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Topic: 1st electric guitar on Grand Ole Opry squelched |
Ed Altrichter
From:
Schroeder, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 8:55 am |
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There's a tidbit in "Country Weekly" magazine that says : "A musician named Sam Gill, no relation to Vince, played the first electric guitar on the Grand Ole Opry in 1939. But that didn't sit well with Opry director George Hay, who told him not to do it again."
That's all the info they give. Does anyone know any more about that ? It sounded too modern, I suppose, but I wonder if he was playing a steel guitar... |
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Chick Donner
From:
North Ridgeville, OH USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 9:25 am
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| Can't tell you about that one. But, in 1970 or 71 (drank a lot more in those days), I was working for Jeannie C. Riley, and her current hit was "OH Singer,which had a tom-tom lead, and I used a Cordovox leslie unit to attempt to sound like the Hammond B3 that was used on the session. Bud Wendell said "NO WAY" to a full set of drums AND a cordovox on the Opry stage, and Jeannie said NO WAY she'd play without doing her current song. So, a compromise was reached. They put both the drum set and my cordovox on one of those industrial carts that's about 6-8 feet square with four large casters on it, and when our turn came, they wheeled that out, and when we were done, they wheeled it right off the stage. Of course, nowadays, there's a full set of drums on the Opry stage, but it wasn't all that long ago that drummers were limitee to one snare with brushes, 'a 'la Harold Weakley. |
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Earl Erb
From:
Old Hickory Tenn
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 9:41 am
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Chick, I remember those days very well. Actually, Roy Acuff was the biggest opponent of a full set of drums on the Opry. He was a purest and I'm not sure what caused him to finally change his mind. I really think Acuff called the shots there for years.
I used to feel sorry for the drummers that had to make the best of a snare drum, crash cymbal and brushes. Thats like a steel with no pedals.
I think the first night a full set of drums appeared on the Opry stage, Harold Weakly thought "What in the heck am I supposed to do with all this stuff?" I think I remember him sitting behind the drum set but I don't think he actually played the full set. My memory has faded a little.
Hey Chick, do you remember Johnny Rogers?[This message was edited by Earl Erb on 11 July 2004 at 11:07 AM.] |
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Jim Florence
From:
wilburton, Ok. US * R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 2:41 pm
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Don't know how well memory serves , but I think Dob Wills broke the ban on drums in that he refused to play without drums, and the Opry didn't permit them. The result was a compromise on [remember these] A "cocktail set" which is as you described. In Arizona they weren't going to let Ernest Tubb play if the band wore cowboy hats. His deal "No hats !!!!No Show" He played the show [with hats].
BTW Hi Chick! |
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John Floyd
From:
R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 2:54 pm
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| Quote: |
| I really think Acuff called the shots there for years. |
Earl
No doubt about it, remember the Big GOLD Star on Dressing Room # 1 in the new opry house. You did n't wander into that one without invitation. |
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Earl Erb
From:
Old Hickory Tenn
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 7:51 pm
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Quote: Don't know how well memory serves , but I think Dob Wills broke the ban on drums in that he refused to play without drums, and the Opry didn't permit them.
Jim, if you meant to say Bob Wills, I don't think, if my memory serves me correctly, Bob Wills never appeared on the Grand Ole'Opry and was never a member. If I am wrong someone please correct me.  [This message was edited by Earl Erb on 11 July 2004 at 08:52 PM.] |
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Earl Erb
From:
Old Hickory Tenn
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 7:57 pm
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Message for John Floyd, I never received your emails and apparently you didn't get mine either. Houston...we have a problem. 
I remember the gold star on the door. At the Ryman, Roy had to tough it out with the other artists, there were not enough dressing rooms to have his own...poor baby. |
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Craig A Davidson
From:
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 9:17 pm
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Earl, The info I have on Bob states that Bob played the Opry once, with his drummer. The drums were to be behind the curtain, but after they were introduced Bob had them moved in front of the curtain. I have this info in two or three of my books on Wills.
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1985 Emmons push-pull,S-10 Marlen,Evans SE200,Hilton pedal
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 10:03 pm
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"Thats like a steel with no pedals"....a bit of a low blow to non-pedal steelers. Non-pedal was on the Opry long before pedals ever came along.
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nick allen
From:
France
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Posted 11 Jul 2004 10:52 pm
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Back to the original topic... I always understood that it was Sam *McGee* who played the first electric at the Opry and was told not to do it again... As far as I know, he wasn't any relation to Vince Gill either...
I forget whether it was a steel or a "Spanish" guitar - I believe Sam McGee played both, although he was best known for fingerpicking the standard guitar (Buckdancer's Choice, Railroad Blues, etc)
Nick |
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Earl Erb
From:
Old Hickory Tenn
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Posted 12 Jul 2004 7:47 am
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| George, I think you took my analogy about steel without pedals out of context. Let's say you showed up to play at the Opry and you were told you could but you had to remove your pedals. If you never played without pedals you could be at a serious disadvantage, just like a drummer who is used to playing a full set of drums. My comment was absolutely not a slam to non-pedal steelers. [This message was edited by Earl Erb on 12 July 2004 at 08:48 AM.] |
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