The Steel Guitar Forum Store 

Post new topic Dick McIntire
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Dick McIntire
Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 7:21 am    
Reply with quote

Listened to this one in the car yesterday. Made the traffic jam melt away. McIntire was such a perfect player .... beautiful tone and execution and never, ever overplaying. Dick always played the perfect background fill or solo and often, sat out a number of measures making his reentrance all the more potent. The late Bruce Clarke's unerring taste and understanding of how to mix this music make the Cumquat reissues some of the all-time best 78 restorations ever done. It's a shame that the world at large is mostly ignorant of these treasures.

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 7:37 am    
Reply with quote

I bought all of the Cumquat McIntire releases and fell in love with his playing. I always felt the quality of the sound was too muffled after they cut the noise out, though. I've got some tapes of Hal Smith's collection of Dick McIntire 78s (Hal is a Dick McIntire fanatic) and they sound superior.

Either way, listening to Dick is immensely pleasurable. Some of the greatest steel guitar tone I've ever heard.
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Bill Wynne


From:
New Jersey, USA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 8:01 am    
Reply with quote

Mike Neer wrote:
I bought all of the Cumquat McIntire releases and fell in love with his playing.
I own all of the McIntire Cumquats, and I concur with the assessment of how tasteful this guy's playing really was.

Overplaying is the curse of the modern steeler. Guys like McIntire, Benny Rogers, and Billy Hew Len knew just when to hit it and when to walk the hell away for a couple of bars.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Jerome Hawkes


From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 8:23 am    
Reply with quote

i have been lusting after these for a while, i guess you have to order them from AU, i dont see them listed on Amazon. i dont have anything by Dick at present, except the available clips on the web.
which one of the 12 volumes is "best"?
_________________
'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Ron Whitfield

 

From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 9:40 am    
Reply with quote

Jerome Hawkes wrote:
which one of the 12 volumes is "best"?
That's like asking which one of your kids you like best.
Dick's old radio show, Harmony Isle, is another must have showcase of his playing that should be professionally proccessed and released. Eddie Bush took over the steel when Dick left and Eddie's version was a continuence of high quality.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 9:43 am    
Reply with quote

Jerome Hawkes wrote:
i have been lusting after these for a while, i guess you have to order them from AU, i dont see them listed on Amazon. i dont have anything by Dick at present, except the available clips on the web.
which one of the 12 volumes is "best"?


The first 5 volumes are the best--they are all equally good.
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 10:25 am    
Reply with quote

I haven't heard Hal's recordings, Mike, so I guess I don't have an opinion except that when you roll off the noise you inherently lose musical info that's inextricably linked to that noise. The art is trying to find that sweet spot. Compared to a scratchy 78 and even through my car's speakers, the mix sounded great.

Dick is kind of the mystery man among Hawaiian steelers. I haven't come across much personal info on him. Yes, he was Lani's brother but was he married? Kids? When and how did he die? Joaquin supposedly met him at Ernie Ball's studio. I'll bet he listened carefully to Dick's tone and attack.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 10:47 am    
Reply with quote

I would check Lorene's book and also the other big book of Hawaiian artists--can't remember what it's called.

Dick McIntire was a very big influence on me, no doubt about it. I wore those CDs out. Jeremy Wakefield is a big fan of his, too.

Check out this link:

Dick McIntire
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 11:00 am    
Reply with quote

Dick played sweet and simple... just the right stuff at the right moment. I agree that his tone was a bit muffled, to my ear anyway, probably due to the gear they had in that era.

I have some of his sheet music/tab from 1938, E7 tuning, 6-string, and he plays everything on the top 4 strings in all of this music. Lots of slants though. He only picks string 5 once for a chord, and he never touches string 6. A great study in sparse, uncluttered playing that goes straight to the heart, unlike the cluttered, convoluted playing we hear from so many PSG players who feel the need to stuff 10 pounds of do-do into a 5 pound bag... and end up with a song that is unrecognizable. Winking




_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Bill Wynne


From:
New Jersey, USA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 11:15 am    
Reply with quote

Doug Beaumier wrote:
A great study in sparse, uncluttered playing that goes straight to the heart, unlike the cluttered, convoluted playing we hear from so many PSG players who feel the need to stuff 10 pounds of do-do into a 5 pound bag... and end up with a song that is unrecognizable.

I wanted to "LIKE" that but realized we were on the wrong website for that.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 12:02 pm    
Reply with quote

Have Lorene's book and sold the other one long ago. Still, only a few lines not the endless stories one gets when mentioning Byrd or Murph. While his playing may sound muffled to modern ears it was Leo Fender who introduced the capacity for ear-spliting highs. Dick's was a mellower era or perhaps the technology just got in the way. Dick's steel is pretty upfront in this mix ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxy5YzskHIo
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 12:28 pm    
Reply with quote

Quote:
When and how did he die?


In the late 1940s he moved to Arizona, hoping to recover to recover from tuberculosis. He passed away in May, 1951, according to Lorene Ruymar's book.
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Jerome Hawkes


From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 12:39 pm    
Reply with quote

what puzzles me so much is that you often hear Dick as THE main inspiration for many of the great mainland steelers, yet outside of the Cumquat series, his work is near impossible to find. you would think there would be a Hawaiian version of Bear Family that releases stuff long ignored.
its obvious he was VERY popular -it was easier to hear him in 1938 than 2012 it seems. was he on the radio regular back then?
_________________
'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 1:04 pm    
Reply with quote

Quote:
...it was easier to hear him in 1938 than 2012 it seems. was he on the radio regular back then?


He recorded with some big stars of the 1930s... Bing Crosby, Frances Langford, Dorothy Lamour. And his Hawaiian band was probably heard on the radio back then. Radio was king in the pre-TV era, and the Hawaiian craze was alive until the mid-40s, as far as I can tell. I remember hearing Jerry Byrd instrumentals often on a local AM station back in the 60s and 70s. The world has changed, to say the least!
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Billy Tonnesen

 

From:
R.I.P., Buena Park, California
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 1:09 pm    
Reply with quote

Andy:
Listening to the U-Tube you posted, Dick was no slouch in playing the single string phrasing and technique. I bet when when Joaquin Murphy was learning the Steel, he probably was influenced by Dick McIntyre !
_________________
Sacramento Western Swing Society Hall of Fame, 1992
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website

Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 1:57 pm    
Reply with quote

I'm glad we're talking about Dick's music.

I thought Dick's tone was exquisite, not muffled. When I had my Frypan and my Electar Zephyr amps, I could get very close to that tone. It's too bad I wasn't playing any electric at that time.

Here is an example of what direct recordings of the 78s sound like--this is from Hal's tape. I prefer it without the processing, personally, but I commend Bruce Clarke and his son's efforts to restore these recordings and make them available. They did a great service to us all.

This one is called Forever and Ever
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

David Matzenik


From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 2:22 pm    
Reply with quote

Thanks Mike and Andy for those interesting cuts. I sometimes think that the role of the microphone is overlooked in contributing to the tone of the era. And just to remember Bruce Clarke, here he is in his youth.



_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 3:27 pm    
Reply with quote

Bruce's interview in my lap steel book is an edited version of the long conversation he and I had about the early electric steel players and about how those who started recording before WWII had a uniqueness to their tone and touch that for some mysterious reason was lacking in many later players. Bruce said he spent way too many hours obsessing over the waveforms on the computer to try to get the best possible sound for it to ever be a profitable activity but it made him happy to restore these sounds of his youth.

Here's some insight into Dick's positions and arrangements. You're own your own for the touch, tone and feel! Smile

https://home.comcast.net/~aevolk/images/McIntireFolio.pdf

35 cents an arrangement! What's that in 2012 dollars?
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 3:51 pm    
Reply with quote

Quote:
35 cents an arrangement! What's that in 2012 dollars?


$6.19 according to an on line inflation calculator! Cool
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Rick Aiello


From:
Berryville, VA USA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 3:51 pm    
Reply with quote

I had a nice relationship with Bruce ... Have many talk tapes (CDs) he sent me.

I remember him telling me ... "You like Dick McIntire ... Wait till you get ahold of Andy Iona".

He wasn't wrong ... Laughing ... He liked Iona the best ...

I bought everything he sold ... What a great guy.

The website is still up and running .. http://www.cumquatrecords.com.au/ ...

But I heard folks have had issues ... As of late ???

Hopefully the great collections/restorations will be available once again ...
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Steve Green


From:
Gulfport, MS, USA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 4:35 pm    
Reply with quote

Bill Wynne wrote:
Doug Beaumier wrote:
A great study in sparse, uncluttered playing that goes straight to the heart, unlike the cluttered, convoluted playing we hear from so many PSG players who feel the need to stuff 10 pounds of do-do into a 5 pound bag... and end up with a song that is unrecognizable.

I wanted to "LIKE" that but realized we were on the wrong website for that.




_________________
Some songs I've written
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 5:18 pm    
Reply with quote

Iona was terrific but I prefer McIntire tone and vibrato. Iona had that uber-wide vibrato that I know you love, Rick. But for my taste, a little vibrato goes a long way except for Sidney Bechet. His vibrato was as wide as Madison Avenue but he it makes your hair stand on end (in a good way). Joan Baez's vibrato makes it stand on end in a bad way. But I digress .... We were talkin' 'bout this guy ... the embarased looking one ....



Dick was included in my poster from about 8 years back. Looks like Elderly still has 'em on clearance.

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/618-1.htm
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 6:18 pm    
Reply with quote

Andy Iona had a very exciting and passionate style that sometimes had a magical aura about it, if that's possible. Some of his strums and notes just seemed to come out of nowhere. I love the vibrato, too--reminds me of Whiteman-era Bing Crosby.

Either way, I could pick each one of them out in 3 notes or less.
_________________
http://www.steelinstruction.com/
http://mikeneer.com
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website

George Keoki Lake


From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 7:52 pm    
Reply with quote

JB often quipped: "If there was no Dick McIntire, there would not have been a Jerry Byrd" (or words simi.) I think the restoration work by the late Bruce Clark was absolutely superb ... (and I do have most of the old 'scratchy' transcription copies to compare.)

I agree with Ron...hopefully the day will arrive when HARMONY ISLE (radio programs) will enjoy a similar restoration...those shows featured a much younger Dick McIntire playing beautiful steel with the backing of the Harmony Hawaiians (along with vibraphones).
I can listen to these shows for hours and still discover something 'new' in his playing !
View user's profile Send private message

Steve Cunningham


From:
Atlanta, GA
Post  Posted 2 Jul 2012 8:35 pm    
Reply with quote

Thanks for the post Andy...this is the first I've heard Dick's playing. Very joyful chops Smile Smile Smile
_________________
Zoom/Skype/Facetime lessons available http://www.atlanta-guitar-lessons.com

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/SingingStringsMusic?feature=mhee
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail


All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  

Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction,
steel guitars & accessories

www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

Please review our Forum Rules and Policies

Steel Guitar Forum LLC
PO Box 237
Mount Horeb, WI 53572 USA


Click Here to Send a Donation

Email admin@steelguitarforum.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for
Band-in-a-Box

by Jim Baron
HTTP