Hank Garland
Walter Louis "Hank" Garland , (born November 11, 1930 in Cowpens , South Carolina , † December 27, 2004 in Orange Park , Florida ) was an American jazz and country guitarist. He was added to the Nashville A-Team , a group of extremely active and sought-after studio musicians .
Life
Hank Garland learned to play the guitar at a very young age. As early as 1945, when Garland was 15 years old, the musician Frank Howard of the Arkansas Cotton Pickers overheard him playing guitar in a Cowpenser Club. Howard immediately hired Garland for the Grand Ole Opry . Garland's beginning career was interrupted shortly afterwards when the American musicians' union complained that he was too young for professional work and forbade him to perform for the time being. On his 16th birthday, Howard brought him back to his music show - the beginning of Garland's musical career. He had his first own hit at the age of 19 in August 1949 with the instrumental title Sugar Foot Rag , which later became an evergreen .
After appearing on the Nashville country music scene , Garland dwelt in the rock 'n' roll scene for a while before devoting himself to jazz . Stylistically, he was based on the jazz guitarist Charlie Christian . Garland got numerous engagements in New York jazz clubs. In the 1950s Garland recorded several jazz records and played with Charlie Parker at the famous Birdland club in New York . His album Jazz Winds from a New Direction , which he recorded for Columbia Records in 1961 , was the record debut of 17-year-old vibraphonist Gary Burton , who also worked on the composition Three, Four, the Blues .
Hank Garland was one of the rather unknown American musicians because he always stayed in the background. Nevertheless, he played an important role in the US country scene in Nashville. He was a studio musician for recordings of well-known singers such as Elvis Presley , Roy Orbison , the Everly Brothers and Patsy Cline and as a studio guitarist on hits like It's Now or Never , Are You Lonesome Tonight , Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel) or Walk on By involved.
A serious car accident in September 1961 in which he lost parts of his memory and motor coordination ended Garland's career. He could no longer build on his earlier successes. For years he litigated for lost composition royalties and died in Orange Park, Florida in 2004 at the age of 74. In 2008, Garland's life was filmed under the title Crazy - Discover a Legend with Waylon Payne in the lead role.
Discography
- After the Riot in Newport (with The Nashville All-Stars , RCA, 1960)
- Velvet Guitar (Harmony, 1961)
- Jazz Winds From a New Direction (with Gary Burton, Philips, 1961)
- The Unforgettable Guitar of Hank Garland (Columbia, 1962)
- Subtle Swing (2004)
literature
- Maurice Summerfield: The Jazz Guitar - Its evolution and its players (English). Ashley Mark Publishing 1978. ISBN 0-9506224-1-9
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Garland, Hank |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Garland, Walter Louis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz and country guitarist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cowpens , South Carolina |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 27, 2004 |
| Place of death | Orange Park , Florida |