Dick McIntire

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 2 Jul 2012 7:21 am

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.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 2 Jul 2012 7:37 am

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.

Bill Wynne · Post by **Bill Wynne** » 2 Jul 2012 8:01 am

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.

Jerome Hawkes · Post by **Jerome Hawkes** » 2 Jul 2012 8:23 am

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"?

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 2 Jul 2012 9:40 am

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.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 2 Jul 2012 9:43 am

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.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 2 Jul 2012 10:25 am

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.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 2 Jul 2012 10:47 am

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

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 2 Jul 2012 11:00 am

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.

Bill Wynne · Post by **Bill Wynne** » 2 Jul 2012 11:15 am

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.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 2 Jul 2012 12:02 pm

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

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 2 Jul 2012 12:28 pm

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.

Jerome Hawkes · Post by **Jerome Hawkes** » 2 Jul 2012 12:39 pm

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?

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 2 Jul 2012 1:04 pm

...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!

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 2 Jul 2012 1:09 pm

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 !

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 2 Jul 2012 1:57 pm

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

David Matzenik · Post by **David Matzenik** » 2 Jul 2012 2:22 pm

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.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 2 Jul 2012 3:27 pm

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!

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

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

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 2 Jul 2012 3:51 pm

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

$6.19 according to an on line inflation calculator!

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 2 Jul 2012 3:51 pm

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 ...

... 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 ...

Steve Green · Post by **Steve Green** » 2 Jul 2012 4:35 pm

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.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 2 Jul 2012 5:18 pm

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

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 2 Jul 2012 6:18 pm

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.

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 2 Jul 2012 7:52 pm

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 !

Steve Cunningham · Post by **Steve Cunningham** » 2 Jul 2012 8:35 pm

Thanks for the post Andy...this is the first I've heard Dick's playing. Very joyful chops