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Topic: John David Call |
Joerg Hennig
From:
Bavaria, Germany
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Posted 11 May 2003 12:44 pm |
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I just picked up a CD issued lately, "Pure Prairie League - Songs Of Pure Harmony", recorded live in Denver, July 3, 1974. It´s mostly the kind of nice easy-going driving country-rock that you might enjoy listening to when driving long distances. I don´t know how many realize the true potential that their steel guitarist, John David Call, had. He was a truly innovative, original steel player with one of those styles that are immediately recognizable. Maybe to some of the purists out there it sometimes seems like he played a whole lot of notes, but he sure did some intricate fast picking that is truly mind-boggling. He did some stuff that I´ve never heard anyone else doing.
And what´s best, he played a ShoBud Professional with a great clarity in the highs. The overall sound of that recording is quite rough, but John clearly shines all through the performance. He definitely is among my "Top Ten E9 players".
(And of the first couple of tracks, he plays a pretty mean b@njo, too!)
I wonder if he´s still playing somewhere.
Regards, Joe H. |
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David Cobb
From:
Chanute, Kansas, USA
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Posted 11 May 2003 2:04 pm
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I really liked those guys. Too bad all my copies of their albums are on...gulp....8-track tapes.  |
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Bob Cox
From:
Buckeye State
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Posted 11 May 2003 3:47 pm
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| John was at my show three weeks ago and was lookin great.I had the great fortune of backing up his beautiful wife,She is a wonderful singer.John is presently producing her show and backing her up, in there band.He is playing an Emmons d10. |
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jim milewski
From:
stowe, vermont
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Posted 12 May 2003 1:57 am
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| they played Pure Prairie League on the underground rock station out of Hartford CT in the early seventies, I heard the tune "Country Song", and flipped out! I had just bought a flat top guitar and was learning finger picking, anyway, I rushed to the music store and bought the album, I fell in love with the steel cause of it (Harvest by Neil Young and Judy Collins, "Someday Soon" were also being played a lot), so, ya, John Call blew my mind, and I always loved the sound from his Bud, you are so right, he did get clear tones from that guitar |
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BobG
From:
Holmdel, NJ
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Posted 12 May 2003 5:06 am
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"Country Song".. now there's a song i'd love to see tabbed out.
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Bob Grado, Williams D10 (lefty), Peavey 1000,
Profex ll.
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Randy Pettit
From:
North Texas USA
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Posted 12 May 2003 6:12 am
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| I literally wore out all my Pure Prairie League LP's in the 70's, trying to copy all of JD Call's licks. He (along with Rusty Young) was a huge influence on me as a beginner, and one who helped draw me into steel guitar. |
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Kurt Graber
From:
Wichita, KS, USA
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Posted 12 May 2003 2:32 pm
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| The takin the stage album is awesome. John has got a great style. Nevertheless, I bought a pure prarie league CD about ten years ago with all their hits on it. Some ding bat had remixed everything and took all the steel out of it and replaced it with sax, or whatever instrument he could find. I was furious because I knew the original studio cuts had steel rides on them. I was very dissapointed obviously and threw the CD away. Anybody else buy this CD? |
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Roger Snively
From:
Washington C.H.,Ohio USA
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Posted 13 May 2003 8:13 am
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| I met John way back, before he started playing steel, at a mutual friend's house in Waverly,Ohio. Just John, our friend, Jim Dyke & me. A couple of years ago, at a cook-out, he told me I was his inspiration to start playing steel. What a Compliment! I like to think it was because of my fine tone quality, my lightning speed and chord combinations, but (down deep) I think he must have thought "I can do that---Better". And guess what? He did. John was taeching guitar at a music store in Chillicothe,Oh. and was one of the finest lead pickers in southern Oh. And there are some extremely fine pickers in so.Oh. Gary Adams, Mike Cutright, just to name a couple. John is one of the nicest guys you could ever know. His new wife (relatively new), Anrea, is a great vocalist and with John doing the pickin, they will do great. |
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Keith Murrow
From:
Wichita, KS
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Posted 14 May 2003 10:08 am
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| .. [This message was edited by Keith Murrow on 26 October 2004 at 03:36 PM.] |
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Chris Forbes
From:
Beltsville, MD, USA
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Posted 15 May 2003 7:43 am
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| Weird thing about John Call. I grew up listening to Haggard and Jones, but he's the reason I wanted to play steel. Huh, oh well, odder things have happened before and will again. |
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