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Topic: Rediscovering Chalker |
Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 8:14 am |
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There are certain albums which, upon first hearing, so impressed me that it defined for me the style of the player I was listening to and opened the door to discover more. Chuck Back and I were discussing recently at TSGA that, for both of us, "Mr. Nashville Sound" was the Lloyd Green album that opened that portal and beckoned us to follow.
Surfing YT just this morning, I came across this posting that plays the entire "Big Hits On Big Steel," Curly Chalker's 1966 Columbia album of popular country tunes that Curly turned into a jazz album. This was the album that did it for me with Chalker. It also still remains my favorite of his though I have most of his other recorded and video stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkiJlzmQux4
On this album is where I first became really aware of steel guitar played in a very pianistic style, block chordally a la George Shearing. Curly also never met a diminished chord, a major 9th, an augmented, or a #11th he didn't like  He was also, as I learned years later, an excellent blues guitarist.
_________________
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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Marty Rifkin
From:
Santa Monica, CA
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 8:28 am
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| While we were working on the last couple of Glen Campbell records, even though his battle with Alzheimer’s was getting worse, he always got excited when he’d see the steel and ask me if I knew who Curly Chalker was. He would light up every time he said Curly's name. |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 9:06 am
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| For me Curly's best stuff was before he got pedals. |
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Bill C. Buntin
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 9:17 am
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Thanks for this Herb. Chalker "does it" for me too. I also noticed recently the Big Hits album is now available on iTunes. I've had the LP for years. This makes it convenient to listen to Curly all the time now. I remain in discovery mode while listening to Curly. He seems to never run out of stuff. I would like to have known the man.
~Bill~ |
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Bobby Nelson
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 1:18 pm
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| Thanks Herb - this is great. an old friend of mine, Frankie Morrell, who played steel in the 60's & 70's told me that Chalker had more music in his little finger than most others. |
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Jerry Horch
From:
Alva, Florida, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 3:45 pm
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Ditto on Chalker....he felt it for sure.
_________________
Franklin D10 /Walker Sterio Steel JBL's /DigiTech Quad4/ Korg Toneworks/ Dobro DM 1000 / Santa Cruz Guitar VA |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 6:53 pm
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"Gentle On My Mind" by Chalker was the song that really hooked me on steel, especially on C6th. I was listening to WBAP on night just before the Bill Mack show came on and they played this song as a bumper. I don't think I slept a wink the rest of the night, trying to figure how the heck he did that. They didn't say who was playing and it took me a few years to find out. This was over 40 years ago and I still listen "Big Hits" and "Counterpoint" regularly.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro. |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 7:31 pm
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When I was 7-8 years old, and that many years before I even thought of getting a steel guitar, I heard the album "Travis" and loved that playing better than anything I had heard. I had no idea who Curly was! I had already heard Hank Thompson albums (maybe with Curly), ET Presents The Texas Troubadors, and Pete Drake's "Forever" album. But Curly's playing on that one is still my favorite.
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 7:37 pm
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"Travis" is a great album!
_________________
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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Per Berner
From:
Skovde, Sweden
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Posted 21 Mar 2018 10:51 pm
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| I really like Chalker's "Nashville Sundown" album (ca 1973), though it's rumored he didn't enjoy recording it. IMHO, E9th country does not get much better than "Second cup of coffee" or "Alberta bound". Every single track on that album sounds extremely fluid and almost effortless. |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 3:33 am
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I am a fan of anything he played....  |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 3:52 am
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| Bill Cunningham wrote: |
| When I was 7-8 years old, and that many years before I even thought of getting a steel guitar, I heard the album "Travis" and loved that playing better than anything I had heard. I had no idea who Curly was! I had already heard Hank Thompson albums (maybe with Curly), ET Presents The Texas Troubadors, and Pete Drake's "Forever" album. But Curly's playing on that one is still my favorite. |
I agree, Bill. My favorite Chalker is the aforementioned Big Hits On Steel, followed by Travis and Carl Smith's I Love You Because.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 3:56 am
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Per, I also really like the "Nashville Sundown" album too and still listen to it regularly. I heard that Curly had only been playing E9th for a few years when he recorded it, but he played some great stuff.
I've heard that Lloyd Green didn't particularly care for his "Shades of Steel" album either, but it is and always has been one of my favorites.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 6:52 am
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| Per Berner wrote: |
| E9th country does not get much better than "Second cup of coffee" or "Alberta bound". |
Totally agree. Alberta Bound still totally blows me away. And I never really dug Gordon Lightfoot. |
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robert kramer
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 10:53 am
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"I am a fan of anything he played...." however the combination of Chalker and Fender is very, very special:
Merle Travis "Travis" Capitol ST-1664 (1962) Fender 1000
Curly Chalker “Big Hits On Big Steel†Columbia CS 9396 (1965) Fender 2000
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 11:28 am
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"Travis" is my favorite stuff with Curly as well.
He also has a couple of good rides on Roy Clark's first album from about the same time.
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Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 5:10 pm
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Anybody know if Travis is available on CD? I see a few vinyl copies available on the web.
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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robert kramer
From:
Nashville TN
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robert kramer
From:
Nashville TN
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robert kramer
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 6:52 pm
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(sneaking in one more)
"The Kind of Love I Can't Forget" Jimmy C. Newman / Shannon S-808 / ca. 1972 w/ Rufus Thibodeaux and Johnny Gimble on fiddles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj_fP427KEU
This is the side that was nicknamed "Bulldozer" |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 22 Mar 2018 8:33 pm
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This is said to be Curley doing "Caravan" circa 1965.
It was done as part of a Ferlin Husky session and was not released until 2000 or later.
Not sure who the other pickers are. Maybe the Hushpuppies of that era or maybe A team guys? Did Curley ever tour with Ferlin or was he otherwise known to have recorded with him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vkPSV_Cgp4 |
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Per Berner
From:
Skovde, Sweden
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Posted 23 Mar 2018 3:54 am
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| Darvin Willhoite wrote: |
| I've heard that Lloyd Green didn't particularly care for his "Shades of Steel" album either, but it is and always has been one of my favorites. |
Amen to that. That album mixes traditional sounds with modern flavors very nicely, like "Killing me softly". And "Summer clouds" is one of the few steel instrumentals that I can play all the way through – and sound almost as good as the record. |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2018 8:17 am
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"I Can See Clearly Now" and "Morning Has Broken" are probably my favorites from the "Shades Of Steel" album, but I like everything on it.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro. |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 23 Mar 2018 8:50 am
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| "I Can See Clearly Now" and "Morning Has Broken" are probably my favorites from the "Shades Of Steel" album, but I like everything on it. |
Ditto, Darvin. This is the first I've heard of Lloyd's apathy regarding this album - can't say I really understand it. As for Roy Clark's "Lightning Fingers," well....  |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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