Shot Jackson Stories

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 25 Sep 2002 3:17 am

Tell us all about Shot.What was he like?What do you know about his pedal steel ideas?Many if not most on the forum were not playing pedal steels in the 50s or 60s.

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 25 Sep 2002 6:50 am

Wow I thought there might be someone who would like to honor Shot but maybe not.

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 25 Sep 2002 7:26 am

Too many million stories, too little time,
Where would one start?

Ray Montee (RIP) · Post by **Ray Montee (RIP)** » 25 Sep 2002 8:00 am

I have a beautiful Shot Jackson FryPan...complete with a golden colored fret board bearing his name as fret markers.
While at St.Louis, I spoke with his wife and daughter who explained this WAS NOT a Shot Jackson product. They requested all details about the guitar. They were provided promptly upon my return from the ISGC and today, still no response.
Anyone have knowledge on any SHot Jackson FryPans? A story yet to be told, I'd guess.
I do have the time and interest. Let 'er rip

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 25 Sep 2002 9:10 am

I have a Jerry Byrd frypan was was built in conjunction with Shot Jackson. There is a certificate of authenticity that came with the guitar that is signed by both Jerry Byrd and Shot Jackson. My understanding was that only so many would be made but Shot decided that it was such a good deal that he kept making them without the blessing of Jerry Byrd.

Erv

Pat Jenkins · Post by **Pat Jenkins** » 25 Sep 2002 9:51 am

Bobbe, start right here....

Ray Montee (RIP) · Post by **Ray Montee (RIP)** » 25 Sep 2002 11:45 am

My Shot Jackson FryPan "seller" alleges this guitar was awarded to Nashville steel guitarist Don Davis by Shot Jackson, at Davis' induction into a popular c/w hall of fame some years back.
It was accompanied by some newspaper clips however no mention therein about the guitar being awarded to Mr. Davis.
Anyone know Don Davis personally. That would be a great help to this quandry.

Jimmy Campbell · Post by **Jimmy Campbell** » 25 Sep 2002 6:29 pm

When I worked at Music City Mfg, I learned real quick to watch your back when you were tuning a steel.
Shot loved to catch ya with your back turned so he could slip up behind you and wait until you started tunning the #11 string then he would slap his hands and watch you jump, then he would laugh and walk off.
What a great Man.
Shot, you are missed, my friend.

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 25 Sep 2002 6:45 pm

Stories you say: Stories you get....

I asked David Spires once if he had heard how Floyd Cramer got that sound out of a piano and he replied no. He had never heard that Shot Jackson put some pedals on it for Floyd.

Regards, Paul

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 25 Sep 2002 7:09 pm

In 1970 I went on a group tour to Nashville and one of my first stops was the Sho-Bud shop. Shot was upstairs working on a guitar and I commented that I was surprised it was not a steel. He told me it was a guitar of Chet Atkins who had asked for some special modifications. He did not elaborate. He was chewing tobacco and words were scarce!
When he found I was from Nova Scotia he was more interested in talking about Lobsters which he had been introduced to on a tour up here in 1953 with Kitty Wells and the Johnnie and Jack Show.
I told him that I had been to one of the shows during that tour ( I was just 13 years old then )and remembered him walking to the stage with Johnny and Jack and he had the Dobro slung around his back. What a lasting impression!!! Between his dobro playing and steel guitars it put me on a one way track from there on in.

Roy[This message was edited by Roy Thomson on 25 September 2002 at 08:12 PM.][This message was edited by Roy Thomson on 25 September 2002 at 08:13 PM.][This message was edited by Roy Thomson on 25 September 2002 at 08:15 PM.]

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 26 Sep 2002 3:43 am

Now were headed somewhere.You who knew Shot jump in because many of us would like to read more Shot stories.

Neil Flanz · Post by **Neil Flanz** » 26 Sep 2002 9:00 am

I was fortunate enough to have known Shot and to have spent a great deal of time at Sho-Bud when the store was on lower Broadway. I also got to spend some time at the old garage in Madison. Some stories that come to mind are Shot sicking "Sarge", (Roy Acuff's mean old parrot) on Jimmy Day. He also loved to toss firecrackers behind your steel when you least expected it and frequently lifted a heavy steel man hole cover as high as he could and dropped it on the cement floor when it was very quiet scaring the hell out of everyone. He would always laugh so hard you could hear him a mile away. I was there when these things happened but I've also heard some stories that I'll mention as they seem to be believable.

There used to be an outhouse beside the Madison garage with railway tracks running right beside it. The late Junior Huskey, "A" team bassist, was supposed to have been afraid that the train might just some day jump the tracks. One afternoon when he was inside the outhouse just as the train was approaching, Shot picked up the heavy man hole cover, lifted it up real high and tossed it as hard as he could against the outhouse wall causing a terrified Junior to come running out with his pants down around his ankles.

Other pranks that I've heard he did at the Opry when it was still at the Ryman included detuning Ira Louvin's mandolin from behind the Opry curtain just before the Louvin Brothers were about to go on, putting vaseline on Big Jim Webb's bar when he was waiting to go onstage and wasn't looking, and putting a water filled condom in one of Ernest Tubb's boots while they were sitting unattended in the dressing room. Having known and loved Shot I'm sure that these stories are true and that there must be many more out there that I haven't mentioned that are printable. Shot also happened to have been one of the most generous human beings that ever lived. Buddy mentioned a great story on the "Tribute to Shot" album. I've primed the pump Bobbe. Why don't you and some of the others contribute some stories about this wonderful man? [This message was edited by Neil Flanz on 26 September 2002 at 10:22 AM.]

Fred Jack · Post by **Fred Jack** » 26 Sep 2002 1:55 pm

This story was told to me by another person so i'll try to get it right.At least the way it was told to me.Shot was with Roy Acuff and his band down south on one of the islands.Oswald was also there.The hotel they were staying in was 3-4 stories and had lots of trim with ledges around each floor... Os was in his room resting one afternoon and Shot went out his window and crawled over to the window in Oswalds room.Shot said in a deep voice"Os this is God"! "Os this is God!"
Os said Yes God What is it? He said I've been watching you and I'm not happy with you.You need to quit triflin round and quit drinking and start livin right.Os jumped up and throwed his clothes in his suitcase and took off downstairs and ran into Roy. Roy says Os where you going?I'm going home! I just talked to God!He been watching me and I'm going home!About that time Roy saw Shot coming down the hallway doubled over in laughter and of course knew immediately what had happened.They got it all worked out! Shot was a good person!I miss the sessions in the back room at ShoBud!Shot had a sign that said"There may be trouble but I'll never start it". Regards, fred

Terry Miller · Post by **Terry Miller** » 30 Sep 2002 4:55 pm

Shot was like a second daddy to me. The storyies are so many. One time when Shot and Donna came up to my home we took them through Taylor wine company. Shot saw the shipping room said "I never thought there was that many drunks in the world and I'm one of them". He was one of a kind. They don't make people like that any more. Shot did alot for pickers and singers. I wish we could hear more stories, not just from the pickers, but from the artist. Like Buddy said " We created a monster". Let us not forget Shot or Buddy. They are our history and future. Terry[This message was edited by Terry Miller on 30 September 2002 at 05:57 PM.]

ollie strong · Post by **ollie strong** » 1 Oct 2002 5:06 pm

I'm not sure this is the place for this note,but many years ago I bought, from Shot, the double neck , short scale Fender steel that he had put one pedal on.. it would raise the "b" and "g#" to "c#" and "a".. It had a good history for breaking strings,as this was prior to "fingers" and it just push the string untill it was up there,,,but it was the begining...I sold the guitar many years ago and have just found it again... No I haven't bought it but am wondering what the historical and financial value of the guitar might be....

Bob Simmons · Post by **Bob Simmons** » 2 Oct 2002 12:52 pm

I too can still hear Shot laugh. I would like to see some sort of roster of those of us that worked for ShoBud, both downtown and Dickerson Rd,etc. Bobbe, what was the old man's name that was there for so many years?(not George) ha. was a fine cabinet man.
Bob

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 3 Oct 2002 4:26 pm

Met the 'great one' only one time in the mid 60's at Loeffler's Music Store in Gulfport Miss. One of my good friends, Jack Mullinix, (RIP) bought one of Shot's guitars and Jack wanted a lower bass note on Panhandle Rag. Shot, Jack and I went to Jack's garage where they drilled out the #10 tuning machine and borrowed one of my bass strings and managed to get it on. We were to take Shot to New Orleans the next day to catch a plane and he decided to go with us to the gig that night. Mullinix had an Ampeg amp head and a remote spkr cabinet with a 'bootlegged' Fender spring reverb in it. It was a big club and the amps were up tight. The band stand had a curtain behind it and Mullinix's spkr cabinet was just in front of the curtain. Shot told us that when Mullinix 'got down on it' it would be something to remember. It was. Just as Mullinix started the big gliss, Shot picked up the spkr cabinet and let it fall about a foot. After we all cleaned ourselves up and got the people back in the club I could hear someone behind the curtain doing the 'heh, heh, heh' bit. BTW I knew he chewed tobacco but I can never remember him spitting that day. Although I can remember the big grin as we left him at the airport in NO.

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The spirit be with you!!