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Topic: Curly Chalker |
Ricky Littleton
From:
Steely-Eyed Missile Man from Cocoa Beach, Florida USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 1:17 pm |
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I've hesitated for a very long time before posting this little thread. So, while I know I'm risking the ire and consternation of faithful followers, I'll post it anyway and then maybe I can see where I'm wrong.
I've grew up listening to Curly on Hee-Haw and on may occasions they let him rip through a hot solo, but those little snippets were just a taste of his talent. I have never heard any of his solo recordings.
Som years ago I bought the 2 CD set "Legends of the Guitar", and on one volume, Johnny Bush did his version of "My Home's In San Antone" with Buddy E and Curley playing twin steels.
Is it me, or am I missing something, but the solo's by Curly were not something I really cared much for. To my ears they were even somewhat painful.
Now I know Curly is known as the "king of the big C6th chords" and maybe this was just a bad example.
Maybe my shallow understanding of jazz improv is not letting me understand what was being played.
Don't get me wrong, I respect the man for his reputation as a super-picker adn I'm in no way flaming him.
A little help from my friends here may help steer me along the right course.
Thanks,
Ricky...
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Emmons LeGrande - 8x4
Session 400 Ltd, Peterson VS-II Tuner
Dan-Echo, E-Bow, Ibanez Distortion, Boss Comp./Sustain, Ibanez Auto-Wah, PX4 Pandoras Box
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Dave Burr
From:
League City, TX
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 2:09 pm
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Ricky,
No flames from here... My opinion is that you just haven't heard Curly "in his element". Go to this link http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum8/HTML/002098.html and listen to Curly's version of "Danny Boy" and then come back and give us a report of what you think. And this is simply one of many great performances... Here is another link he did on Charlie McCoy's version of the same song: http://users.interlinks.net/rebel/steel/dannyboy.mp3
There was a forumite (Jim Phelps), who posted some links to a couple of "live" performances that would make the hair stand up on your head... Here is a link to one of the songs Jim has of Curly doing "Sweet Dreams" http://jimphelps.com/sounds/sweetdreams.ram
This one just kills me.
Be sure to let us know what you think of these clips.
Respectfully,
Dave Burr[This message was edited by Dave Burr on 08 September 2004 at 03:11 PM.] |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 2:59 pm
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I urge you listen to "Big Hits On Big Steel". That was Curly...at the very top of his form! He could have done what everyone else in Nashville was doing in the '60's, but he chose a different path, and players still show awe at his work. His playing didn't suit everyone, but he was great, nonetheless. His touch and artistry on the C6th has yet to be duplicated, and I consider him "the Jimmy Day of C6th", his playing was that soulful and expressive.
I sure miss him. |
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Jim Phelps
From:
Mexico City, Mexico
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 3:03 pm
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| . [This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 09:39 PM.] |
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Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 3:18 pm
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| Ricky, Hee Haw is a bad example to judge Curly Chalker by. That show never showcased the talent he possessed and that is a shame. They were interested in featuring Buck Owens and Roy Clark. They did Bobby Thompson the same way. I have an album with Chalker playing the hits of Gordon Lightfoot and it is awesome. Yes he was a monster C6th player but his country was good as well.I promise you as will many others here on this forum if you ever get one of his projects you will change your mind and change it quickly. The sad thing is Curly Chalker is no longer with us and his loss was devastating to the steel guitar world. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 3:35 pm
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Look for Las Vegas Break"down" I think it is.
Great solo work by the man......
There are a number of old record/tape sales outlets on the internte, Oklahoma and Texas area...... great album and great buys.
You might look there. Good Luck. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 3:39 pm
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| Awesome stuff. Thanks for these clips and links, guys. I predict Ricky will like the Danny Boys okay, but wont care much for Sweet Dreams. Part of it is the poor live recording - sounded like a hippo with indigestion in parts. Still, I love that stuff and would buy every piece of Chalker recordings I could buy, if they were available. A little while back, someone said they were looking into putting some of the out-of-stock tapes on CDs to sell on the Forum. I hope that happens soon. |
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Jim Phelps
From:
Mexico City, Mexico
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 3:49 pm
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| . [This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 09:39 PM.] |
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Doug Seymour
From:
Jamestown NY USA (deceased)
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 3:53 pm
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I came back from St Louis re-charged and I've been thinking about trying Curly's C6th open tuning for some time. I always admired his playing ever since Bobbe's letter to me back years ago telling me he had met this great player. I haven't begun to hear all his recorded work I supose, but today I put my Excel S10 on the workbench, moved the pedals into the center to enable my using both feet again. I've been using P7 (C6th) on a RKL ever since a S12 MSA in 1973. My guitar was an E9th I bought from Scotty at Rick Troyer's show in April of 2000. It has 3P & 5K, not really enough to do justice to Curly's tuning so Johnny Cox told me in St Louis, but I'll do what I think is important in my case on the C6th, which I've played since 1948 or so. I had pedals 5,6 & 7 on my Zum D10 for 10 years or more. Actually the P7 was on that RKL, but I guess it really belongs on the floor. Then I had 4 KL on my C6th then & now I can use 5 if I can get used to the vertical. (I never liked them!)
Any advice from any of you out there will be appreciated. I think I'm going to like having the E as my top string again. |
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Gary Walker
From:
Morro Bay, CA
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Posted 8 Sep 2004 9:17 pm
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Hee Haw was a paying job for Curly but hardly the chance to do his thing. Once in a while on some of the early shows, Roy Clark used Curly on some of his stuff and Curly got to shine a bit.
As for the Johnny Bush thing, the best song was "Tennesee to Texas" and it was a Chalker ride all the way. He did some incredible stuff as the only lead instrument. His "Big Hits on Big Steel" is the greatest album ever, bar none. I know, --------my opinion. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 1:32 am
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My favorite Chalker stuff was on the " Swonderful" album.
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Carter D10 9p/10k, NV400
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 2:47 am
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| I don't think that I could pass judgement on such a great player by listening to such a limited portion of his work. |
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Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 3:04 am
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Chalker is one of my hero's, and the playing restrictions required of him while playing the Hee Haw show must have been difficult for him, even for a paycheck.
.....The Hee Haw era is even more ironic when remembering that he quit Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys back in the early 1960's because their music was too commercial. (Actual words as told to me by one of Hank's band members was that Chalker said that he didn't want to play that hillbilly stuff anymore!) 
www.genejones.com |
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John McGann
From:
Boston, Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 6:23 am
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Curly was one of the greatest musicians to ever touch a steel guitar...whether or not you like what he did, stylistically.
Try to find "Nevada Breaks", which was issued on cassette by Tom Bradshaw in the '80's.
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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff.
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 8:03 am
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| One word: COUNTERPOINT. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 1:52 pm
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| I would love to have a copy of Counterpoint and Big Hits for Big Steel. But where can I get these? |
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Jim Phelps
From:
Mexico City, Mexico
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 2:07 pm
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| . [This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 09:40 PM.] |
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Les Pierce
From:
Shreveport, LA
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Posted 9 Sep 2004 4:53 pm
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Ricky,
I am not a big Chalker fan, either. That, of course, does not take away from the man's fantastic command of chord substitution. I just don't find listening to his playing very interesting. (That, being extremely limited, as I have not heard but a handful of examples).
Vocal soloing, and instrument soloing. It's the same thing. The listener either likes it, or doesn't. It really doesn't have much to do with the singer's/player's abilities. That's the way it should be. Let me hear it, and give me my right to make up my own mind.
Les
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Strat,Tele
Dekley S-10
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Larry Lorows
From:
Zephyrhills,Florida, USA
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Posted 11 Sep 2004 6:27 pm
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Curly Chaulker is one of my favorite players. I only wish someone would(If they could) put out more cd's in his style. I don't have Counterpoint and if any one wants to sell me a copy, just email me. Just my 2 cents. Larry
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U12 Williams keyless 400
Evans SE 150, Nashville 112, Line 6 pod xt
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Bob Maickel
From:
Floral Park, NY
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Posted 11 Sep 2004 6:54 pm
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| Yep, You are right about Chalker not living up to his reputation on the Bush recording of Home In San Antone. I have no idea what went wrong, but it sounded to me like it was an overdub that just didn't quite make the grade. He obviously was not in attendance at the Bush recording session. Maybe he phoned it in. If you want to hear good Chalker stuff listen to the Capitol album "Travis" where Curly plays Chalker. Mainly background and fills with some solos but pure C6th Chalker stuff. Of course if you could get a copy of the 1963 Chalker club date tapes (at the Ranch Inn) in Las Vegas, then you'd be fully aware of what the master of C6th chords did in his prime. There were also some copies of tapes featuring audio air checks of Hank Penny and his band on a TV show in Vegas which featured Curly's instrumentals. Outstanding C6th on a triple neck 8 string with pedals. BTW, don't bother changing over to Curley's C6th tuning setup. If you don't think like he did, you'll not find it, but it's on there somewhere. |
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Terry Wood
From:
Lebanon, MO
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Posted 12 Sep 2004 11:29 am
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I never heard a bad thing out of Curly's playing. Maybe I missed it somewheres?
Like Julian THarpe and Reece Anderson, he played! And he played it "HIS WAY!" Wish I could play One Hundreth a lick of his like him! I love everything I ever heard him do!
GOD bless you all!
Terry |
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Terry Wood
From:
Lebanon, MO
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Posted 12 Sep 2004 11:36 am
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P.S.
Maybe it wasn't Curls really playing, maybe it was some other obscure novice? Or perhaps the recording engineer or the mix just sucked that day!
Curly Chalker let see "Counterpoint, Nevada Breaks, More Ways To Play, Big Hits On Big Steel, Nashville Sundown," plus thousands of recordings. How about hit records, Number Unos, or just chart toppers, with Carl Smith, Lefty Frizzel, Hank Thompson, etc., etc.
Curly's artistry stands on its own.
Terry
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Jerry Clardy
From:
El Paso, Texas, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Sep 2004 12:08 pm
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| I agree with Terry; Curly was an icon and an innovator. People are still trying to play as he did. He played with more complexities than many and some people don't understand or appreciate him. But, Curly has nothing to prove. If there was a bad recording, I'll wager the fault was not Curly's. He was certainly overqualified for the Hee Haw gig. He has a huge body of work. Maybe some time listening to these works and trying to understand them would be in line before giving bad press to a really great player. To me, criticizing Curly on steel guitar or music as a whole is comparative to criticizing Andre Segovia on classical guitar. [This message was edited by Jerry Clardy on 12 September 2004 at 01:15 PM.] |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 12 Sep 2004 12:50 pm
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I wasn't at the Bush session but a friend of mine was there. We've talked in the past about "San Antone." Both Buddy and Curly were at the session at the same time, as were Spicher/Gimble, Harold Bradley, etc. My friend says that Buddy seemed very relaxed that day but that something was bothering Curly. He wasn't happy with any of his solos and kept asking for retakes. Buddy didn't mind, said "whatever," and kept on with his general style that day. Curly kept trying things like whole-tone scales, rushing the beat, etc.
It was just "one of those days" that players have where they're simply not at the top of their game. Fortunately, Curly's got plenty of mind-blowing stuff to offset the occasional... extremely occasional... off-the-mark stuff that may have unfortunately found its way into recorded history.
Curly's "off-the-mark," btw, is on a target that the vast majority of steel players can't even conceive of, IMHO.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 12 September 2004 at 01:55 PM.] |
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Fred Jack
From:
Bastrop, Texas 78602
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Posted 12 Sep 2004 2:58 pm
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| Herb, Ain't it the truth! Some just don't hear it and if they can't hear it on their own,how in the world can they be shown!Regards, Fred |
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