Joaquin Murphy with bar slants............

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

Just left YOU TUBE after searching out the Spade Cooley files.......

While watching Spade's "IDEA RED" I was surprised to see Joaquin Murphy playing his early day lap steel and utilizing bar slants from the start to the finish. They were right one! I couldn't determine what tuning he might have been using.

Any ideas???????

[Dale Rottacker]

Ray, I remember a friend of mine, Ray Robinson, telling me once, that he heard a story about a guy who was fascinated with Joaquin's playing, and when given the opportunity after watching Joaquin play, asked him, "What tuning do you use", to which Joaquin replied this one, while turning all the keys in every which direction and then proceeded to play the tar out of it...Can't vouch for the truthfulness or not, but that's how Ray told it to me...

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

It was not uncommon for steel players to totally detune their g'tars during breaks, etc.

Their tunings were 'their secret' and 'their identity' which was closely guarded by them.

Never heard the story as you've told it but I imagine it likely has some truth to it.

[chas smith R.I.P.]

Back when Joaquin was working, he would be experimenting with different tunings, during the week, and when the weekend came, whatever tuning was on the guitar, that's what he would play.

He had a "gift", where, regardless of the tuning on the guitar, he would strum across it a couple of times, and he would know where every note was, up and down the fret board. And it didn't seem to matter, for him, whether the bar was straight or slanted.

He also had the lightest touch I have ever seen, where he would just sail across the strings. The first time I saw him play was on my guitar that had a version of C6, as well as a different string spacing than he had used. He also hadn't had a guitar for 14 years. He sat down, strummed across the neck a couple times, said "Now where was that", started out slowly then after a few minutes took off. I stood there with my jaw on my chest. Here's a player who hadn't played in 14 years and I have no hope of playing like that, in my lifetime. It was a rather profound moment.

[Frank Freniere]

Great story, Chas.

Great picture, too.

[chris ivey]

it's interesting that curly chalker and joaquin murphy seem to have somewhat difficult personalities. defensive of their talents. is this because they are genius'?
why is emmons so cool and likeable?

[chas smith R.I.P.]

Joaquin was very uncomfortable around groups of people, but put a guitar in front of him and he would be totally involved with it. People with “gifts” in one area, tend to be odd in others. And, he had bit of a drinking problem.

Back in the late ‘80s, I was playing in a Western swing band that played a lot of Spade Cooley and Western Caravan covers and I had to learn Joaquin’s solos. Needless to say, that wasn’t easy. Then I bought his D-8 Bigsby lap guitar. I was very excited and since he lived in a trailer park over in Pacoima, I thought I’d give him a call to tell him about it. A very gruff and angry voice said, “I had a lot of guitars”...oh, yuh, um, well, um, ... I’m playing in a western swing band and I’m having to learn your solos. What kind of tunings did you use? “I had a lot of tunings and hey, they wouldn’t let me play what I wanted to play so f#ck them and f#ck you”..and he slammed down the phone.

Wow, one of my heroes just told me to go f#ck myself, to my face. Usually they wait, and say it behind my back.

I called his closest friend and told him the story, and he said, that sounds like Joaquin. He’s been drunk for a long time. Call him back and ask him about his ‘48 Cadillac. I gave it a couple weeks and called him back, and we had a good talk about the cadillac, but then he figured out that I was a musician and it was “f#ck them and f#ck you” all over again. Ite Missa Est

Fast-forward to the mid-90s and I get a call that Joaquin is sober, wants to play guitar again and would I let him play his Bigsby? Yes, but I’m going to want an autograph. I then get a call from Mike Johnstone that he doesn’t want that guitar, he wants one like the one that the engineer from Lockheed built him. What happened to that guitar? The engineer died and his sons went over to Joaquin’s trailer and confiscated it back. Whoa, any way we can hunt them down and have their hands chopped off?

We talked about me building a guitar and what it would have to be. How many people get to build their hero a guitar? A couple weeks later, I get a call from Mike and they’re all a couple blocks from my house and want to come over to talk about what I would build.....Holy sh&*#^t... Joaquin Murphey is coming to my hovel, I start having an anxiety attack. If you’re Catholic, and the Pope is coming to your house, that’s how I felt...yes, he once told me to f#ck myself, but that’s not the first time I’ve heard that, in fact it’s surprisingly common, and that was a long time ago.

He’s been sober for a while and in walks this sweet little old man. We talked about what he would want then he sat down at my guitar...

[Jussi Huhtakangas]

Where's the "Like"-button???

[Jon Light (deceased)]

Thanks, Chas. I'm posting so that I'll get an email notification when you continue....

[Niels Andrews]

Cool story, more please.

[Frank Freniere]

Ite Missa Est

Basically, "You can leave now."

[Bill Ford]

For those that haven't heard it, you need to get the CD.."Murph" and prepared to be amazed..BF

[chas smith R.I.P.]

I’ve always looked at Ite Missa Est as the “Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Thaaaat’s All Folks” of the High Mass.

I enjoy re-telling the story, because I get to revisit it, however, we all owe Michael Johnstone a huge debt of gratitude, because he made it all happen. He contacted me about building a guitar and oversaw what I was building. The original guitar, a 9 string that Danny Shields wound a Bigsby copy pickup for, had 6 pedals and later, Mike got Murph interested in having knee levers. Then he recorded him in his studio.

After I finished the guitar (1st version), Murph came over to try it out and we were making adjustments all afternoon. When it was time to go, Murph had a sad look and said, “I don’t have any money for this guitar”, which was true. I told him to take it home and play it and when he doesn’t need it anymore, simply give it back. That resolved the problem, and after he had had it for a while, he came over to give me a guitar lesson. A guitar lesson from Murph was us simply playing what he wanted to play and me trying to keep up. It was one of those wonderful afternoons that I couldn’t have imagined.

Mike took care of him up to the end, including moving him into the extra room at his house, and then shuttling him around the hospital network. One time, because he was on the bottom of the economic spectrum, and Mike was told to bring him to a particular hospital, here in Encino that could help him, we were refused entry. When we refused to leave, the head administrator shows up in a Lincoln Town Car, with his driver, to refuse us entry (you can imagine what I thought about that guy). When he leaves, Mike went over to the Head Nurse, to explain who this man is and she admitted him.

And so it went. At the last stop, Doug McGinnis, Mike and I were taking turns being with him and as fate would have it, I was there when he checked out. He was comfortable and the room was very peaceful. I don’t know whether you believe in this stuff, but, for the next few weeks, the subtly oddest things seemed to happen. And so it goes.

[Chris Templeton]

Beautiful, Chas

[Herb Steiner]

Chas, my friend
There are reserved seats in Heaven for you and Michael, of this I am certain.

[Rick Schmidt]

Chas... What Herb said!

[Bill Ford]

Chas, Thank you for sharing this time with Joaquin, we can only imagine the feeling that you had. I agree with Herb.

Thanks again..Bill

[Jay Fagerlie]

Bumping to get on the notify list- JM and Curly are my favorite steelers, great stories Chas!!!!

[Frank Freniere]

Great story, Chas.

Great picture, too.

+1

[Alan Brookes]

This post makes great reading. Thanks Ray for bringing the subject up, and Chas for your reminiscences.

[David Mason]

it's interesting that curly chalker and joaquin murphy seem to have somewhat difficult personalities. defensive of their talents. is this because they are genius'?

I remember reading that Joaquin thought the E9th tuning and it's half-million "pulls-to-unison" variants were just a gimmick - to the obvious detriment of his career. It's pretty easy to see it could be at least annoying for someone who spent as much time & effort on swing as Joaquin (and Chalker - maybe?) to see the E9th tuning and "working men" like Pete Drake ascend, and ascend, and ascend... to this day there's a peppiness, even wildness, to Murphy's (and Speedy West's!) playing that got regulated out of steel guitar somewhere down the line.

Tricky questions - my father played his way through WWII on a trumpet and had standing job offers for the war's end, you can just imagine how big-band jazz was set to explode when all the G.I.'s got home! But he zagged instead of zigged, to my obvious benefit.

[chas smith R.I.P.]

Joaquin thought the E9th tuning and it's half-million "pulls-to-unison" variants were just a gimmick

I don't recall ever hearing him say that, but it wouldn't surprise me. One time when Mike and I were with him and he was playing, either Mike played something on E9 or played a track that had E9 playing on it. Joaquin then played the same thing on his tuning and Mike and I just looked at each other, dumbfounded.

[Andy Volk]

Thanks so much for these stories, Chas, and for all the unique and original contributions you've made in music. Your percussion and sound fx creations astound me.

[Rick Barnhart]

I love this forum

[Ken Byng]

A tale of humanitarianism and compassion that is alive and well in the USA.

Chas and Mike, you are two extraordinary human beings who have looked after one of your own. A heartwarming story to say the least.