I remember when Ovation guitars first came out....

You may find it history interesting.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovation_Guitar_Company

Of course, we all remember that Glen Campbell played Ovation guitars on his TV show.


I don't remember exactly how this came about. Maybe on a post on this board, or during some video interview, but Bob Shane once said that the Trio was asked to use Ovation guitars and they turned this opportunity down. Shane said the guitars weren't quite up to par and he told whoever approached him on it ...keep working on it and cone back when you've made it better.

Well, I think they went to Glen Campbell instead.

One of the things I'm glad we were able to do was go to the Glen Campbell farewell show.

At the show ... he played an Ovation.

I think Glen Campbell and the Smothers Brothers "Saved the Day" for us guitar people.... the Trio was gone... we were in the middle of the Vietnam War....We had president Johnson and Nixon... Watergate.... Campbell and the Smothers... gave us hope.

Anytime I hear Cambell's big hits... I'm taken back to a time in my life when I was a young adult ... in the Army.. In law school... Newly married... trying to make sense of it all.

It was a very hectic time ... but ... a great time.

I was young.

And, I owned a Martin D-28 guitar....

What more could you ask for?

BTW, I hated Once Upon A Time.

Where was it recorded?????????

Reno ?

For me... the only thing good to come out it was One Too Many Mornings... great song.

It's the story of my life... I'm always a thousand miles behind.


In college, I was a Billboard Campus Reporter....

This got me a free subscription to Billboard.

I remember they did a story on Glen Campbell's first album.

They told how he was playing guitar on one of Sinatra's recording.

He couldn't read music, but after one go-through... he was able to do the song.

I've kicked myself a million times for not staying with him longer when I encountered him at a celebrity golf tournament in 1990.

Didn't bother to get his autograph... after all ... he was Glen Campbell... an old country boy and friend that had been in my living room dozens of times....

I told him that Shane had a new group...He said "Bob Shane" out loud and paused for a minute... I should have asked him what he was thinking... but, I pretty well knew what he was thinking... after all... Campbell had worked with the best by then... I could tell that 2 things were going through his mind... Shane's incredible singing talent and the crazy guy he was....

I asked him what Trio albums he played on ... he said all of them after Reverend Mr. Black.

We've seen pictures of him when Back In Town was recorded.

There was a time when Campbell and Shane were both living in Phoenix... their paths never crossed during this time, but I remember that during this time...Shane commenting upon Campbell's getting arrested on drugs or drinking...or something like that after Cambell got religion... thanks to his new young wife.

Campbell's oldest daughter wrote a book on her relationship with her father... She was on the road with him during many years ... I want to read it.

I think These Days is a heck of a song... what's most interesting about the video is that he's playing a D-18. I wonder if that's the guitar he played in the Wrecking Crew while accompanying Sinatra.

At the Farewell show Campbell did a song
I hadn't heard before... A Jimmy Webb song... The Moon's A Harsh Mistress... Incredible song... I think.

Linda did it too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Musicthemetime/comments/1ev0lql/jimmy_webb_linda_ronstadt_the_moons_a_harsh/


Now, here's an interesting thing.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to a Folk Legacy Trio concert.

Our seats were right in front of the sound guy... before the show started I asked him why there were no microphones for their instruments. He said they're all electric ... I said, that should be interesting... he said, it will be if their batteries hold up.

George, Rick and Jerry all played guitars that had built-in electronic pick-ups wit their transmitters inside their instruments. Rick had a new Martin with a cut-away body. George and Jerry were playing Taylors. George had a pick-up on his banjo.

The banjo sounded electrified on a few songs. Natural on most of them. but, not as good as it would have sounded with a microphone. We'd notice this. The audience wouldn't.

After the show, Rick told me that he wasn't totally happy with what he was getting with his guitar...It sounded great to me.

Rick's mostly high strings rhythm playing and Jerry's mostly bass strings rhythm playing really contrast each other in a great way. With George's lead guitar playing give you a great guitar show... for those that know what to listen for.

This venue had a great sound system. They had a great sound guy too.

It was interesting that they over modulated on a few loud vocals.

I thought that Rob Rieder's bass was excellent ... you could hear it very well. He finger picked the melody on many of the songs.


I'm going to ask George to tell us about their decision to go electric.


Max