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Topic: Anyone heard of Chuck Gillette? |
David Phillips
From:
San Francisco CA , USA
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Posted 1 Nov 2003 1:25 pm |
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My friend has a '56 triple 8 cherry Bigsby with metal necks and five pedals with the name "Chuck Gillette" on the front apron. Has anyone ever heard of him? Both Paul Warnik and Jussi Huhtatangas have been contacted about this guitar and have not heard of him.
[This message was edited by David Phillips on 01 November 2003 at 01:27 PM.] |
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Tom Mortensen
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 1 Nov 2003 1:54 pm
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I know Chuck Gillette.
I took lessons from him for a while.
He was from the Bay area but was living in Tucson, Az when I met him in the early 1970's.
A great player and I admired his "Travis Style" picking.
He was playing a few small clubs around Tucson back then, featuring his wife on vocals and his picking ability and showmanship. Did a couple of fast instrumentals while standing on his chair.
I don't know where he is today.
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tombleu.com 
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Dave Robbins
From:
Cottontown, Tnn. USA (deceased)
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Posted 1 Nov 2003 10:19 pm
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Chuck Gillette?...Wow...now there's a name I haven't heard in a long, long, time!
When I was a kid back home around the Bay Area, Chuck used to play around there. The last time I heard anything of him he was picking on a Hank Thompson Show down in the San Jose area, I think. He play could play Merle Travis better than Merle...and did so! He could play both parts, the guitar lines or the steel lines behind Hank. he was pretty impressive to a young kid just starting out, but this is the first time I have heard his name mentioned in many a moon!
Thanks for bringing back memories of a great old player from yesterday. I too would like to know what happened to him.
Dave |
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Tom Mortensen
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 2 Nov 2003 7:23 am
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I was 18 years old and he was teaching me how to play some of the new stuff on E9.
"I'll Come Running" and "Whiskey River."
But never too much time would pass during a lesson before he would break into a Travis rhythm and let it burn for a moment. His head would start bobbing and he would grin from ear to ear.
Then we would get back to E9.
God Bless Chuck Gillette wherever he is.
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tombleu.com
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Tom Mortensen
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 2 Nov 2003 8:44 am
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I received this email from Roy Brown and am posting it with his permission.
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Hi Tom,
I was just checking out the Forum and noticed you and the other guys talking about Chuck Gillette.
I knew Chuck for many years while he was here in Tucson. I actually got him started playing again after he moved here with serious emphysema problems. He wouldn't play in night clubs anymore, and I was doing several of the private clubs, (V.F.W., Moose, American legion, etc).
I was just playing guitar at the time but I remember standing next to him and watching him all night and thinking to myself, "I gotta learn how to play that". I finally went to Frenchy's and bought my first steel, ZB, didn't even know how to tune it. I took several lessons from him and am still playing steel thanks to him.
Chuck died several years ago here in Tucson. I remember his wife Dixie selling off most of his stuff and then I think moving out of state. Chuck was playing his Sho-Bud for a long time, and then bought a "Rustler" from the builder out of Phoenix at the time.
I am not a member of the Forum but have been wanting to join for a long time, so that is why I just e-mailed you real quick this way. I have bought several things from some of the guys on the Forum and know some of them in person.
Chuck was a nice person and his wife and family were special people also. And he was one heck of a steel player. In fact, I was just thinking, I still have some of the cassette tapes that I used during the lessons I took from him, I would just let them run while we were doing the lesson.
Well, I guess I should actually join the Forum someday since I am always visiting there, then I could post.
You take care,
Roy Brown
Tucson
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tombleu.com
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 2 Nov 2003 10:34 am
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Jussi Huhtakangas
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Posted 2 Nov 2003 11:50 pm
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I'll second Paul on that , and want to thank Chris ( the owner of Chuck's Bigsby ) for the info and another name on the original Bigsby owners-list. Now I'd be seriously interested to hear, if there's any recordings available by Chuck Gillette.
This particular guitar is also interesting, since it's made of cherry, instead of the usual birdseye. Even though cherry was mentioned as an option in the original catalog, Paul really didn't make too many of them. |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 3 Nov 2003 11:23 am
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Jussi-when Cris told me the name on the guitar I checked my copy of Joe Goldmark's steel guitar discography-No mention of Chuck Gillette  |
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Jason Odd
From:
Stawell, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 3 Nov 2003 3:49 pm
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Jack Daniels of Highway 101, the Palomino Band and other West COast and Nashville acts, mentioned he'd played some one-of type gigs with Chuck in the 1960s in North Ca.
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Kenny Yates
From:
Hattiesburg Mississippi
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Posted 4 Nov 2003 6:32 am
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| If memory serves me correctly and that is no guarantee these days, Chuck Gillette played with Blackjack Wayne at the Dream Bowl near Napa for a while...great player. [This message was edited by Kenny Yates on 04 November 2003 at 06:33 AM.] |
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Ron Sodos
From:
San Antonio, Texas USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2003 3:27 pm
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I took lessons from Chuck Gillette in Tucson in 1975 or so. Took lessons for about a year. What great tone. He was a true inspiration. He used to sit with a tall glass of wine and I would melt at his chops. What a great memory hearing his name again.
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