Tiny Moore

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 1 Jun 2000 6:18 am

An interesting item I came across from www.tipworld.com. (Btw, you can go to their site and subscribe to receive these little country music stories daily)

TINY MOORE AND THE ELECTRIC MANDOLIN

Tiny Moore was one of the world's greatest jazz mandolinists. His music had a profound influence on the way mandolin is played today, and players like David Grisman cite him as a major influence. Moore had a long career in music. He played with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in the 1940s and with Bob's younger brother Billy Jack Wills in the '50s. In the '70s, he worked with Merle Haggard's backup band The Strangers and with the western-swing revivalists Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen. Moore also had a major impact on the course of instrument design. To make himself heard over the rest of the Texas Playboys, he had luthier and motorcycle repairman Paul Bigsby build him a solid-body electric mandolin. Moore had Bigsby add a low fifth string to the instrument, an innovation that extended its tonal range. Moore's innovation has become standard issue on electric mandolins. In 1979, he made an album of jazz standards with jazz mandolinist Jethro Burns, and in 1980, he recorded a collection of western swing tunes with his old friend and fellow Texas Playboy Eldon Shamblin. In the 1980s, Moore retired from touring and opened a music store in Sacramento, California, where he gave lessons and sold reproductions of his Bigsby mandolin. On December 15, 1987, he died of a heart attack after playing a show. [This message was edited by Jim Cohen on 01 June 2000 at 07:19 AM.]

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 1 Jun 2000 7:01 am

Hey Jim,
I liked Tiny's playing a lot and also Johnny Gimble's. Gimble plays an 8 string with only 4 strings. He removes the unison strings I believe. Although the playing is wonderful I personally don't like the sound that much as it sounds too much like an electric guitar on a lot of stuff. I liked Jethro Burn's stuff better as it was on a regular 8 string mandolin. I'd like to have heard Tiny play a regular mandolin, I'll bet he'd have burned the thing up for sure! Ricky Skaggs plays his 5 string mandocaster w/ a pull string device and it sounds great but a lot of it also sounds like an electric guitar. Tiny did a break on Merle Haggard's "The Old Man From The Mountain's Comin' Home" and most people think it's a guitar. All that said, you can't deny his greatness on the instrument! He was a one of a kind and he deserves credit for that!

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Have a good one! JH U-12

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 1 Jun 2000 7:39 am

Jerry, "The Old Man..." is exactly the tune I thought of while reading this article. Tiny was a great presence on the stage with the Strangers. He always looked like a man enjoying his work to the absolute max.

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HagFan

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 1 Jun 2000 7:48 am

He always looked like a man enjoying his work to the absolute max.

Funny... that's how Johnny Gimble looks on stage too! Like he's havin' so much fun, he's beside himself. Now, on the other hand, if you look at most steel players, ... well, you're lucky to see any expression at all, aren't you? Hmmmnnn...

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 1 Jun 2000 9:34 am

Yep, except for Joe Wright!

Oh, and Don Rich fit that description as well.

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HagFan

Kenny Dail · Post by **Kenny Dail** » 1 Jun 2000 12:44 pm

Tiny was indeed a "one of a kind" type musician. Not trying to steal (steel?) any of his thunder, but there is one more "one of a kind" that stands in his shadow and, I am speaking of the great Paul Buskirk. He too was ver very prominent in Western/Texas Swing, and if I'm not mistaken, I believe he was Willie Nelson's guitar teacher.

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kd...and the beat goes on...

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 1 Jun 2000 1:09 pm

and co-writer of "Night Life" with Willie, I believe.

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 1 Jun 2000 1:20 pm

On Tiny's solo album 'Tiny Moore Music' he plays some acoustic mandolin, and also on the duet album with Jethro.
I know Tiny drove alot of guitar players crazy trying to figure out how to play those licks, not knowing they were hearing a mandolin! It sounds like a guitar, but it don't play like one....

And Buddy Emmons wins the award for steelman who looks like he's having the most fun onstage. Love that grin!

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 1 Jun 2000 3:34 pm

I have a video tape that has to be 20 years old. I taped it off a PBS "Austin City Limits" special. Their shows are really first class...nothing else on TV even comes close. Actually, it was the first of 3 shows they did with Freddie Powers, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson.

Tiny Moore was one of the backup musicians, as was Spud Goodall, Gary Church, Gary Xavier, D.J. Fontanna, Jerry Belkin, ect. You get the drift...the best there is. Tiny played amazingly (never even looking at his "Mandocaster"), as did they all. Of all the 1-hour country music shows I have ever seen...this is the very best! And there was no steel at all!!!

When you put 7 or 8 musicians on the same stage, and they are all in Tiny's class, something very special happens. Too bad it doesn't happen more often.

Harry Hess · Post by **Harry Hess** » 4 Jun 2000 11:16 am

I'm a little confused, was Tiny Moore also a Tenor Guitarist (4 string guitar)?

If not, who am I thinking of?

Tenor guitar is tuned the same as the first four strings of the guitar, as I understand it.

Regards,
HH

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 4 Jun 2000 11:47 pm

harry:

you are probably thinking of tiny grimes, the great r and b performer from the 40s and 50s. not sure, but i think he played tenor guitar.

Joel Glassman · Post by **Joel Glassman** » 5 Jun 2000 7:02 am

I met Tiny in 1984 at a music camp, and studied with him a bit-we later played a
gig together. He was one of the nicest people I've ever met. There is more about him on my electric mandolin page. http://www.mandozine.com/special/electmando.html