Clarence White and his Bluegrass Bebop: 1964-65 (Part 1)

OK, so my original plan was to focus solely on Clarence White's electric guitar work and I've already backtracked on that commitment. However, it's a brief switchback and for what I think is a pretty good reason. As astonishing as White's electric playing is, it's also important to understand where he was coming from. So, I want to look at a few of CW's highlights with The Kentucky Colonels, to make plain why he was so highly regarded in the world of bluegrass, and to set the table for his early sessions in the world of rock. In a few days, we'll immerse ourselves fully in his transition to the Telecaster, but first ... the preamble.

WHO IS CLARENCE WHITE?

Clarence White is unquestionably one of the greatest guitarists of the 20th century. He is also unique in the canon of six-string pioneers for being the only guitarist to revolutionize both acoustic and electric playing.* As a founding member of The Kentucky Colonels, White brought Doc Watson's high speed blues runs to bluegrass. For years, Lester Flatt and Jimmy Martin were the genre's stylistic templates, using the acoustic guitar as a rhythmic bulwark upon which the mandolin players, fiddlers, and banjo players would add their solos. But Clarence had too much music for bluegrass to contain, becoming the first bona fide lead guitarist in a bluegrass band, demonstrating both ungodly speed and a breathtaking sense of timing and syncopation.

* This may not be true, but I've been racking my brain for years and cannot come up with anyone else who fits the "revolutionary" description on both fronts. Feel free to lambaste me in the comments.

Clarence then brought his unique bluegrass sensibility to rock, becoming the first rock guitarist ... and practically the first rock musician ... so inclined. But his "revolution" wasn't merely marrying bluegrass to rock. In 1968, he had drummer and machinist, Gene Parsons (pictured to Clarence's left), develop the B-Bender guitar, which featured a mechanism acting as a pulley inside of CW's Telecaster, essentially transforming the instrument into a kind of handheld pedal steel (pictured below). While Parsons deserves the lion's share of credit for this brilliant innovation, it wouldn't have happened without Clarence White. It was his maverick vision of how the electric guitar COULD sound that midwifed the B-Bender into existence. For a full history of the B-Bender ... or to buy one, for that matter ... please visit Gene's StringBender website.

35 years after his death, it's probably fair to say that Clarence's impact on bluegrass has far outweighed his impact on rock. The shadow of Clarence White hangs over EVERY bluegrass guitarist who's followed in his wake. He is the benchmark, the standard of excellence, and I can't see that ever changing. As a rock guitarist, I think his long association with The Byrds, combined with his bluegrass background, have meant that his electric guitar work has been ... a bit unfairly, but understandably ... filtered through the narrow aperture of country-rock. However, as we analyze Clarence's catalog over the next several weeks, it should be obvious that his body of work transcends genre and stands with the best musicians of the 20th century, in imagination, spirit, and soulfulness.

CLARENCE WHITE & THE KENTUCKY COLONELS

Kentucky Colonels - Fire On The Mountain [purchase]

From a March 1965 gig at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, here's a :51 run-through of the old-timey country standard, "Fire On The Mountain." Clarence only plays from :30-:37, but in those 7 seconds he throws down three 100 MPH lead figures, even veering into another key, as he and fiddler, Scotty Stoneman, lead the Colonels through their unique bluegrass bebop. More on that in a moment.

I lead off with this track because the first thing that jumps out at you about Clarence's playing in the Colonels is his breakneck speed. However, for the sake of historical accuracy, don't take that to mean that other guitarists weren't playing fast. Hell, here's one of CW's mentors on guitar, Joe Maphis, a very young Larry Collins, and Merle Travis tearing up "Wildwood Flower" on Town Hall Party in 1958/59. The difference is that no one had regularly played that kind of lead guitar in bluegrass before.

Doc Watson & Clarence White - Beaumont Rag [purchase]

Recorded in July 1964 at the Newport Folk Festival, "Beaumont Rag" demonstrates that while some musicians can play fast, Doc Watson (pictured right) and Clarence White could play fast and swing. Clarence aficionados probably recognize this number as "Julius Finkbine's Rag," but that tune was based on this fiddle standard made famous by Bob Wills. You gotta love Doc's exclamations throughout the second half of the piece. You can tell he's genuinely wowed by Clarence's picking. I mean, who wouldn't be? But this IS Doc Watson, ya know???

One thing that particularly impresses me ... and that tends to get overlooked in the rush to praise their lead skills ... is the way both men provide sturdy rhythm guitar for each other. While soloing pays the bills, so to speak, Watson and White never forget that their first responsibility is to the song. This is a major reason why Clarence was so effective in the Kentucky Colonels and also why he was such an in-demand session player. While he could obviously take off on mind-boggling solos, he also knew when not to play, how not to step on the toes of his fellow musicians. This is a very underrated quality and one to keep in mind as we go along.

Kentucky Colonels - The Shiek Of Araby [purchase]

Django Reinhardt - The Sheik Of Araby [purchase]

From November 1964, here's Clarence demonstrating the profound influence of Django Reinhardt (pictured left), who recorded the track in 1937 with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. While a million guitarists have been influenced by Reinhardt, precious few have matched his creativity, wit, and heavy right-hand like Clarence. This last quality is crucial. Way too many supposedly great guitarists can play fusillades of notes, but their tone is light, airy, and supper-club tasteful, as though the notes have been designed to not offend. Screw that. What I love about Clarence and Django (and just about all of my favorite guitar players) is that their tone is heavy and rhythm-centric and their overall style displays absolute fearlessness. There is no daintiness to their music, no sense of propriety. It's as if their guitar sound is attacking acceptable notions of tone, timing, rhythm, and syncopation.

Which brings us back to the notion of "bluegrass bebop." In the liner notes to the Colonels' great compilation, Livin' In The Past (linked multiple times for purchase), Jerry Garcia calls fiddler Scotty Stoneman, "the bluegrass Charlie Parker." While I don't disagree with this assessment ... in fact, it's pretty perceptive for a damn hippie, heh heh ... I think you can make a case that Clarence White, even more than Stoneman, was the bluegrass Bird. Or Byrd, if you will. Like Parker, CW was a blazing fast player whose melodies swung at all tempos, who was deceptively rooted in the blues, and most importantly, had a borderline inhuman command of time and rhythm. In fact, here's quotes about both men that curiously mirror one another:

Gene Parsons on CW:
"When we played together in the Byrds, Clarence was always experimenting with new licks. He'd leave these big holes -- these anticipated beats -- and he'd just kind of leave you hanging out in the middle of nowhere. And then all of a sudden he'd come up from underneath, in a totally unexpected place, and really stretch out. That's what was always exciting about his playing. He'd knock you right out of your seat."
--Rick Petreysik, "Echoes of a Country Rock Legend," Guitar Player, September 1992, page 83

French jazz critic André Hodeir on Bird:
"Charlie Parker's idea of rhythm involves breaking time up. Instead of (Coleman) Hawkins' regular accent on the strong beat or Lester Young's flowing style, Bird's accentuation comes alternately on the beat and between beats. The astonishingly rich rhythm of his music comes from this alternation, from the continual oppositions. The variety of formulas he uses in a single solo makes it possible for him to avoid all rhythmic monotony and thus to attain a more nearly perfect idea of swing than perhaps any of his predecessors."
--André Hodeir, Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence, 1956, pages 108 & 110

If you'd like to hear what all the fuss is about regarding Charlie Parker, may I suggest visiting his Last.fm page, where several tunes are available on an embedded jukebox. If you're a Bird novice, but don't know where to start, I'd recommend a single-disc overview. In fact, you could do a lot worse than the Ken Burns JAZZ Collection, which you can buy on Amazon for less than $5.

Kentucky Colonels - Alabama Jubilee [purchase]

As for Clarence, here he is from that same March 1965 Ash Grove gig and what I consider to be the finest showcase of his guitar work as a member of the Kentucky Colonels. All of his talents come together on this piece. You get the lightning quick picking, the deft feel for swingin' the blues, the solid rhythmic support during Roland's mandolin solo, and the spirited sense of improvisation and musical freedom that was the hallmark of his entire career. My only criticism is that the recording itself runs into the red at times, giving a few parts an unwelcome crunchiness. Regardless, if you can't appreciate this, you may as well jab a screwdriver in your ears. HA!

COMING NEXT TIME: TRANSITION TO THE TELECASTER

As I said earlier, I'll be back in a few days with the first proper installment of Clarence's transition to the electric guitar and highlights from his first year of session work. In the meantime, enjoy the sweet pickin'.