-=> Quoting MARK VANSICKLE to Martin Ridgley <=-
MV> I don't know much about Rodgers (this isn't the "Kisses Sweeter
MV> Than Wine" one, is it?)..
Naw, he's known more for songs like "Frankie and Johnny", "Hobo Bill's Last
Ride", "Miss the Mississippi and You", and his series of "Blue Yodels".
I know the song you mentioned, though for the life of me I can't remember
who did it. :-(
MV> ..but I'd heard that his music owed a bit to the Blues.
Oh aye!
MV> If he had a "steel guitar player" in the 20's, it'd probably mean
M>> someone playing a National, yes? There were metal 3- and 1-cone
MV> ones from '28-'30, but no Dobros yet..
You know, I never thought about it, but you're absolutely right! In the
late 20's, it was certainly not an /electric/ steel!
My sources list the earliest National resonator as the model 35 Tri-Plate
of 1927 (a 3-cone model with a distinctive T-shaped cover over the cones).
They also say that the Dobro company was officially formed in 1929, though
the Dopyera brothers got in on the ground floor at National.
MV> ..and no Rickenbacker lap steels until the thirties, I think.
It's a bit murky here. The Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" prototype electric lap
steel was produced in 1931, and they say that production models were widely
available by "the mid-30's". But they also say that acoustic lap steels were
"in vogue in the USA during the 1920's and 1930's". I dunno if they mean
conventional and/or resonator guitars played lap-style, or if they mean
dedicated acoustic lap steels. The first picture that they show of such an
instrument is from 1932, though.
MV> .I'm sketchy about all of this except for the start of National
MV> production. If it weren't for Tom Wheeler's "American Guitars"
MV> book, I wouldn't know *this* much..
My son's got a similar book, _The Ultimate Guitar Book_, by Tony Bacon.
That's my source for the above info...
NP: the Cranberries _To the Faithful Departed_ "I Just Shot John Lennon"
... Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for.
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