Julian Tharpe

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Does anyone actually have any history on the guy, I assume he was a Southerner and there's been various mentions over the years of his playing with Ray Price.
I'm curious as to whether Julian and Phil Baugh were in the Cherokee Cowboys around the same time (Phil was there circa December 1969 to 1971-ish)?

Did he ever do any sessions at all?
His 1970s period where he seemed to be part of the fusion scene, country and jazz with 1970s variations on the theme by Speedy West, Jimmy Bryant, Julian, Buddy, etc

Jerry Roller · From: Van Buren, Arkansas USA

I have several albums of Julian and Zane Beck both playing steel. It appears that Zane and Julian were pretty close friends and that speaks volumes for Julian. I never met Julian but Zane was a tremendous person as well as a musician. Both were great steel players and had their own very distinctive style.
Jerry

Gene Jones · From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)

Jason, here is the only one in my collection:
"ZANE BECK - JULIAN THARPE, 12+14= COUNTRY JAZZ". (tHE 12 + 14 being a reference to the BMI steels that they were recording with).

It was by Zanebeck Records CAT-001 distributed by Jet Interprises, Midfield, Alabama. The liner notes were written by Speedy West. Date of recording...anyones guess.

GENE

Terry Wood · From: Lebanon, MO

To answer a few questions about Julian.

Julian was born March, 1937 and raised near Ozark, AL.

His family related the story to me of how he used to hide under the bedsheets at night after they went to sleep and he would use an old kitchen knife on the strings to create steel/sliding sounds.Those were his humble beginning on steel. But boy how did he set us on fire years later when he ripped the rapid notes from his 14 string BMI's and Serria Steels at The International Steel Convention.

Julian was one of only a handful of steel players who could rip a rapid fiddle tune off on the steel that would make any fiddle or banjo player hump to catch up. I grew up hearing and playing real fiddle and banjo tunes in the backwoods of Missouri. My dad was an old time fiddler and I was listening to that type of Hillbilly Genre before going to school. Julian could cut it all; be it Country, Western Swing, Jazz, Disco, Blues, Rock, Pop and Gospel.

BOb, you and the others who aren't familiar with Julian's style need to contact Tom Badshaw and Scotty and obtain copies of "The Jet Age," "Southern Fried Steel," "Take Your Pick," "12 + 14 = Country Jazz with Zane Beck," and his last album "Deep Feelings." There are a few other live recordings around too. Tom and Scotty are the only ones who have recordings of Julian. Seems the Tharpe family does not have the rights or ownership.

Yes, Zane and Julian were very close friends. That's how I got into the 14 stringer BMI. Zane and Don Fritche built only a handful of these steels for Julian and one for me. I know there were at least 4 built for Julian and 2 of them were destroyed in nightclub fires. I posted on the Steel Forum that anyone knowing the were abouts of the last BMI that Zane built for Julian need contact me. I'm inerested in purchasing that guitar. No one, not even the family knows for sure where its at today.

Julian also played Fenders, Sho-Buds, MSAs, Serrias, and WrightCustom Steels over the years. He could also sing, wrote songs, played the guitar and piano too.

Julian had a good sense of humor and could growl like a bear. But inside he was a big teddy bear. I miss his knocked out playin' and him.

Hope this helped.

Lastly, Julian E. Tharpe belongs along with his and my good friend Maurice "Reece" Anderson in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

Terry J. Wood
Heavenly Math
3 Nails + 1 Cross = 4 Given

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

It is NOT appropriate to use this Forum as a soapbox to slander members of the steel guitar community, living or dead. I am deleting posts in this topic. One more slanderous word and I will start closing accounts.

I'm serious about this.

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-b0b- quasar@b0b.com
-System Administrator

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

I apologize to those whose comments were not slanderous, but had to be deleted to exorcise the off topic discussion. It's rare that I take action like this, and I may have made a few enemies in the process, but I won't allow false rumors and vague innuedos here. Take it to the newsgroup.

This Forum is about "Steel Players and Their Music". Let's keep it that way.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

b0b, most of Julian's recordings were more "Pop" than anything else...with a little hot Jazz thrown in! I think you would like his stuff.

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

UNIQUE is the one word I'd use to describe Julian. He could play smooth and slippery when he wanted to (wouldn't have played with Ray Price if he couldn't), but his real talent was turning a phrase inside out in a way that no other steel player I've ever heard would even think about exploring.

I've heard lots of players who could emulate Emmons or Mooney but very few (if any) who could capture the spontaneity that Julian had. He could literally make me fall out of my chair at times.

I would love to hear Terry pick -- I understand he's one of the few exceptions.

b0b, you should definitely check out the 'Take Your Pick' album. Julian and Blondie Calderon were at the peak of their game. The 14-string E9/6 tuning he developed was MADE for his style. It can be very challenging to try to duplicate his speed and phrasing on the more standard tunings.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

Did he ever back up any "stars" on hit records, or play on any popular albums?

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

b0b,
The quick answer is 'not many'.

quote:
The Bryants moved to Nashville that November, but Jimmy didn't fit into Nashville's musical establishment, which then mistrusted outsiders. He openly defied their unwritten rules of etiquite. Patty Bryant explains: 'They'd say, 'You don't go down on Broadway; you don't go down to all the bars and dives and sit and jam.' And Jimmy would rather sit and play for nothing than play for money. He would say,'If I go and work for money, then I have to play what people want to hear. I can't play what I want to play."'(Asleep At The Wheel's Ray Benson adds, "Nashville thought if you were a hot player, then you weren't a commercial player, and they wanted commercial players on sessions. But Jimmy was always a hot player. He was the greatest.)

Bryant performed in bars with his closest Nashville musical associate, steel guitarist Julian Tharpe, another outsider. Having kept up with new musical trends (including rock), he did some custom sessions out of Pete Drake's Nashville studio. But, since he was not desperate for money, his blunt attitude kept him off the "A" team. "Different people would call him for work," Patty recounts, "and he'd say'l'm sorry, I don't work for people like you. I don't want my name associated with yours.'"

(from a 'Guitar Player' article on Jimmy Bryant)
Jimmy and Julian were kindred spirits -- and FREE spirits. They far preferred to beat each other's brains out (usually only musically) at Deeman's Den for free than conform to someone else's standards and taste on master recording sessions. I have to respect that choice, which may explain why Julian's discography is a bit leaner than many of his colleagues at the time.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

Paul Graupp · From: Macon Ga USA

Larry: Thank You so much for posting that !
I didn't know about it and it made for some very interesting reading. What Jimmy said on the phone is legend. I'll be retelling that one for a long time.

Best Regards, Paul

[This message was edited by Paul Graupp on 28 August 2001 at 11:43 AM.]

[This message was edited by Paul Graupp on 28 August 2001 at 11:46 AM.]

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

In that case, here's (as Paul Harvey would say) The REST of the story.

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

Rich Kienzle has always been one of my favorite writers. Maybe he'll do an article on Julian someday.

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

In the late 70's (either 78 or 79) I spent a few days in Nashville in the spring, and spent three nights being mesmerised by Curly Chalker and Jimmy Bryant at the Hall of Fame Motor Inn. Jimmy played a lot of fiddle, but some guitar as well. I was so transfixed by Curly that I probably paid less attention to Jimmy than I ought to have. I was staying at the HOF, and really never went out the three nights I was there, because I just couldn't imagine finding a better show anywhere else.

Paul Graupp · From: Macon Ga USA

Larry: Again Thank You !! I am greatly in your debt. I lived in Thomasville at that time, the late 70 and early 80s. I played mostly on the Gulf Coast, sort of Julian's territory. But once I got a job east of Moultrie and I left early so I could spend some time looking for that headstone. I was sure it would be easy to find. It got late and I did not want to be late. So I put it off til another day. It has not yet come...

The story is very personal and close to me. Their music was so much of the scene in those years when they were both togeather and both on top. It's hard to describe something you recall from your childhood but that writer did a pefect job of it for me. You could almost feel the strings and smell the smoke and see those dim lights. It seems like that was on another planet, perhaps another world.

Thanks Again and Sincerest Regards, Paul

Gary Walker · From: Morro Bay, CA

Being a Curly Chalker fan for many years, I thought he was the only one to send chills up my spine besides Reece. When I was at the Dallas show in '69, MSA had a 20 string single neck as I remember and someone said it belonged to Tharpe and I didn't know who he was but when I got the album from PSG products of Julian and Blondie and heard it the first time, JT became one of my heros real quick. Glen Campbell's "Gentle on My Mind" that Julian played blew me away but sadly I never got to hear him in person and now another of my heros is gone forever, Gary

[This message was edited by Gary Walker on 28 August 2001 at 09:42 PM.]

John Floyd · From: R.I.P.

b0b
At first I was surprised that you had never heard Julian or familiar with his music, but I suppose its a geographic thing. I have to confess that I never heard Vance Terry play or familiar with his music. I'm sure you probably have.

This forum is closing the geographic gap between steelers. I hope it can close the gap between pointless accusations and the truth.

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John

[This message was edited by John Floyd on 29 August 2001 at 09:58 AM.]

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I never thought about the similarities between Vance Terry and Julian Tharpe before. Both were great steelers who played unorthodox tunings and led tragic lives. You're probably right about the regional influence. Most players out here are familiar with Vance's work through the "Brisbane Bop" LP if they never heard him in person.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (E7, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

It's my pleasure, Paul. Sounds like you're as loyal to Julian's memory as I am.

I can still hear Jimmy Bryant,
"What choo gonna play, Jooooyan? Wanna play the bails?"

(a little inside joke for Jooooyan fans)
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 29 August 2001 at 01:08 PM.]

Paul Graupp · From: Macon Ga USA

Hal Higgins · From: Denham Springs, LA

Julian Tharpe....now there was a steel guitarist of top caliber. So many things have been said about him that I totally agree with. Julian was a gentleman and one of the finest men I'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. I met him when he was playing with Barbara Mandrell. If he'd ever met you, he wouldn't forget you, and no matter how long it was between meetings, he remembered who you were. Truly a great man and great steel guitarist. A definte SGHOF member he should be.................

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Be Blessed........HAL

Miguel e Smith · From: Phoenix, AZ

I met Julian in the early 70's when he was playing at Deeman's Den (lower Broadway in Nashville). The Den was the place where most every player hung out and jammed. A lot of us got the impression that he was a flashy showman who liked to do things for the sake of showing off or just getting attention. For example, he had this one thing he'd do...he'd be soloing, would pause to take a puff of his cig but leave the bar on the strings and let it roll (either up or down the neck) and then put his smoke down and start soloing wherever the bar was at that moment. It was hilarious and he did stuff like that all the time.
One night several of us managed to slip into the bar without Julian seeing us and there was not another musician in the place that we could tell. He wasn't doing the flashy stuff, instead he was playing some of the most gorgeous things I'd ever heard. As soon as he noticed us, he started right back with the flash! ha ha ha What a nut, but...this guy could really play!

Mike

Jetdrivr · From: Jacksonville FL

I also had the pleasure of playing with Julian. i was just a kid, playing guitar in Birmingham. He was a great player, and was the hardest musician I ever met to get along with. Back then the guy never had a kind word to say to anyone....I could listen to him play all night, just wanted to avoid sitting next to the guy at the bar on break....

Carl West · From: La Habra, CA, USA (deceased)

Julian . . No words to describe his playing. Had the pleasure of an after hours jam session with him at the Imperial Inn in the 70's . . . Absolutly amazing !

Carl West

Carl West · From: La Habra, CA, USA (deceased)

Julian . . No words to describe his playing. Had the pleasure of an after hours jam session with him at the Imperial Inn in the 70's . . . Absolutly amazing !

Carl West

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