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Topic: Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith |
Dana Duplan
From:
Ramona, CA
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Posted 23 Sep 2004 4:34 pm |
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I have his two Jasmine realeases which I just love--especially the one with his earlier (pre Guitar Boogie) stuff. You can hear clips at Amazon.com. I've been trying to duplicate this tone for a couple of years without success. The liner notes don't appear to accurate with regard to history of Arthur, etc. They make a big point of how it's been stated by music experts that "Guitar Boogie" was played on an electric guitar, when in fact it was played on a Martin D-27--which never existed!! They make several references to him playing his Martin--but that model never existed!! I've looked high and low for a flattop that gets this tone, with no success. To me it sounds much more like an archtop--I tried many vintage archtops, but still no dice--I wrote it off to something to do with the primitive recording techniques contributing to the tone. Until earlier this week--I bought (sight unseen), a 1934 Epiphone Deluxe acoustic archtop. It nails Art's tone to a T!! Anyone know what he was playing in those days, what years they were recorded, and know any accurate history. I think he is a highly under-appreciated player, who clearly was influenced by Django and other early jazz players. Any other good recordings besides the two Jasmine releases?
Thanks,
DD |
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Vernon Hester
From:
Cayce,SC USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 23 Sep 2004 10:09 pm
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Arthur played Epiphone electric most of his shows and radio-TV broadcast, His brother Sonny played the Epiphone arch top(None-Electric). Roy Lear and I recorded some stuff in 1950, He was Arthur's bassman and singer He said he used a Martin on "Guitar Boogie" as best I remember. I saw him on "Nashville Now" with a D-28 Martin playing "Guitar Boogie"
Vern
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 24 Sep 2004 4:40 am
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I used to watch his show every week growing up in Alabama. He played either a Epiphone Sheraton and a Gibson 355.
In as much as capturing his sound, you would also have to take into consideration the recording studio, the mic used, the console, the mastering etc. In other words, what you hear on recordings sometimes is not an EXACT representation of the actual sound of the guitar played. |
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