I purchased this guitar in Nashville, Tennessee in late October, 1970 when I used to go to the CMA awards with my ex-husband, Ole Sinc, and friends, Cousin Lynn and Dave from the radio show, "Hillbilly at Harvard." This was back in the days when Billy Joe Shaver , the American Shakespeare, slept at Bobby Bare's on the couch and hung out with Lee Clayton (Ladies Love Outlaws).
The singer-songwriters were the rage then but Roger Miller (King of the Road) and George Jones, still married to Tammy, were winning all the awards. Kristofferson had left by then but Waylon and Tompall Glazer hung out on Music Row, partying though the night, writing and singing up a storm. It was a heady time. Robert Altman spotted it and made a beeline for the scene churning out his opus, NASHVILLE.
I took this beauty back to Cambridge and used to play it, flat-pick style, with friends. Clay Jackson -- blond, curly-haired Texan and lead singer with the Charles River Valley Boys -- thought it the most beautiful sounding guitar he'd ever heard and played it at their performances. I never strung it with anything other than silk-and-steel to protect the top since it came with the two fine cracks you can still see in the photos. But even with silk-and-steel, its sound was brighter, clearer and more powerful than any other guitar: Gibson, Martin, whatever....
The original owner played it so much the finger-board was worn to pieces and had to be replaced. I decided to use the shell motif with Abalone and George put in "sand dollars" for the dots between the shells on the board. It was always black, never sunburst...
The original receipt is available but in storage.
