Roy Buchanan - anyone else ever heard of this man?
-lapenn a.j.
With all of the guitar players on the net I have never seen any tab or requests
for tab by Roy Buchanan. If anyone has any tab or can point me to a source for
tab please do it. I'll even pay for it.
If you don't know who this man is, then you should get some of his recordings.
He's without a doubt one of the best guitar players that ever lived. (I'll
take whatever flames come my way for that statement).
Thanks,
FerdS
I grew up in DC listening to Roy Buchanan (Buch and the Snakestretchers)
play all the area bars and even the Kennedy Center once. He was absolutely
one of the greatest, a most unpresupposing guy, very shy, but at the same
time, sly enough to turn his back on the audience to protect his best
licks. Many people knew for years about his drinking problems which led to
his death in the Fairfax County jail, but the word was he had overcome
this. I, too, would like to get any Buch tab, notably Messiah, down By the
River, two of his stage classics.
bch...@hubcap.clemson.edu
In article <4un5ck$d...@nntpa.cb.lucent.com>, y...@mvuts.mv.att.com (-lapenn
a.j.) wrote:
AMEN. The man was incredible. Together with Danny gatton they are the two most
phenomonal unknown guitar players ever. I've got tons of guitar mags, and I
don't have any Buchannan tabs either. If it weren't for 1 song on the
chronicles volume 1 cd (tribute to elmore) I'd probably never have heard of
him at all. For those that don't know, Buchannan is widely held to have
invented the pinched artificial harmonic, and we all know what that is right?
-Brantman
Glenn Eichel
> With all of the guitar players on the net I have never seen any tab or
requests
> for tab by Roy Buchanan. If anyone has any tab or can point me to a source for
> tab please do it. I'll even pay for it.
>
> If you don't know who this man is, then you should get some of his recordings.
> He's without a doubt one of the best guitar players that ever lived. (I'll
> take whatever flames come my way for that statement).
>
> Thanks,
No doubt!!! I met him when he came to Oxford, Ohio in '76 to give a
concert. I was the stage manager in the facility. The man is, IMHO, the
best unknown guitarist and perhaps one of the best of all. Give him a
listen
R. McPherson
> In article <4un5ck$d...@nntpa.cb.lucent.com> wrote:
> > Roy Buchanan.
> > He's without a doubt one of the best guitar players that ever lived. (I'll
> > take whatever flames come my way for that statement).
On Sat, 17 Aug 1996, Glenn Eichel wrote:
> No doubt!!! I met him when he came to Oxford, Ohio in '76 to give a
> concert. I was the stage manager in the facility. The man is, IMHO, the
> best unknown guitarist and perhaps one of the best of all. Give him a
> listen
Awesome. Unique. Fast. Impossible to imitate! (?). He played an old
Telecaster and could do lightning fast tremolos and slide his hand down
the neck changing chords and make it sound like a spaceship taking off.
He did all this without effects processors. He drank heavily. He
committed suicide in jail after being arrested (sketchy on this point but
I think it was for drunkeness again and I think it was mid 80s).
Anyone have more accurate info on his unfortunate demise?
rjmc...@uci.edu R. McPherson, Psychobiology Dept, UC Irvine
Spanky
I found out about Roy Buchanan a few years ago on a radio program
called Blues from the Red Rooster Lounge. It originates here in
Boulder, Colorado, but I think it's syndicated other places in the
U.S. They did two shows dedicated to RB 'cause the host thought he was
so great!
I would love to get tab to his song "Voices" from the album That's
What I Am Here For. It's not a blues song but it really rocks!
mtn-cw
In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.96081...@rigel.oac.uci.edu>, "R. McPherson" <rjmc...@rigel.oac.uci.edu> says:
>
>
>> In article <4un5ck$d...@nntpa.cb.lucent.com> wrote:
>> > Roy Buchanan.
>> > He's without a doubt one of the best guitar players that ever lived. (I'll
>> > take whatever flames come my way for that statement).
>
>
has always agreed with the above statement. The "Livestock" almum
completely blew me away, and I still listen to it all the time, twenty
years after I first heard it. Great great stuff. Does anybody know
anything about the singer (Billy Price) on that album?
I've been working out some Roy Buchanan tunes lately. I'll post them when
I get em done
Mitch Thornton mtn...@whistler.net
FerdS
Roy Buchanan died in the Fairfax, Va county jail in August 1988 after
being picked up drunk. A guard found him hanged with his own shirt. To
anyone who grew up in Washington DC in the 60s, and frequented the bar
scene, Roy was an amazing fixture. I sat in on a jam session with Roy and
other DC musicians (watched that is) in the 70s at a rundown hotel and it
was truly inspirational. I wrote a number of articles about Buch (his band
was called Buch and the Snakestretchers) over the years and will try to
post one later if anyone is interested.
Fred
FerdS
Here's some stuff on Roy
M1DATE: {M0Sunday, August 21, 1988 {M1EDITION:
{M0NEWS/SUN-SENTINEL
{M1SECTION: {M0FEATURES ARTS & LEISURE {M1PAGE: {M01F {M1ZONE:
{M0ALL EDITIONS
{M1LENGTH: {M0Long : 105 lines
{M1SOURCE: {M0By FRED SCHULTE, Staff Writer
BIDDING FAREWELL TO A GUITAR LEGEND
There were two reasons to hit a seedy bar called the Crossroads near
College Park, Md., during the early 1970s.
First, {M4Roy{M0 {M4Buchanan{M0 took the stage most nights. Second, you
never knew if
you`d catch one of rock`s big names gazing in awe at ``Buch,`` the ``best
unknown guitarist in the world.``
{M4Roy{M0 {M4Buchanan{M0 was an originator in rock `n` roll,
rockabilly, even blues. A
sadly retiring figure, he strode on the stages of Washington, D.C., area
dives
night after night, his hair thinning, his tummy tumbling over his belt, a
mysterious portrait of studied guitar artistry.
His legend grew as he claimed to have turned down a spot in the Rolling
Stones to avoid the ``hassle`` of touring the world. Rumors that he also
rejected a chance to hit the road with John Lennon`s Plastic Ono Band
added to
his mystique.
The mystery ended -- or went on -- Sunday night when Buchanan killed
himself in a Fairfax County, Va., jail cell at age 48, after being picked
up
drunk. A guard found him hanging from his shirt on a window grate.
``He was in great spirits, positive and upbeat,`` said Ken Morton, a
spokesman for Alligator Records in Chicago, Buchanan`s recording label.
``He
was happy with his musical career. This just seems one of those things
that
nobody expected.``
Morton added: ``He was a very quiet man, soft-spoken and very humble. I
think that contributed to the air of mystery about him.``
Buchanan leaves a legacy of a dozen record albums -- several of which
he
repudiated as too commercial to capture his unique sound -- and countless
live
dates, including four sold-out concerts in July at Musicians Exchange in
Fort
Lauderdale.
Onstage, Buch could sound like a stoned snake charmer, emitting
soothing,
seductive notes. Or he could seem bent on starting interplanetary war,
bludgeoning a club`s floorboards with a hellish rendition of Hey Joe, his
tribute to Jimi Hendrix.
{M4Roy{M0 {M4Buchanan{M0
In his D.C. bar days, Buch was fond of turning his back to the crowd,
and
bending far over his tiny amp as he issued his gutsiest licks. It
perplexed
his fans and teased fellow musicians, who were denied a chance to see the
guitar master`s fingerwork.
Some fans figured the act symbolized Buch`s detachment from the music
industry. Others said he turned away to conceal his best harmonic tricks
from
better-known admirers.
No guitar tricks were more awesome than the batch unleashed on his
classic
The Messiah Will Come Again. It began with Buch`s downcast mumblings about
``a
lonely, little town called the world,`` recited dully over a oddly lusty-
sounding church organ.
``I walked a lot of places I never should have been ... But I know the
Messiah; He will come again,`` Buch intoned.
What followed was a cacophony of piercing cries as Buch`s hands flew up
the
guitar neck. The song`s pacing, from tense string-bending wails to moaning
refrains, left an audience drained and slack-jawed. The number left Buch
barely showing a sweat and wearing a wan smile, as if he were amused by
his
virtuosity.
Yet there sometimes seemed to be dismay, even anger, as Buchanan
lumbered
toward the microphone to take on Roy`s Bluz, a blistering, nine-minute
blues
bomb he prefaced with the taunt, ``for a whole lot of people that always
left
Buchanan behind.``
Buch, who was tagged with the ``best unknown`` label by a public
television
special, got left behind as the `70s gave way to hyped-up punk rockers. It
left little room for aging cult figures with a touch of country,
ill-fitting
clothes and a goatee like Maynard G. Krebs.
His career, which had begun at age 15 backing rockabilly singer Dale
Hawkins, the originator of Suzy Q, began to slide. Nobody spoke of Jeff
Beck
or Robbie Robertson or Jerry Garcia paying homage to Buch`s influence.
``Unfortunately people like Roy who pioneer anything go relatively
unnoticed during their life,`` Morton said. ``They often receive a lot
more
attention after they have died.``
Despite his underground fame, Buch never was able to put together a
band
that could keep up with him. Personnel drifted in and out of his groups --
once known as the Snakestretchers -- both on early records and at
concerts.
His albums reflected his struggle to find musical direction. {M4Roy{M0
{M4Buchanan{M0,
released in 1972, mixed a rather lame version of Hank Williams` Hey, Good
Lookin` with the spacey sound of Messiah.
While another 1972 album went gold, he was vocal in his complaint that
he
wasn`t getting enough control over his recorded sound. The title track of
his
1973 album That`s What I Am Here For seemed to sum up his view of the
industry
with the lines: ``I`m really not looking for fame,/I need music to lend me
a
hand.``
But all that was said to have changed in 1985 when he signed with
Alligator
Records, a label that takes pride in resurrecting the careers of
downtrodden
blues men.
Liner notes to When a Guitar Plays the Blues, his first of three
Alligator
albums, said he was ``completely satisfied`` with the sound, an intriguing
blend of hot guitar flashes and soulful Chicago blues by the likes of
singers
such as Otis Clay.
``I feel like it`s my first record because it`s really me. It`s simply
the
best record I`ve ever made,`` the liner notes quote him as saying.
It was this renewed {M4Roy{M0 {M4Buchanan{M0, who had shaved his head
and more than
a
few pounds, who bounded onto the stage at Musicians Exchange last month --
seemingly in the highest of spirits.
``The question seems to be why Roy at the artistic peak of his career
decided to end his own life,`` Morton said.
Morton said it`s too soon to know whether any more Buchanan recordings
will
be issued. But it`s tragic that only after his death is Buch likely to
become
one of the ``best well-known`` guitarists in the world.
{M1KEYWORDS: {M0PROFILE {M4ROY{M0 {M4BUCHANAN{M0
{M0
{M2 4 of 9, 12 Terms
{M0
{M2 fl ROY BUCHANAN, `BEST UNKNOWN` GUITAR PLAYER
08/17/88
{M0
Wednesday, August 17, 1988
{M4ROY{M0 {M4BUCHANAN{M0, `BEST UNKNOWN` GUITAR PLAYER
FAIRFAX, Va. -- Guitarist {M4Roy{M0 {M4Buchanan{M0, touted as ``the
best unknown
guitarist in the world`` before he won recording contracts and produced
two
gold records, has hanged himself in a jail cell, officials said. He was
48.
Mr. Buchanan, whose work stretched the limits of the electric guitar
and
had an influence on musicians from blues to country-western, was arrested
on
Sunday night on a charge of public drunkenness and was placed alone in a
receiving cell at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, police said.
He
was found hanged with his shirt from a window grate, police said.
``Roy was known for making the guitar squeal and snarl, playing
harmonics,
a lot of innovative techniques,`` said Ken Morton, spokesman for Mr.
Buchanan`s recording label, Chicago-based Alligator Records. ``People like
Robbie Robertson and Jeff Beck owe him a debt of gratitude.``
Mr. Buchanan performed in Fort Lauderdale several times, most recently
in
late July when he played before full houses during four weekend
performances
at the downtown Musicians Exchange.
He was born in Ozark, Ark., and was the son of a Pentecostal preacher.
He
grew up in Pixley, Calif., and by the age of 9, was considered a
proficient
guitarist. An early influence was note-bending guitarist Jimmy Nolan, who
played with soul singer James Brown.
Mr. Buchanan had his own band in Los Angeles at 15, then went to
Oklahoma,
where he met rockabilly legend Dale Hawkins, who wrote and performed the
hit
Suzy Q.
He toured and recorded with Hawkins the next two years, and in 1960
joined
a Canadian group that included Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson
and
was the forerunner for the group called The Band.
He spent the next few years in a studio, backing singers from pop star
Freddie Cannon to country-western singer Merle Kilgore.
He left that work, formed another group, the Soundmasters, and started
playing the Washington, D.C., area, where he became an underground
favorite.
In 1970, Mr. Buchanan claimed that the Rolling Stones had asked him to
join
the rock band, but said he turned down the offer.
Rolling Stone magazine discovered him in 1971, and its review said:
``{M4Roy{M0
{M4Buchanan{M0 provides what may well be the best rock-guitar picking in
the
world.``
A public television documentary titled The Best Unknown Guitarist in
the
World made its debut soon afterward and Mr. Buchanan was signed to a
contract
with Polydor.
He produced five albums, one of which, {M4Roy{M0 {M4Buchanan{M0`s
Second Album,
went
gold. He moved to Atlantic Records and put out three albums, including his
second gold.
{w
mtn-cw
Can I change my mind by B Despenza, C Wolfolk
From Roy Buchanan, Livestock
G Am7
Well she didn't bat an eye
G Am7
As I packed my bags to leave
G Am7
I thought she would start to cry
G Am7 Bbm7 - Bm7
Or sit aroung my room and grieve
Bm7 Am7
Ah but that girl, has she fooled me this time
Bm7 Am7
She acted like I was, the last thing on her mind
Bm7 Am7 G
and I would like to.... start all over again
Am7 G
Ah Baby... Baby let me change my mind
Am7 G Am7
All I want to do, All I want to do..... is change my mind
Wait a minite
As I took those steps
towards that open door
Oh, people I knew all the time
Oh Lord, I really didn't want to go
But my Baby, wouldn't give me no sign
Nothin to make me change my mind
All I want to do, All I want to do,
Lord, I got to start all over again
Now Baby, Baby let me change my mind
Please, please Baby, Baby let me change my mind
Incredible instrumental solos
Oh I've played my games
Many many many, Many many many many times before
Ah but people let me tell you'all
Hey hey hey, I never reached the door Oh yeah
Ooh, the wind is out tonight
I keep lookin for my Baby
But my Baby's nowhere in sight
I would like to, start all over again
Oh Baby, Baby Baby, Baby Baby, Baby Baby,
Let me, let me,
Let me change my mind... I'm gonna change my mind
Riff # 1
| 6^7 7 7 7 + 6^7 -------+ 3^5 5 5 5 + 7 5 ----+
| 7^8 8 8 8 + 7^8 10 8---+-3^5 5 5 5 + 5 5 8 5 +
| 0 0 0 0 0 +----------9-+-3^5 5 5 5 + 5 5 ----+
|-----------+------------+---------------------+
|-----------+------------+---------------------+
|-----------+------------+---------------------+
Riff # 2 , Repeat as necessary
G Am7
| 3 ------------------+------------------
| 3 ------------------+------------------
| 4 ------------------+------------------
| 5 --------- 5 ------+------------------
| 5 ----- 5 7 - 7 5 7 +------ 7 5 -------
| 3 - 5^7 ------------+ 5 7 8 --- 8 7 5 -
------------------------------------
Reelin and Rockin by Roy Milton
from Roy Buchanan, Livestock
A
You got me reelin
D9
You Got me rockin
A A#m7 A7
You got me all most out of my mind
Db9-D9
Got me reelin
Db9-D9-D#dim
Got me rockin
A A/G A/F# C7
Got me all most out of my mind
B7
Tell me if you love me
C7 B7 E-A F#7 Bm7 E6+9 - E6
Tell me am I wastin my time
Well, I'm yours when it's hot
Yours when it's cold
Can't get enough of you to save my soul
You got me moanin
Got me groanin
Got me all most out of my mind
Tell me if you love me
Tell me if I'm waistin my time
Instrumental Break
Verse-2 again
Well bye-bye Babe
You're on my mind
Well I need ya, I need ya
I need ya, I need ya
Baby won't you please be mine
Tell me if you love me
Tell me if I'm waistin my time
Tom McDonald
I'm told by a musician who lived in the D.C. area where Roy spent many
years, that Roy was claustrophobic, and when thrown in a small jail cell
for drunkeness... well, one can only speculate about such things. My
friend also reports that Roy hung out in the BAD part of town with the
real hard livin hard partying crowd in which he was about the only white
guy. (My friend offered this as proof of his authenticity as a bluesman,
not as some sort of slander.)
By the way, I see that someone just recently transcribed and posted Jeff
Beck's version of Cause We've Ended as Lovers. That tune was recorded in
the mid-70s or so, and was dedicated to Roy.
Tom McDonald
John McFee
In article <4v8p12$d...@scipio.cyberstore.ca>, mtn...@whistler.net (mtn-cw) writes:
|> In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.96081...@rigel.oac.uci.edu>, "R. McPherson" <rjmc...@rigel.oac.uci.edu> says:
|> The "Livestock" almum
|> completely blew me away, and I still listen to it all the time, twenty
|> years after I first heard it. Great great stuff.
I agree, totally.
|> Does anybody know
|> anything about the singer (Billy Price) on that album?
I'm curious too. I haven't heard anything with him on it before or since. He sure was great on that album.
--
John E. McFee -- Usual disclaimer applies.
Threat Detection Group -- "They can kill you -
Defence Research Est. Suffield -- but they're not allowed to eat you."
John....@dres.dnd.ca -- - Chuck Jones
Michael Gagliardi
In article <4vidg0$e...@coyote.dres.dnd.ca>, jmc...@dres.dnd.ca (John McFee) writes:
|>
|> In article <4v8p12$d...@scipio.cyberstore.ca>, mtn...@whistler.net (mtn-cw) writes:
|> |> In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.96081...@rigel.oac.uci.edu>, "R. McPherson" <rjmc...@rigel.oac.uci.edu> says:
|>
|> |> The "Livestock" almum
|> |> completely blew me away, and I still listen to it all the time, twenty
|> |> years after I first heard it. Great great stuff.
|>
|> I agree, totally.
|>
|> |> Does anybody know
|> |> anything about the singer (Billy Price) on that album?
|>
|> I'm curious too. I haven't heard anything with him on it before or since. He sure was great on that album.
|>
|>
I agree that Livestock is a great album. Billy Price is still as good as ever.
He has a R&B band (Billy Price Band) playing in the Pittsburgh area. Billy
Price's vocals are great and he has a very good guitar player as well. He puts
on a good show. He has also put out a couple of CD's over the years.
Mike Gagliardi
Jeffrey S. Heffner
Roy Buchanan...Now there's a name I haven't heard in years. He used to
play an old Fender Telecaster. You can still get some of his stuff. I saw
him on I believe it was Austin City Limits. Must have been about 15 years
ago. He was an excellent guitarist. I seem to remember he covered a
couple of Hendrix tunes on the show - Hey Joe & The Wind Cries Mary. He
was kind of a SRV type blues player. Blues with an edge.
JSH
mtn-cw
how I can get ahold of one of his CDs?
Mitch Thornton mtn...@whistler.net
Scott Bridges
>==========John McFee, 8/22/96==========
>In article <4v8p12$d...@scipio.cyberstore.ca>,
>mtn...@whistler.net (mtn-cw) writes:
>|> In article
><Pine.SOL.3.91.96081...@rigel.oac.uci.edu>, "R.
>McPherson" <rjmc...@rigel.oac.uci.edu> says:
>
>|> The "Livestock" almum
>|> completely blew me away, and I still listen to it all the
>time, twenty
>|> years after I first heard it. Great great stuff.
>
>I agree, totally.
>
>|> Does anybody know
>|> anything about the singer (Billy Price) on that album?
>
>I'm curious too. I haven't heard anything with him on it before
>or since. He sure was great on that album.
I'm new to this group. I just caught the discussion on one of
my favorite guitarists. He never got the recognition he
deserved, IMHO. I first heard Billy Price in about '77. He
used to front for a band called the Keystone Rhythm Band. They
toured around eastern PA, DC, Baltimore, etc. Actually, the
very first time I saw him was when the band played at my
fraternity house (believe it or not!) at Penn State. I saw
Billy and the KRB a bunch of times at bars. Great bar music,
rhythm and blues w/horns as you might expect. The KRB had an
album out early 80's called Eldorado Cafe. OK stuff, but it
didn't really capture the magic of seeing the band live. I saw
Price and Buchanan together in 78 or 79. I saw Roy a few times,
too. Last time I saw Buchanan was here in Columbia, SC a number
of years ago, shortly before he died. Great as ever. The last
set was all covers, Neil Young, Led Zep, Hendrix, Who -- it was
unbelievable. FWIW, I still listen to Livestock, too.
Hope this wasn't too far off-topic, it just brought back many
fond memories.
Scott Bridges
Barry Burnett
In article <Dwt3K...@ncrcae.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM>,
scott....@columbiasc.ncr.com (bridgess) wrote:
Roy Buchanon had a great song called "Fugitive" and there was a video
documentary shown on television, but that was twenty years ago when I saw
it.
Barry
Spanky
fe...@aol.com (FerdS) blathered on thusly:
>I wrote a number of articles about Buch (his band
>was called Buch and the Snakestretchers) over the years and will try to
>post one later if anyone is interested.
>Fred
I'm interested.
Ian Hutchinson
tp...@earthlink.net (Spanky) wrote:
>I'm interested.
I saw Roy Buchanan on a late night show playing a tele, and he was
doing his thing with "hey Joe". He's in good company with that tune
but he really played well and if I could get it on CD I would. He was
excelent. I heard he had passed on, is this true?
IAn H
Ann and David Grabner
I have his greatest hits album. He could play blues better than anyone!
He kicks ass!!!
Chris G
L.R.Lee
In article <50fpn6$e...@thor.atcon.com>, ihu...@atcon.com (Ian Hutchinson) says:
>
> I heard he had passed on, is this true?
>
a jail cell for those of you who want the gruesome details).
I am glad that I got a chance to see this truly unique and
inspirational player. If you don't have any of his recordings,
you might want to pick up the double anthology album called
"Sweet Dreams" ... it contains some good examples of both
live and studio recordings spanning his tragically shortened
career.
Larry
hsa...@epix.net
ihu...@atcon.com> wrote: anyone else ever heard of this man?
> (Spanky) wrote:
>
> >fe...@aol.com (FerdS) blathered on thusly:
>
> >>I wrote a number of articles about Buch (his band
>
>
>
> I saw Roy Buchanan on a late night show playing a tele, and he was
> doing his thing with "hey Joe". He's in good company with that tune
> but he really played well and if I could get it on CD I would. He was
> excelent. I heard he had passed on, is this true?
>
> IAn H
>
Roy Buchanan died in a jail cell, apparently despondent after being arrested
for DUI. I saw him live at the Chameleon in Lancaster, PA. He was tremendous,
transformative, actually, I think he was using a tele through a bassman or
twin, really don't remember for sure, but his tone and technique were
incredible. So was his volume! I believe Hey Joe was on one of his albums,
don't remember which, don't know what's available. He was originally presented
about 25 years ago as the best rock n roll guitarist in the world in a PBS
special/concert. Gary Moore covered Roy's "the messiah will come again"
without the lyric, but it's not on the blues album he released.