MAIL
March 1996
Just wanted to drop you a note to say how much I enjoyed your latest issue [December].
Not only are you publishing every month, but the quality just keeps getting better. Being from the DC area and hence knowing Charlie Byrd et al., it was very interesting to read about the history of Ovation. I had no idea all of that went on around here!
Pete Smith
Arlington, Virginia
Wright's sketch of the conception and development of Kaman's Ovation line ["The Birth of Ovation," December '95] was instructive, gratifying, and enjoyable reading. I still recall seeing Glen Campbell's weekly TV show and the curiosity his peculiar guitars occasioned in me. Even then, long before I knew what they were, they seemed to me singularly attractive, though not a little unorthodox.
Of special interest is Wright's assertion that the deep bowl was original and that the mid-depth (then, shallow) bowl originated with the Glen Campbell Six-String series. This latter datum proved enigmatic to me because my own Glen Campbell model guitar (serial # A473) dates from 1969 and features the shiny, black, deep bowl Wright ascribes to the original, less ornate acoustic line. Either some of the early signature series must have been marketed with this deeper bowl or I have a clever forgery in my possession.
Dennis L. Burke
Wilmington, Delaware
The editors respond: we checked with the people at Ovation, and they have no record of your particular guitar. However, they told us that the guitars with serial numbers right around A473 are all 12-strings built in 1969. The Glen Campbell 12-strings were made exclusively with the deeper, shiny black bowl you describe, but Ovation's record keepers are not aware of any six-strings built that year with the deep bowl.
I'm so glad to see an article on Ovation guitars in your magazine. Your commitment to different styles, trends, and innovations in acoustic guitar manufacture has always been of interest to me and is one of my main reasons for subscribing. After playing solo gigs with a miked guitar, the inconvenience of having the mike in front of me prompted me into buying an Ovation Stereo Custom Legend in 1979. At the time, other guitar manufacturers were experimenting with internal mikes and transducers, but Ovation had already perfected theirs. The past and present endorsers of Ovation guitars continue to be as innovative in their styles and musical concepts as the guitars they represent. There will always be room in my collection for an Ovation guitar.
Michael J. Roberts
Porterville, California
In their discussion of the Delta blues [in the Rory Block feature, "Delta Bound," December '95], Elijah Wald and Rory Block seemed to be consciously avoiding the word black in discussing the blues. Musicians like Block and John Hammond live and perform in a segregated white world with little or no contact with, or interest in, black people, the originators of the blues. Why are white musicians so reluctant to admit that they are performing black music?
Burnham Ware
Owenton, Kentucky
The editors respond: Actually, quite a bit of Wald and Block's conversation was about the time she spent playing music and hanging out with many of the original (black) Delta bluesmen, including Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and the Reverend Gary Davis.
Regarding your "Legacy" article on the Delmore Brothers [Jump Street, December '95]: I suppose one can still find a copy of it somewhere--I lost mine years ago--but Alton Delmore wrote his autobiography. Apparently he was a self-taught author, who submitted many short stories to the popular magazines, e.g. Post, Colliers, and was turned down every time. His writing--it must be said--lacked the style and tautness demanded by the form, and was probably also unacceptable to editors because they perceived Delmore himself as a hillbilly. Nonetheless, he kept on submitting and kept on getting reject slips.
What makes his autobiography worth getting hold of, however, is the history of his and Rabon's life in the country music business of the '20s, '30s, and '40s. Oh, and of course, who could possibly resist the title: Truth Is Stranger Than Publicity.
Hal Glatzer
New York, New York
With respect to your snippet titled "No Stairway" [Jump Street, December '95], snob, snob, snob! I can remember a time when I was too embarrassed to try an instrument because I was not very good at all. For many years, the fear of making a fool of myself held me back from learning about what a good instrument should feel and sound like. I have been in many stores since those early years, and I can assure you that the ones who didn't pass judgment on my playing are the ones I've supported. I can think of a lot worse things that a person could do to an instrument than play a standard or common song. How about a little zipper, buckle, or button action on the back? Today's beginner just may be tomorrow's legend--or at least a good customer.
Brian M. Schwellinger
Madison, Wisconsin
Thanks for a great magazine. We Europeans produce some nice instruments too. I've lost my heart to the great English acoustics from Sobell and Fylde. These guitars can be heard played by the Norwegian singer-songwriter Jonas Fjeld on the album Danko, Fjeld, Andersen.
Astor Andersen
Sandefjord, Norway
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