Eldon Shamblin
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| Eldon Shamblin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Estel Eldon Shamblin |
| Also known as | 'Frog', 'Sham', and 'the Old Man from the Mountains' etc |
| Born | April 24, 1916 Clinton, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | August 5, 1998 (aged 82) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Western Swing - Jazz - Swing |
| Instrument(s) | Electric guitar |
| Years active | 1930s-1990s |
| Associated acts | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys , Hoyle Nix & His West Texas Cowboys, Merle Haggard & the Strangers, Asleep at the Wheel, Shirl Cummins and the Caravan Swing Band |
Eldon Shamblin (April 24, 1916 - August 5, 1998) was an American guitarist and arranger, particularly important to the development of Western swing music as one of the first electric guitarists in a popular dance band.
Born in Clinton, Oklahoma, Shamblin joined Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1937. A self-taught guitarist, he quickly became the band's musical arranger as he had learned to read charts by studying big band arrangements.[1] Shamblin's trademark electric guitar style and musical knowledge was key to the success of Wills' Western swing.[2] His guitar featured prominently on the band's 1938 hit "Ida Red", which was later rewritten by Chuck Berry as "Maybellene". Then, on "Take Me Back To Tulsa" in 1940, he invented a two-beat rhythm arrangement which became his trademark sound.
Shamblin was drafted into the Army in 1942, where he served for four years as a Captain in Patton's 3rd Army in the European Theater of War. He rejoined the Texas Playboys in September 1946 (after a brief stint with Leon McAuliffe's Western Swing Band in Tulsa), rejoining Wills in Fresno, CA where the Playboys were headquartered, staying with them until 1956. In 1957 Eldon joined Hoyle Nix and the West Texas Cowboys band in Big Spring, Texas where they played at the Stampede Ballroom. After two years on the Nix band Eldon returned to Tulsa where he managed a convenience store and went to night school earning a CPA license. He quickly decided the CPA business was not for him and began teaching guitar at the Guitar House music store there in Tulsa. He expanded his work to becoming a first rate piano tuner and electronic organ serviceman who was much in demand. He returned to music in 1970 when he was called upon to help organize a tribute to Wills and played on Merle Haggard's album A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (Or My Salute to Bob Wills). Shamblin later joined Haggard's support band, the Strangers in 1973, and played sessions, before returning to a late version of the Texas Playboys in 1983. By 1996 Shamblin was in ill health and retired from music except for a couple of rare special appearances.
Shamblin was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ Price, Jazz Guitar and Western Swing, p.81: "Eldon Shamblin was a session player for CBS and a regular in standard jazz and swing bands before he joined Bob Wills."
- ^ Carr, Western Swing Guitar Style, p. 3: "Many of these recordings feature the great Eldon Shamblin, Bob Wills' longtime guitarist and the undisputed master of this style [rhythm guitar]."
[edit] Bibliography
- Carr, Joe. Western Swing Guitar Style. Mel Bay Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-7866-0759-9
- Price, Michael H. "Jazz Guitar and Western Swing," in The Guitar in Jazz: An Anthology, ed. James Sallis. University of Nebraska Press, 1996 (pp. 81-88). ISBN 0-8032-4250-8
