I am still chuckling over a humorous exchange I had Friday night at the 2002 ISGC.
Buddy was into his second or third song and David Wright and his lovely girlfriend walked past me as I was one of probably 200 or more standing in the full ballroom.
I asked David if he knew the name of Buddy's first tune. He could not tell me because he had just got there and did not hear it. (BTW, it was "Freddie the Freeloader" and very cool!)
Anyway, David's girlfriend asks me, "How long has he been playing?"
My answer was, "He invented the pedal steel guitar!" (I was serious, I was not trying to be funny. Just an honest misunderstanding.)
What she meant was how long had he been up there? (Ooops!)
While we're on the ISGC humor... Tough to convey the spontaneous humor that was present, but I'll try.
Junior Knight was introducing his next tune and said something like, "I'd like to do a Tammy Wynette song for you, 'Until I Get I Right'." After a brief pause he added, "That's the name of the song".
Then while introducing his closing number -- Amazing Grace-- he said, "...when you hear the words to this song... Yeah, like I'm going to sing it". He then corrected himself saying, "When you THINK OF the words...".
Buddy is just 18 days older than I. I also began playing in Nov. of 1948, at the age of 11yrs., but; apparently he did something I didn't do! But, he won't tell me what it was! "Big John"(Jack) Bechtel
I've 'only' been playing about thirty years, so the easiest comparison I can make is to listen to Buddy's work from the late-'70s and measure it against my own.
I've come to the conclusion that my first steel guitar instruction book must have had a couple of pages stuck together....
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Roger Rettig (NTSGA #147): Emmons LGIII(8+8), Fender Stringmaster (0+0) and a Zumsteel D10 on order!!!
Buddy Emmons was past great in 1952 he played at the Yo-Yo club in Calumet City, I'll with a group from LaPorpt Ind. I played down the street at the Turft Club. Harold "Texas Jack" Baker, Sho-Bud Pro Fender Telecastr and Vocal
Buddy and i have a friend in common.His name is Elmer Hobor,He lives in South Bend,Indiana
Buddy is from Mishawaka Indiana,which is only about 6 or 7 miles from South Bend.Elmer has told me some stories about Buddy.One of them is Buddy use to go with Elmer to a play in LaPaz Indiana about 15 miles from South Bend. Emler would call Buddy in from the kitchen to do a couple of tunes and than have him go back to the kitchen,and than get him back to do more,later.A couple at a time.Because buddy was not old enough to be in the bar.The place was called LaPaz Cafe.
Dont know the age of Buddy at that time!!.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Dan Sliter on 17 September 2002 at 05:36 PM.]</p></FONT>
(I was serious, I was not trying to be funny. Just an honest misunderstanding.)
(Ooops!)
