Thursday, February 5, 2009

Tom Brumley

Tom Brumley passed away this week, at the age of 73.

It makes me sad.

Once upon a time, country bands achieved a fame all their own. They even released albums. Merle, of course, had the Strangers, with Norm and Roy and a whole bunch of other supremely talented players. Bill Anderson's Po'Boys released an instrumental album that was a favorite of mine....way back when.

Fans followed big-name artists and their bands, and knew who played lead guitar and who played fiddle........and who played steel guitar.

There were (and are) a lot of great steel guitar players, but take a look at this:



Sorry the video quality is so poor, but this was the best representation of Tom's work I could find on the net.

This is, arguably, the most famous steel guitar solo in the history of country music.

So, Buck is gone, Don Rich is gone, Doyle Holly is gone, and now Tom Brumley is gone.

I once, a long, long time ago, had a chance to see Buck and his Buckaroos in concert. Actually, I saw them twice. When I was eleven, I visited my older sister in Fort Worth, Texas, and Buck and the guys were playing at some used car lot opening (okay, maybe it wasn't that, but it was some kind of store promotion), so we hussled ourselves out to see them.

The second time was an actual concert, and my friend, Alice, and I hung around after the show and collected autographs from all the Buckaroos. I wish I knew what happened to those autographs. But at least I have the memories.

So, rest in peace, Tom Brumley. And thanks for the joy you gave us. Autographs may be lost, but music is forever.


~~~

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