Good news: Bass Player Patrick is returning from an extended hiatus in which he was too busy to play music with me because he was in the live orchestra for the musical Reefer Madness My annoyance at his absence was approximately equal to that felt by Antwan “Big Boi” Patton while he held up the double album so Andre 3000 could finish his acting commitments.
Now that Patrick is back in harness, it’s time to make some tough choices. And I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t see a greater meaning behind something that’s completely trivial.
The video at the head of this post features Jim Croce and noted fingerstyle bad-ass Maury Muehleisen performing “I Got A Name”. Maury and Jim were killed in a plane crash shortly after this show was recorded and before Croce’s album I Got A Name, featuring this song, “Lover’s Cross,” and “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song”, was released.
Patrick and I are going to pay tribute to the duo by doing a Wednesday Night Video of “I Got A Name”. He’s working on re-creating the nuances of the studio bass part and I’m working on generally bashing my way through the chords. No way I’m going to do what Maury can do — but he didn’t have to sing at the same time.
The only question is: What guitar am I going to play? And this is significant because Croce was one of the first people to break with tradition and start playing the plastic-backed Ovation guitars in public. He and Maury both recorded with Martins, and in recognition of this Martin released a pair of signature guitars fifteen years ago. Each Croce Signature Martin has a 1973 dime inlaid into the fingerboard. My original guitar teacher, Mr. Losco, had one for a while and when I found that he’d traded it for a Martin 00-28 Eric Clapton I thought I was going to smash said Crap-ton over his head.
After the Eighties, when the age of the guitar-buying public increased dramatically and everybody got all traditionally-minded again, Ovations fell drastically out of favor. Seemingly overnight, the company went from the prestigious provider of stage instruments for pretty much everybody to a bankrupt shell that was acquired by Fender. The Connecticut production facility was re-purposed to launch a Ren Ferguson-designed line of US-made Fender Acoustics.
There’s an Orwell-like rewriting of history going on as regards Jim and Maury that completely erases their reliance on Ovations for the tour that brought them to prominence and would have made them household names had the plane crash not happened. This sort of thing has been going on since the dawn of time. History is written by the victors, after all. But whether it’s the whitewashing of Dr. Dre’s woman-beating in the hagiographic “Straight Outta Compton” or the current caricature of Thomas Jefferson as some monster whose involvement with his slaves completely outweighs his role in the founding of the United States, it always sits uneasily with me.
I happen to own a 1991 Ovation Collectors Edition, with the sterling-silver inlays and high-grade spruce top. I could use it to play the song. Or I could use my Martin D-41, which would sound more like the records sounded. Or I could use my Gibson Hummingbird Recording Artist Koa that I bought earlier this year and love like I love the Viper ACR. Or I could use my new Rainsong Black Ice. What to do? Maybe you’ll tell me. What’s the best way to pay tribute to Jim Croce, forty-two years after his death?
What Guitar Should Jack Play To Cover Jim Croce?
- An Ovation: Croce played an Ovation in public ALL THE TIME. (57%, 36 Votes)
- A Martin D-41: Croce played a Martin from time to time. (21%, 13 Votes)
- A Koa Hummingbird: it's bad-ass. (13%, 8 Votes)
- A RainSong: carbon fiber is always the answer. (10%, 6 Votes)
- A PRS P22: this is the year 2015. (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 63
Jeeze Jack ;
Play the one you’re most comfortable with f’chrissakes .
-Nate
You’re taking the fun out of this. I’m not asking all of you to choose the stent I use for aorta surgery 🙂
Record versions with each guitar to show the nuances.
Now playing: Live At The Waldorf - Mike Bloomfield
“I Got A Name” was one of my absolute favourite songs as a kid in the early nineties, It was on a Mitsubishi L200 pick-up promo cassette from the eighties called “Pick-Up the Best” (hah!) that dad got from somewhere.
Then I forgot the song for nearly twenty years and had a weirdly emotional reaction when I heard it again in Django Unchained. Wish I could find one of those cassettes somewhere.
I still can’t believe Croce was only 31 when he died. That’s a guy that hustled to make it big. Nothing like starting with $500 for an album your parents gave you because they were hoping that it wouldn’t work out and you’d move on.
OT does anyone know where to get old school cat gear like that? I see that badge on lots of clothing and hats from the 70s. We don’t make anything like that anymore.
I’d talk to Ingrid Croce.
Too soon?
Maybe you could talk Magnus Walker into making repops.
I mean this with all due respect: Making an Ovation sound like anything but a salad bowl takes a superlative, maybe inhuman touch, otherwise it sounds like a plastic guitar and not like Jim Croce. For example, I’ve seen Kaki King live a few times and I’m still not sure what to make of her love for those things.
Nothing gives me bitter-beer-face like a treble-heavy acoustic, and if I see an amplified acoustic and a cheap PA, I generally try to make a quick exit before anyone starts using them.
Only non-wood guitars I’ve enjoyed have been the Travis Bean AL necked guitars, and only in a few applications (read: deliberately noisy, aggressive; Albini’s bands and a couple Fat History Month songs if it’s OK to plug people I like,) but it’s been years since I’ve been in a position to even recommend tools to real musicians, and I can’t even pretend to make the sounds I want to hear so I’m really the worst kind of poseur anyway.
And now I’ve seen the survey results, with the Ovation winning by a landslide. Time for me to crawl back under my aural rock and listen to old John Fahey records until I can pretend once again those sturdy, oft-abused instruments of brittle live performances don’t actually exist.
Great song choice. I’m in my mid 40’s and I remember my mom playing the hell out of his albums when I was growing up (and my dad wearing out Dire Straits Water of Love). I’d like to see the carbon fiber guitar you spoke of in the recent R&T article. Looking forward.
I had to go with the Martin. My dad has a D-28, and it just sounds so much better in person than any of his other guitars. He also has a D-41 that to me doesn’t sound quite as good, but according to him it plays better. The Guild electric-acoustic is ok, but it sounds like a compromise. The Blue Ridge is too new, just doesn’t sound right. I won’t even discuss the Epiphone that he still has and plays every now and then. It sounds like a tin can next to the D-28.
Jim Croce is the man. Initially he was Maury’s backup guitarist, rather than Maury being his backup, the two of them are amazing.
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