The Acoustic Guitar

By J. Bryan Wasson

You have heard the saying, “different strokes for different folks.” Everyone does not like the same things including music and musical instruments.

To me, as far as musical instruments go, there is no sweeter sound than that of a flat top acoustic guitar. There is a place for other musical instruments such as the banjo, the fiddle, the Dobro and the upright bass in the type of music that I like, but the acoustic guitar is central. A few bluegrass bands now use arched top acoustic guitars for their volume, but to me there is no sound like the flat top acoustic guitar.

From the 1930’s through the early 1950s, it was common to hear recordings and live radio programs with a singer and a flat top acoustic guitar, only – no band. I guess the first was Jimmy Rogers. When I was a kid, there were radio programs that I listened to every afternoon that were a singer and his guitar. My favorites included Dale Dunbar, Big Bill Lister, Sheb Woolley and Tom Snow. Big Bill Lister went on to tour with Hank Williams. Sheb Woolley became an actor and he was a sure enough real cowboy. He was in dozens of western movies, the most famous being, “High Noon.” He had a major role as the scout, Pete Nolan on the TV series, “Rawhide.” He also recorded under his own name as well as that of his Alter Ego, Ben Colder. One of his best known Ben Colder recordings was, “One Eyed Purple Eater.” As best as I can remember, Dale Dunbar and Bill Lister came on a Wichita Falls radio station. Sheb Wooley came on a Fort Worth Radio station and Tom Snow came on an Abilene station. I do not know what ever happened to Dale Dunbar and Tom Snow, but I sure loved to hear them with their guitars.

Burl Ives also had a radio program in those days. He sang folk songs with only a guitar; however his guitar was a nylon string classical guitar. The sound was not quiet up to par with those dreadnought sized steel string acoustic guitars. To me it was sometimes hard to hear Burl Ives’ guitar on those radio programs.

I am sure there is a name to the style of guitar playing these folks used, but I don’t know what it is called. It is a style that uses open chords, with lots of runs between the chords and a lot of playing individual strings.

There is a place for rhythm played using bar chords when there is a band, at least some types of bands. When there is only a single person singing with a guitar, there is nothing better than the open chords.

Hank Williams later made some recordings with his guitar and no band under his alter Ego, “Luke the Drifter.” Earnest Tubbs also had some early recordings using only his flat top Martin guitar.

I believe I was in the 3rd grade when my mother gave me my first guitar for Christmas. It was a second hand Harmony arched top guitar that had belonged to a soldier at Camp Barkley who had gone oversees and had sold it to Harry Goltz Army story when he shipped out to Europe. My mother paid $15.00 for the guitar and paid that out by the week.

I had an uncle by marriage that showed me a few chords when I received the guitar. I continued to pick up how to make various chords from anyone who would show me. For the most part, I listened to those radio shows mentioned above and tried to duplicate what I heard. By the time I was in the seventh grade, I asked my parents for guitar lessons. I took only a few lessons from a teenage girl who was only a few years older than me. It was not long before my self taught guitar lessons consisted of listening to those Earnest Tubbs records in which he accompanied himself with only a guitar. I played those records over and over until got to the point where I could duplicate the guitar sounds that I was hearing.

About a year later, I started taking guitar lessons again from a Mrs. Montgomery. She could play and gave lessons for about ever musical instrument that existed. I am not sure how long I took lessons from Mrs. Montgomery, but it was by far not long enough. At the time I did not like the style of guitar that she was teaching me. It was a style where both the melody and chords were played at the same time. She was also teaching me to read music. Like many “know it all” teenagers, I thought I had learned all that I needed to know. Many of the musicians that I admired played by ear, why in the world did I need to know how to read music? I stopped taking lessons from this great musician and teacher and went back to my self teaching by listening to records. Oh how I wish that I knew today the things that Mrs. Montgomery could have taught me.

I loved the style of acoustic guitar lead that Hank Snow was playing. I could listen to it for hours. On one occasion, while listening to a radio program in which Hank Snow was being interviewed, I heard him say that he did not like this style of guitar music that he was playing. I never understood why. His later recordings did not contain this acoustic lead.

The great Sonny James played acoustic guitar lead in most of his recordings. In his later years he used a style where the time of the guitar was double the time of the vocals. It sounded great. I once asked the Music Minister at my Church the name for that style of music. He told me, but my memory was short.

By the time I was in High School, I met a musician named Max Fletcher and later a guitar player named Smokey Donaldson. Max was the band leader for Slim Willett throughout Slims musical career. Smokey had a Martin guitar. He played a style of acoustic lead in which he played melody and chords at the same time on all of Slims recordings. He was great and I loved the sound of his guitar. Max Fletcher, Smokey Donaldson and others often came to our house while we lived at Potosi for jam sessions. Boy, I was in “hillbilly heaven” during those jam sessions!

Parkinson’s has taken away my ability to play guitar. The last public appearance I made while playing my guitar was in 2009 at ”Senior Focus,” an event sponsored by Bowie Memorial Hospital for senior citizens in the Bowie, Texas area. An exception to this statement was the fact that I attempted to play acoustic lead on “An Old Log Cabin for Sale” while singing at the Friday Night Jam Session at the Bowie Senior Citizens Center in July of 2010. It was a disaster as far as I am concerned.

I still sing at the Bowie Senior Citizens Center Friday Night Jam Session and try to play a little bit of guitar for physical therapy of my hands at home. That is now the extent of my guitar playing.

To me, there is nothing like the sound of a flat top acoustic guitar. I will always love that sound.


JBW, 04-15-2010

Bowie, Texas Area Music
Remember, Music is Good For You