Before Hendrix, Page, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Hank Marvin, and greatly admired by his contemporaries such as Chet Atkins...There was Grady Martin a guitar "Wizard" Who backed both Hank Williams and Elvis, and so many greats: Roy Orbison, Marty Robins, Johnny Horton, Patsy Cline, J.J. Cale, Brenda Lee, Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, and Jerry Reed. In the pantheon of Guitar Greats his genius still remains in the shadows....
@@DoubleJ1203 oh yes. The great acoustic beginning of the song. Surely Grady was no slouch in session work. Very smooth. He was part of the Nashville Sound group. Well known on thousands records.
Several months ago I wouldn't be able to say who Grady Martin was. But recently I've come to realize that he was the source of the soundtrack of my life.
A Bigsby Standard built by Paul Bigsby the inventor of the Bigsby vibrato. Marty Robbins, Grady Martin and the Glaser Brothers, they made some legendary recordings.
Grady was the best - he's on so many great recordings - he's even in the Disney Film - Lilo and Stitch! You know that solo that Stitch plays on the beach - that's from Elvis' "Devil In Disguise". Any, yes - it was Grady that played it.
His work with Marty Robbins cemented my guitar style to this day, 50 plus years ago! Not to mention the short video presented here! ... IMO he's the man!!
Great video of a great player ! As a child we lived next door to Mr Paul bigsby in Downey near the corner pt phlox and coopman Ave! Mary I am told had a crush on my older brother John! I'm also told that hearing the sound of the guitars next door from the window in my room I became quite animated ha ha ! And also cool that I became a professional guitarist makes me wonder ha ha ! Wish I had one of those guitars indeed ! Thanks for vid cheers !
Amazing! Thanks for posting - I've been reading about this guy and his Bigsby guitar in magazines for 40+ years and now I have heard him play. Wonderful playing and wonderful guitar!
By pure coincidence today i was listening to "Three Alley Cats" -Roy Hall .I heard the guitar and thought "thats Grady Martin"....It was Grady Martin ,the mark of a great you can recognise them without reading the credits...ANYTHING that guy played on sounded good.
It was handmade by Paul Bigsby, the person behind the Bigsby vibrato. Paul also invented the typical headstock later copied by almost all producer of electic guitars.
Unbelievable! I never saw any of this stuff, and I was a kid back then, and our house was full of guitar albums by guys like Al Caiola, Charlie Byrd, Roy Clark, the Ventures, and many, many more. Thanks for posting this tribute to one of the very best!
It's absolutely impossible to overstate Grady Martin's impact on every genre of pop music. He arranged and effectively produced most of the legendary tracks he's credited as a guitar player. BTW, he finally plays the top neck at 2:21.
Few outsiders knew, Grady, Bob Moore, Tommy Jackson produced all George Jones' cuts before Tammy, when he switched to Epic Records. I asked a Jones Boy from that era what Pappy Dailey, credited as Producer, did. "He did the paperwork and ran the stopwatch."
The amazing Grady Martin. Grady will always be remembered for his awesome guitar playing on the studio recordings mostly of Johnny Horton and Dave Dudley. His guitar licks were always "Smokin' ". I rate Don Rich of the Buckaroos, and Grady Martin as the greatest Country Pickers of all time, they "Electrified" Country Music in the 1950's and 1960's. They truly had amazing styles of guitar pickin' like no one else before them !!!!
Credit Jimmy Colvard for the Dave Dudley sound. ""I thought I sang pretty good," Dave said. But there was something else that made Dudley's version the Six Days signature. "It had a shotgun guitar, first eight bars," he said, describing a lick played by lead player Jimmy Colvard, who was a minor when the song was cut. "When he hit it with his thumb, he got the note and the harmonic. When he hit that lick on the guitar, they bought it."
Came across this brilliant guitarist when, as a kid, I had to find out who was playing behind Marty Robbins on El Paso. He's played sideman to most of the greats - often without credit - and I think he was also responsible for the opening riff on Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman.
"BIG Iron", "Mr. SHORTY" "Cowboy on the Continental Suit" "EL Paso" "The Master's Call" "Feleena" "Cottonwood Tree" Grady Martin was on all these hits for Marty Robbins, and was a large part of Willie Nelson's touring band.
I dont know about anyone else here but ive always felt that guitar had bags of "Character" in its sound.Not too plinky clean,Not ice pick treble -just right Dead Right!
I asked a Nashville friend why Grady would give up all session playing and go on the road ... "There's a measure of people who don't understand ... the pleasures of life in a hillbilly band ...."
Very quick flash of the beautiful Wanda Jackson there, probably at Town Hall Party. Where ironically, I've seen her backed up by Joe Maphis on twin neck guitar, not Grady.
That guitar looks like what happens when a guitar player looks into his spare guitar parts box and says, 'I need to do something with all these guitar parts'.
I’m ashamed to say I never realized that this picker was on all those great Nashville records until now. It was the playing that was similar on a lot of records that caused me to investigate.
You'll hear the very first roots of Rock N Roll music coming out here. Country Swing beat already had that Rock but it would take people like Little Richards who introduced those 16'th drumbeats copied from a steam engine on a little song called "Lucille" to introduce the "Roll"
Paul Bigsby used a 25 inch scale length on his guitars, thats 1/2 of an inch shorter than Fender. If 11s were used the tension would feel close to a Fender strung up with 10s.
GREAT AXEMAN! WHAT A BUZZTONE! START RECOGINIZING GREAT ARTISTS AND SESSION PLAYERS!! AS GREAT AS DYLAN IS IN MANY WAYS,YOU RARELY HERE ABOUT KOOPER OR BLOOMFIELD!! GETTING THE POINT FOLKS?????????
He could be a bit difficult Grady even Jerry Reed said he could get caustic...as that guy says on here the dual headed guitar goes a bit like Grady's personality...lol
They were peers, by the time Chet was in RCA and in a position to produce people Grady was in the buisiness for 20 years already, well known and already successful. I think Chet was interested in younger talents. Like Lenny Breau for example.
The joke is flying saucers. waitresses usually carry food on a round tray (saucer) implying when he tripped the waitress the tray (or saucer) went flying. Ha Ha..
Wait a minute, that headstock really looks like a 70s Fender Star headstock, lol (spare me your "I am so entendre onto the story of Fender" comments, I read the fucking book already)
I took up the guitar because of this man. He is certainly not getting the attention he fully deserves. ❤ Grady!
The second neck came in handy when his talent overflowed.
Before Hendrix, Page, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Hank Marvin, and greatly admired by his contemporaries such as Chet Atkins...There was Grady Martin a guitar "Wizard" Who backed both Hank Williams and Elvis, and so many greats: Roy Orbison, Marty Robins, Johnny Horton, Patsy Cline, J.J. Cale, Brenda Lee, Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, and Jerry Reed. In the pantheon of Guitar Greats his genius still remains in the shadows....
Oh, but for those of us that know… what a treat.
@@robertparsons5295 💯%👍
I just discovered Grady Martin ,Joe Maphis,and the Collins Kids,what great entertainers 🎸🤠👏🏼
Grady Martin played that great acoustic guitar on "El Paso" Marty Robins
that recording is still talked about with the old timers whenever you bring his name up! his instrumental version of el paso is really good too.
He also played lead on Saginaw, Michigan by Lefty.
@@DoubleJ1203 oh yes. The great acoustic beginning of the song. Surely Grady was no slouch in session work. Very smooth. He was part of the Nashville Sound group. Well known on thousands records.
Several months ago I wouldn't be able to say who Grady Martin was. But recently I've come to realize that he was the source of the soundtrack of my life.
"Big Iron" has about the best backing guitar ever. Simply wonderful.
A Bigsby Standard built by Paul Bigsby the inventor of the Bigsby vibrato. Marty Robbins, Grady Martin and the Glaser Brothers, they made some legendary recordings.
🐐 ahead of his time
Comments Crack me up. 1st time seeing these artists always: " most underrated so and so". Ah, underrated by YOU!!!!
Grady was the best - he's on so many great recordings - he's even in the Disney Film - Lilo and Stitch! You know that solo that Stitch plays on the beach - that's from Elvis' "Devil In Disguise". Any, yes - it was Grady that played it.
❤WOW. That is cool to learn.
He's the reason why Johnny Horton was such a good rockabilly
LEGEND!!!!!
Yes he definitely had a huge roll on that sound!
His work with Marty Robbins cemented my guitar style to this day, 50 plus years ago! Not to mention the short video presented here! ... IMO he's the man!!
Grady's talent can be heard on my Mary Robbins and Don Gibson cuts.
Look at the outrageously large top knot on that headstock!! I want one!
What a world class musician. God Bless.
I never heard of Grady Martin before. Wow. What a great guitarist! How did I miss him?
Sadly the music industry and entertainment media controls who we are aware and unaware of.
My favorite guitar solo of all time was Grady’s solo on Stardust with Willie Nelson live in 1983
Great video of a great player ! As a child we lived next door to Mr Paul bigsby in Downey near the corner pt phlox and coopman Ave! Mary I am told had a crush on my older brother John! I'm also told that hearing the sound of the guitars next door from the window in my room I became quite animated ha ha ! And also cool that I became a professional guitarist makes me wonder ha ha ! Wish I had one of those guitars indeed ! Thanks for vid cheers !
Honey "Hush and The Train Kept A Rollin" for the Rock and Roll Trio with Johnny Burnette. Never heard such a guitar sound like this B4!
I had 2 house bunnies. Grady Mart>n and T . "Bunnette"
The roots of rock and roll
Amazing! Thanks for posting - I've been reading about this guy and his Bigsby guitar in magazines for 40+ years and now I have heard him play. Wonderful playing and wonderful guitar!
Re Foley! What great memories.
By pure coincidence today i was listening to "Three Alley Cats" -Roy Hall .I heard the guitar and thought "thats Grady Martin"....It was Grady Martin ,the mark of a great you can recognise them without reading the credits...ANYTHING that guy played on sounded good.
One of the most underrated musicians of all time!
agreed
No way underrated. He was greatly respected in his time, and is still remembered.
That double neck guitar still looks decades ahead of its time
It was handmade by Paul Bigsby, the person behind the Bigsby vibrato. Paul also invented the typical headstock later copied by almost all producer of electic guitars.
Unbelievable! I never saw any of this stuff, and I was a kid back then, and our house was full of guitar albums by guys like Al Caiola, Charlie Byrd, Roy Clark, the Ventures, and many, many more. Thanks for posting this tribute to one of the very best!
Would LOVE to see more video of the great under appreciated artist
It's absolutely impossible to overstate Grady Martin's impact on every genre of pop music. He arranged and effectively produced most of the legendary tracks he's credited as a guitar player. BTW, he finally plays the top neck at 2:21.
Few outsiders knew, Grady, Bob Moore, Tommy Jackson produced all George Jones' cuts before Tammy, when he switched to Epic Records. I asked a Jones Boy from that era what Pappy Dailey, credited as Producer, did. "He did the paperwork and ran the stopwatch."
Such an underrated player.
The amazing Grady Martin. Grady will always be remembered for his awesome guitar playing on the studio recordings mostly of Johnny Horton and Dave Dudley. His guitar licks were always "Smokin' ". I rate Don Rich of the Buckaroos, and Grady Martin as the greatest Country Pickers of all time, they "Electrified" Country Music in the 1950's and 1960's. They truly had amazing styles of guitar pickin' like no one else before them !!!!
Ooops, I almost left off Roy Nichols of Merle Haggard's "Strangers". Can't forget Roy !!!
outlawlover1 It’d be hard to argue against Don & Grady as the all time greatests, I’m obsessed with Grady’s Fuzz sounds!
I'd have to add Billy Byrd to that list.
To me him, Hank Garland, Jimmy Bryant were the best.
Credit Jimmy Colvard for the Dave Dudley sound. ""I thought I sang pretty good," Dave said. But there was something else that made Dudley's version the Six Days signature. "It had a shotgun guitar, first eight bars," he said, describing a lick played by lead player Jimmy Colvard, who was a minor when the song was cut. "When he hit it with his thumb, he got the note and the harmonic. When he hit that lick on the guitar, they bought it."
Great player.
Came across this brilliant guitarist when, as a kid, I had to find out who was playing behind Marty Robbins on El Paso. He's played sideman to most of the greats - often without credit - and I think he was also responsible for the opening riff on Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman.
(Wikipedia says Billy Sanford.)
I rember him playing on Lefty Frizzell 's hit Saginaw Michigan. That was some acoustic playing right there!
Cool.
Great to see Roy Hall on piano
Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time. Really enjoyable!
Leo Fender presumably in the audience... with his sketch book.
Leo got his from a Croatian instrument
Flying saucer line is gold. Great player.
One the few times you will hear him actually talk during this era
Could someone please tell me what he said? He said the other day I accidentally tripped something or other? Thanks
“Yeah the other day I accidentally tripped a waitress.”
The other Day I,Tripped a Waitress…
The Saucers went a Flying…..! 🛸 🛸 🛸
😹😹🛸🤣🤣🛸😂😂. 🎶🎸🎶🎸
"BIG Iron", "Mr. SHORTY"
"Cowboy on the Continental Suit"
"EL Paso"
"The Master's Call"
"Feleena"
"Cottonwood Tree"
Grady Martin was on all these hits for Marty Robbins, and was a large part of Willie Nelson's touring band.
At 0:26 & 0:29 those notes he plays have that distinct high frequency tone that 50's amps and guitars were known for.
And one of the greats -thats for sure...
Great compilation
I came here because of 'Barking up the Wrong Tree'!!
Or "Train kept on rollin" or "Rock around Ollie Wee" or "Rock the bop" or any of Johhny Hortons Columbia recordings
Pure genius.
A true innovator! the father of Fuzz!
At 52, I’ve never heard of him before. I’ve been robbed!
To add to the video description above: when the clips in this video were filmed.
G R A D Y....The best !
Maestro
I dont know about anyone else here but ive always felt that guitar had bags of "Character" in its sound.Not too plinky clean,Not ice pick treble -just right Dead Right!
Thank you
Legend ❤️
Agreed!
One of his very last jobs was as a bandmember of Willie Nelson & Family.🎸
I got to see Grady with Willie a few times. Grady was amazing both times.
I asked a Nashville friend why Grady would give up all session playing and go on the road ... "There's a measure of people who don't understand ... the pleasures of life in a hillbilly band ...."
Bet money, he was a cool cat as you could hope to swill a beer with. Not to mention a guitar master.
Very quick flash of the beautiful Wanda Jackson there, probably at Town Hall Party. Where ironically, I've seen her backed up by Joe Maphis on twin neck guitar, not Grady.
More likely Ranch Party,come to think of it.
He played 2nd guitar on some Flatt & Scruggs albums, and some other work with bluegrass acts.
Hey guys, you may be able to answer a question for me: Did Grady Martin play the guitar solo on Janis Martin's 'My Boy Elvis' recording ?
I too am underrated.😆
Thumbs Carlille did a song demonstrating every guitar player around "Saturday Night Fry up " or similar
Yes, Springfield Guitar Social from 1957 on Starday Records. And yes, he presents Grady as the first one: ua-cam.com/video/7RxceN0cyRk/v-deo.html
I thought I heard him miss a note then I realized my brain just couldn't keep up with his playing.
That guitar looks like what happens when a guitar player looks into his spare guitar parts box and says, 'I need to do something with all these guitar parts'.
He was among the first to have success with a solid body electric.Note how the headstock looks like one of the most common guitars today.
I’m ashamed to say I never realized that this picker was on all those great Nashville records until now. It was the playing that was similar on a lot of records that caused me to investigate.
There's only 10 seconds of footage of him playing the top neck of that cool guitar?
Un crack
You'll hear the very first roots of Rock N Roll music coming out here.
Country Swing beat already had that Rock but it would take people like Little Richards who introduced those 16'th drumbeats copied from a steam engine on a little song called "Lucille" to introduce the "Roll"
My cousin.
I think he played for “Bobby fleet and his band with a beat”
Ole’ Flat top? Is he who Chuck Berry was singing about? (later, by John Lennon)
The Other Day I Tripped a Waitress….. The Saucers Went a Flying….🤣🛸🛸😹🎸🎶
Sad that most great country guitar players get passed over because they were not rock guitarist,
I wouldn't say he got passed over, I'd say he is definitely a big part of the development of rock and roll guitar.
Agree but he helped country music and country rock get created? Folks rippin him off even today. He's just getting famous now
Nashville Cats!
Put a big distortion pedal on him and a long echo and they would say he was the greatest guitarist that ever lived!!LOL
He was also a genius Rock'n'Roll player. I heard of him first time from his killer playing on Johnny Burnette"s Rock'n'Roll Trio album.
Grady Martin introduced fuzz guitar on Marty Robbins' hit Don't worry, by mistake. A tube was broken!
whats the name of the tune at 0:36 ?
Would really appreciate that Thanks
You can just hear that those strings are gage .11 which, if you dont play guitar, are hard as heck to bend strings that thick.
Paul Bigsby used a 25 inch scale length on his guitars, thats 1/2 of an inch shorter than Fender. If 11s were used the tension would feel close to a Fender strung up with 10s.
❤🤣🤟
Guitar hero
Agreed! at least my guitar hero
Did I just hear a classic country swing version of the Benny Hill theme?
GREAT AXEMAN! WHAT A BUZZTONE! START RECOGINIZING GREAT ARTISTS AND SESSION PLAYERS!! AS GREAT AS DYLAN IS IN MANY WAYS,YOU RARELY HERE ABOUT KOOPER OR BLOOMFIELD!! GETTING THE POINT FOLKS?????????
never once saw him play that upper neck......
2:22 check it out
He could be a bit difficult Grady even Jerry Reed said he could get caustic...as that guy says on here the dual headed guitar goes a bit like Grady's personality...lol
In one of those instances he looks like Flat-top from the Dick Tracy cartoon...
Why didnt Chet Atkins ever Feature this Picker he did all the others
They were peers, by the time Chet was in RCA and in a position to produce people Grady was in the buisiness for 20 years already, well known and already successful. I think Chet was interested in younger talents. Like Lenny Breau for example.
Never heard of him
I'm not an expert. I saw a video, saying that Bigsby only made about 200 guitars. Not an assembly-line production dude.
That’s correct, he made one at a time for each player.
Looks like Kirk Hammet stole Grady Martin's picking technique.
Sounds great, that guitar is hideous though 😂
Never!
Translation please at 2.10. The combination of poor soundtrack plus his heavy accent, can someone explain the joke!
The joke is flying saucers. waitresses usually carry food on a round tray (saucer) implying when he tripped the waitress the tray (or saucer) went flying. Ha Ha..
Wait a minute, that headstock really looks like a 70s Fender Star headstock, lol (spare me your "I am so entendre onto the story of Fender" comments, I read the fucking book already)
Roswell had people talking even back then after the committee decided to make up the word conspiracy theorist
Those pulloffs....