Cliff Gallup

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clifton Elwood Gallup (born June 17, 1930 in Norfolk , Virginia , † October 9, 1988 in Chesapeake , Virginia) was an American guitarist . Gallup was considered the best early rockabilly guitarist and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone music magazine's list of the 100 best guitarists of all time .

His style was influenced by Chet Atkins and Les Paul and combined elements of blues and country .

Life

Before 1956, Gallup played with Jack Neal in a band called The Virginians , which came from his hometown of Norfolk. When Sheriff Tex Davis took over the management of Gene Vincent in 1956 , he put together a band of local musicians for him, the Blue Caps . Gallup was part of this band as lead guitarist , which made first recordings in May 1956 in Nashville . For these recordings, the producer, who did not trust the band's abilities, also hired studio musicians . However, these were not needed. Among other things, the tracks Be-Bop-A-Lula , Bluejean Bop and Race with the Devil were recorded, in which Gallup played technically demanding and style-forming guitar solos .

Since he refused long tours for family reasons , he left the band in the same year (1956). After that, Gallup played occasionally in local bands. In 1966 he recorded a solo album, Straight Down the Middle . In 1988 he died of a stroke .

Jeff Beck recorded the tribute album Crazy Legs in his honor in 1993 .

technology

Gallup used an ordinary pick plus two finger picks . His guitar was a Duo Jet by Gretsch .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jeremy Simmonds: The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches . Chicago Review Press, Chicago, 2008
  2. ↑ Cliff Gallup in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
  3. ^ The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time ( Memento June 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) from rollingstone.com.
  4. ↑ Pete Prown, HP Newquist: Legends of rock guitar: the essential reference of rock's greatest guitarists . Hal Leonard, Milwaukee, 1997
personal data
SURNAME Gallup, Cliff
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gallup, Clifton Elwood (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Norfolk , Virginia , United States
DATE OF DEATH October 9, 1988
Place of death Chesapeake , Virginia, United States