Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 23 Feb 2022 8:08 pm |
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I've been corresponding with Rose Force about the old open A tuning (bass to treble E A E A C# E), and she sent me this lovely photo of her mother, aunt and grandfather in a combo called The Girl From Guam.
"My aunt's name was Ruth Clare Warren. Of course she is pictured with the steel. My mother, on the left, Leslie Allyn Warren, the handsome gentleman in the back, Ward Julian Warren. They performed under the name The Girl from Guam. My aunt was born on a naval base. (My mother was born in Cuba, likewise a naval base. My grandfather was a merchant marine). They toured through the United States. My grandfather would service the printing presses in the states they traveled in. Most all. My aunt taught in cooperation with the Oahu Publishing company. I have never heard any better player. She could make a grown man cry. It is a heartbreak that there were not recordings of her playing.
"That tuning, is never heard properly for what it was worth. Of course she genius (no instrument she couldn’t pick up and play) would add embellishments of her own. My grandfather constructed (I have an article somewhere) of the first, or at least one of the very first, recreational vehicles, in which they traveled. They did the vaudville circuit. Most notably the gem theaters which were everywhere. They were very ornate and plushy. It was a very prestigious gig. They were offered the Fox circuit, but my mother fell in love with my father, they eloped, and it broke up the act. Weren’t they comely? I’ve never seen a more attractive Hawaiian guitar act from the era. (Or any other, I might add! Hohoho)"
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Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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