Jerry Byrd plays Estrellita, 1962 ----> Look

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 23 Dec 2008 6:42 pm

youtube clip "Estrellita"---> CLICK

I don't know if this was posted earlier, but I just noticed this youtube clip of Jerry Byrd playing Estrellita on a live TV show from 1962. Great stuff.

EDIT: Here's a clip of Jerry playing "The Bells of St. Mary's" on the same live TV show ----> CLICK

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 23 Dec 2008 9:06 pm

Beautiful........a shame that the time strip at the bottom of the screen blocks the view of Jerry Byrd's hands though....but wow, was that pretty!.......

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 23 Dec 2008 10:54 pm

Is tab available for that arrangement? I have it on record, but seeing him play it makes me want to learn it. How hard could it be?

Beautiful!!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 23 Dec 2008 11:16 pm

I don't know if Jerry ever tabbed this one. I think he plays it on C6. I love the slants. What a sweet sound! Too bad that counter on the bottom of the screen gets in the way so much. We get brief glimpses of his great slant technique though.

I feel like I'm getting an up close, personal performance and lesson from a great master in his prime!
I can't imagine playing in a duo (steel & guitar only) live on television! Jerry does it with such confidence and style. He's in a class all his own.

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 24 Dec 2008 5:11 am

b0b wrote:Is tab available for that arrangement? I have it on record, but seeing him play it makes me want to learn it. How hard could it be?

Beautiful!!

JB knew of The Steel Guitar Forum ...

I think he'd want you to have this ...

Merry Christmas b0b ...

Hi to Lo E C A G E C# C

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 24 Dec 2008 5:39 am

Nice arch top guitar that fellow was playing. I vaguely remember seeing that when I was a kid and used to watch those shows out of Nashville every Saturday.

Looks like a Gibson L5 with two cutaways! Very interesting.

Byrd was great as always.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 24 Dec 2008 6:13 am

Great performance.

I agree... wonderful guitar accompaniment.

Can't someone Photoshop those godd%mn numbers off the bottom of the screen?

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 24 Dec 2008 6:22 am

John"Keoni" Bechtel, our fellow member from Nashville
plays this magnificently in the Byrd style using
the diatonic tuning.

Roy

Jonathan Lam · Post by **Jonathan Lam** » 24 Dec 2008 7:33 am

Wow, JB plays so beautifully.
Thanks for the tab.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 24 Dec 2008 7:54 am

Thanks for the tab Rick!

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 24 Dec 2008 9:17 am

Here's another nice one on his Shobud. Dig the slant at about 2:30!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SXP_Y0jK1o

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 24 Dec 2008 9:54 am

Slight correction.

The instrument the announcer was talking about at the beginning of the video was not a lute.

Look closely at it.

It's a five string banjo neck attached to a guitar-like body.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 24 Dec 2008 10:45 am

Bill Hatcher wrote:Nice arch top guitar that fellow was playing. I vaguely remember seeing that when I was a kid and used to watch those shows out of Nashville every Saturday.

Looks like a Gibson L5 with two cutaways! Very interesting.

Byrd was great as always.

Bill, that's Billy Byrd! Two Byrds there together!

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 24 Dec 2008 11:26 am

Gerald Ross wrote:Slight correction.

The instrument the announcer was talking about at the beginning of the video was not a lute.

Look closely at it.

It's a five string banjo neck attached to a guitar-like body.

Wouldn't that be a redneck lute?

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 24 Dec 2008 12:01 pm

Looks kinda like a Gibson Style A Mandolin, with a 5-string neck. Very cool! I'd like to see a clip of that being played.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 24 Dec 2008 3:08 pm

Earnest Bovine wrote:
Gerald Ross wrote:Slight correction.

The instrument the announcer was talking about at the beginning of the video was not a lute.

Look closely at it.

It's a five string banjo neck attached to a guitar-like body.
Wouldn't that be a redneck lute?

And heck, with enough PBR it could be a fff..lute! ( sorry OT, I love both JB and PBR

)

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 24 Dec 2008 8:18 pm

Jussi Huhtakangas wrote:
Bill Hatcher wrote:Nice arch top guitar that fellow was playing. I vaguely remember seeing that when I was a kid and used to watch those shows out of Nashville every Saturday.

Looks like a Gibson L5 with two cutaways! Very interesting.

Byrd was great as always.
Bill, that's Billy Byrd! Two Byrds there together!

Thanks. I have seen the pics of Byrd with the Double cut Gibson. I did not recognize him. Too young!!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 25 Dec 2008 9:05 am

I'm wondering about the scale length of Jerry's guitar. I think he's playing the Rick JB model, and if so, the scale is 22 1/2" ?? Can anyone confirm that? He plays a couple of 3-string slants, and scale length is critical to playing those in tune. The scale on my guitar is 22 3/4" and a couple of the 3-string slants are a little "iffy"!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 14 Jan 2009 10:54 am

bump ^^^

Jon Nygren · Post by **Jon Nygren** » 14 Jan 2009 11:47 am

Hey Doug-

The Jerry Byrd model is 22 1/2". Now I know rick made another one just like that one called a CW-8..i've heard that one is longer scale than the JB but i'm not 100% certain.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 15 Jan 2009 1:20 pm

The Jerry Byrd model is 22 1/2"

Thanks Jon.

I'm enjoying playing the tab (posted above) for this song. It's a good lesson in slants for 9th, 7th, major, and other chords. I really like the 'split slant' 9th chord.

Jerry Byrd exudes total confidence in his playing... almost a cockiness, and he Should! He stands head and shoulders above the rest (as Buddy Emmons once said) and he knows it. I can't imagine playing live on TV with just rhythm guitar backup. Santo Farina did that in about the same era.

Eric Ebner · Post by **Eric Ebner** » 15 Jan 2009 1:28 pm

I'm getting a "This Video is no longer available" screen! Anyone else?

EDIT: It's back-

Jon Nygren · Post by **Jon Nygren** » 15 Jan 2009 1:43 pm

Doug Beaumier wrote:
Jerry Byrd exudes total confidence in his playing... almost a cockiness, and he Should! He stands head and shoulders above the rest (as Buddy Emmons once said) and he knows it. I can't imagine playing live on TV with just rhythm guitar backup. Santo Farina did that in about the same era.

Yeah he makes it look easy. It was an extension of his thoughts to his hands, something I think every musician should strive for.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 15 Jan 2009 3:34 pm

Being TV, he played it close to the vest here, giving a perfunctory (for him), albeit excellant performance, and could do this tune even better when not pressured with submitting a 'perfect' job, and be equally perfect.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 15 Jan 2009 4:24 pm

Being TV, he played it close to the vest here, giving a perfunctory (for him), albeit excellant performance

Perfunctory: routine, superficial, mechanical, lacking in interest or enthusiasm

... I aspire to be perfunctory!

I recorded just the audio from the youtube clip, edited out the talk, and put the tune on my ipod. It sounds good, although the signal is not as hot as a normal studio recording.