Journeyman Guitar

A Richard's Tale

As a child of the 1950s, I had a firsthand look at the history of popular music as it related to guitar. My first memories are of my mom and dad dancing around the living room to Elvis records, and my brother and I sang the harmonies of the popular songs on the radio. My mom really loved to sing around the house, and I guess I was just blessed with having a "good ear, " without training. My dad was transferred a number of times for work when I was young, with stops in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Ohio during the early sixties, and we finally moved to Northern California in '63. When the Beatles came out, everything changed. I learned and sang all the lyrics and harmonies. But it wasn't until I was 10 or so that I got my first guitar. It was one of those things your parents do for you that was so mind-blowing and unexpected. It was just right, but it was a false start. Without any training, it was unplayable. By the time I was 15, I'd gotten my first jobs selling shoes and running a paper route, and I saw my first concert, Jimi Hendrix, and it was life-changing. Soon after, I saw the Rolling Stones and BB King, and I was hooked. It was not long after that I attended Rock Fest. The first real time I played the guitar was on the 8-hour trip home, and it was December 6, 1969. I begged the owner of the guitar to borrow it for a couple of weeks, and before long, I was able to get a Gibson SG and a Fender Twin Reverb amplifier. I later traded up to a blush Gibson Les Paul and became a regular member of my first garage band that included lots of friends.