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Topic: Johnny Sibert |
Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 2 Jun 2003 9:28 pm |
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Does anyone know if Johnny Sibert is doing well? I know he is retired from playing steel. I think he is also retired from the Tennessean.
I never hear anything about this Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame member.
Rick |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2003 10:30 pm
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Johnny is recently retired from the Tennessean newspaper.
He quit working with Carl Smith in 1969, and quit playing all together in 1976.In 1976 he
began working at the Tennessean as a security guard. I heard about three years ago he was working there, so I called up and talked with him.
I was 17 at the time, and had just started playing the steel guitar. He taught me the A6 tuning, and showed me how to play Loose Talk, Hey Joe, and I Overlooked An Orchid.
It was the first time he had played a steel guitar in 24 years.
The only other time he touched one since 1976 was when he gave his triple neck Fender Stringmaster to the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.
Earlier in his career he played a double neck Bigsby. Here is some history now...
When Slowly came out, Webb Pierce had a big hit on it, but the only pedal guitarist in Nashville was Bud Isaacs. Johnny had a Bigsby with no pedals, so he sent it to Paul Bigsby to have two pedals installed. Carl Smith wouldn't let him use it though, so it sat unused.
Webb needed a pedal steel for his band, so he called Bigsby to order a pedal steel. Bigsby informed Webb that he was back ordered, and it was a three year wait to get a new one. Bigsby gave Webb a list of the players who already had pedal steels so he could buy one used. Webb called up Johnny and bought his Bigsby. That guitar then went to Sonny Burnette, who used it with Webb all through the 50's.
It's funny to think that the same Bigsby Johnny used on records like Are You Teasing Me is the same guitar Sonny Burnette used on More And More, but with two pedals(and Johnny's name stripped off the front of the guitar!).
I guess I'm rambling, but someone need's to talk about this under aknowledged steel guitarist.
Oh, and another thing, Johnny said he only
had to play three licks to make Carl Smith happy. And If you're a Carl Smith fan, you know exactly which ones they are  .
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2003 10:43 pm
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In the last post I said Johnny Sibert began working at the Tennessean in 1976.
Though he quit the music business in '76, he didn't join the tennessean until '78. So there you go.
A little more guitar history. In between his Bigsby and his Stringmaster, He played a Fender Dual Professional. He preferred the 26" scale Stringmaster over the 22 1/2" Dual Pro. In the late 50's he got a Fender 1000, which he played with Kitty Wells on Heartbreak USA. He also had an Emmons in the sixties and seventies.
I asked if he would ever consider playing again, and he said no. Oh well, to each his own... |
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2003 6:47 am
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Chris,
Thanks for the information about Johnny Sibert. He had the most "pronounced" Fender sound on steel guitar I've ever heard, the best.
Yes, Carl Smith without Johnny, would be like Johnny Cash without Luther.
I met Johnny once when he was playing the Fender 1000. I was very young then; but he was very cordial and answered all of my stupid questions about the steel guitar.
In a letter I wrote to Jerry Byrd in Hawaii, I asked if he had known Johnny Sibert and he assured me that he knew him well.
I have a Dual 8 Professional, a nine pedal Fender 1000, and a 26" scale triple Stringmaster. I have always loved the Fender sound and I play them all.
Do you still see Johnny and is he in good health and doing well?
Rick |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2003 7:48 am
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Johnny Sibert was perfect for Carl Smith. The timber of Carl's voice and the style that Johnny played were as meshed as Little Roy Wiggins and Eddy Arnold.
Fate (God) has done this throughout history. And it is good. Each of us has a place in the annals of life. Some have embelished it to the highest magnitude of the word. Others, sadly have let it go to waste.
God bless Johnny; may he rest Roy's soul and richly bless all of you,
carl[This message was edited by C Dixon on 07 June 2003 at 08:49 AM.] |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2003 9:01 pm
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I have not seen Johnny since he retired, but I call him every once in a while.
When I asked him how he was enjoying his retirment, he said,"I'm doing nothing, and loving it!".
I'm just glad I got him to show me some stuff. It was the closest thing to a real sit down steel "lesson" I have ever had.
Anyone else with any Sibert stories? |
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