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Lonnie ordered this Flying V from Hughes Music in Norwood, Ohio. The store owner, Glen Hughes, was the one who fabricated the metal to mount the Bisgby tremolo.on March 12, 1963, at the end of a recording session backing up The Charmaines, Lonnie Mack was offered the remaining few minutes of studio time. Not expecting it to be released, he recorded an energetic instrumental take-off on Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee". He had improvised it a few years earlier, when his keyboardist, Denzil "Dumpy" Rice, who normally sang and played the Berry tune, hadn't shown for a performance. Mack didn't know the song's lyrics, but, recalling the basic melody, he transformed it into a greatly embellished electric guitar instrumental. He kept it as part of his live act, calling it simply "Memphis". As recorded in 1963, "Memphis" featured a brisk melodic blues solo within a rockabilly framework, augmented by a rock drum-beat. It represented a quantum leap in rock guitar virtuosity, beyond both the prevailing chords-and-riffs standard of Chuck Berry and the "inherently simple" melodic guitar solos of such artists as Link Wray and Duane Eddy. Mack recalled that, upon recording the tune, "It didn't mean a thing to me. I left to go on the road. We hit every roadhouse between Cincinnati and Miami, but we didn't have time to listen to the radio, so I didn't know what was going on [until] we were backing Chubby Checker one night. The disc jockey came runnin' up to me, saying, 'You got the No. 1 record on our station!'" By late June, Memphis had risen to No. 4 on Billboard's R&B chart and No. 5 on Billboard's pop chart. Still in 1963, Mack released "Wham!", another guitar instrumental that reached No. 24 on Billboard's Pop chart in September. he also played bass on The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues".
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Wonderful story, saddleslab Thanks for sharing!Lonnie ordered this Flying V from Hughes Music in Norwood, Ohio. The store owner, Glen Hughes, was the one who fabricated the metal to mount the Bisgby tremolo.
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The story of Lonnie Mack's Flying V
‘Number 7’ is one of the most iconic Flying Vs, and without it and Lonnie Mack, the history of Gibson’s Flying V might be very different.guitar.com
In 1989, long after the stores heyday, I would visit just to peruse the old instruments. But the old man [possibly Glen Hughes?] would never let me check out all the boxes of necks, bodies, & parts he had stored in the basement. then one day, Shirley, who I think was his daughter, was there due to the old man's deteriorating health, and let downstairs to take a look. I asked to buy this body that was covered in gray crinkle paint for $200.00. My friend who joined me told me I was nuts.
When I got home I discovered the body was from [NOV 7 51] the 1st week of production of the Fender Electric Bass. Added a '55 neck the same year and it's been my main bass for 37 years.
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Thanks, my friend!Wonderful story, saddleslab Thanks for sharing!
And NO!!!!! You were not nuts!!!!!!!!! $200 for a Nov. 7, 1951 Precision Bass body! (1951, my birth year)
Outstanding finish job! Linked up with a 1955 neck. Don't get much better!
A 37 year "marriage" with this beauty!
After a late 60’s/early 70’s stint on the Elektra label(hense the Doors connection), he distanced himself from the music business somewhat for many years, but prompted by the admiration of a new guitar hero, Stevie Ray Vaughn, he found a new home with Alligator Records, a rising force in the 80’s blues and roadhouse music revival. With Vaughn producing, Mack had a rejuvenated career, scoring something of an under-the-radar hit with this tune…on March 12, 1963, at the end of a recording session backing up The Charmaines, Lonnie Mack was offered the remaining few minutes of studio time. Not expecting it to be released, he recorded an energetic instrumental take-off on Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee". He had improvised it a few years earlier, when his keyboardist, Denzil "Dumpy" Rice, who normally sang and played the Berry tune, hadn't shown for a performance. Mack didn't know the song's lyrics, but, recalling the basic melody, he transformed it into a greatly embellished electric guitar instrumental. He kept it as part of his live act, calling it simply "Memphis". As recorded in 1963, "Memphis" featured a brisk melodic blues solo within a rockabilly framework, augmented by a rock drum-beat. It represented a quantum leap in rock guitar virtuosity, beyond both the prevailing chords-and-riffs standard of Chuck Berry and the "inherently simple" melodic guitar solos of such artists as Link Wray and Duane Eddy. Mack recalled that, upon recording the tune, "It didn't mean a thing to me. I left to go on the road. We hit every roadhouse between Cincinnati and Miami, but we didn't have time to listen to the radio, so I didn't know what was going on [until] we were backing Chubby Checker one night. The disc jockey came runnin' up to me, saying, 'You got the No. 1 record on our station!'" By late June, Memphis had risen to No. 4 on Billboard's R&B chart and No. 5 on Billboard's pop chart. Still in 1963, Mack released "Wham!", another guitar instrumental that reached No. 24 on Billboard's Pop chart in September. he also played bass on The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues".
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