I was at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas for the steel show. Curly played his set on the steel (ShoBud) and then Jimmy Day followed with his set with Curly playing guitar with him. Remember, Curly was a lefty(not Frizell) but played steel and guitar,bass, etc as a righty.(not necessarily a conservitave Republican)
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