A couple of folks have been encouraging me to post a video of some guitar music, so here goes. This is a tune I really love to play, by Jerry Reed, recorded by the late Marcel Dadi, called Drive In. It is a very simple tune, by Reed standards, and it's just really cool. To me it's like a proud Saturday morning jaunt down Main Street, with just enough of a hint of darkness to make it interesting. I also had to make up a couple of variations and an ending to keep myself challenged. The fancy stuff up the neck is my doing - hope you like it!

This style of guitar is something you don't hear all that much of in everyday life. I think it was really brought to a fine art by Merle Travis, and then elevated to true greatness by Chet Atkins. When Jerry Reed brought his genius and country jazz sensibility to it, it certainly got my attention, and I learned just about everything Reed wrote. I used to play with the thumb and two fingers, with picks on all of them. Now I like to play with no picks, and the thumb and three fingers. Anyway, I love the stuff.

At the end of the video, I say I'll write it down so you can play it too. So there they are, above right. One in TablEdit format (better) and one in ASCII. Enjoy!

Also, if you like this, please go rate the video on YouTube where I posted it in January 2007 (far in the future - considering the date of this thing)

Comments

11 Responses to Jerry Reed’s Drive In

b chord Says:
December 7th, 2011 at 11:56 am
That is great, Oscar! Keep recording!
Gitarist Says:
January 5th, 2011 at 04:51 am
I watched videos on youtube and I can say this is very cool !
Dallas DUI Lawyer Says:
November 16th, 2010 at 05:20 pm
I have to agree with Billy, I wasn’t expecting it to be that good, and then I clicked on the YouTube and was amazed. Nicely done.
Oscar Says:
April 26th, 2005 at 07:55 pm
Gee thanks Will, I appreciate that! Especially from a guy with BOTH Larry Wall and Steven Wright quotes on his site, who is also a guitar player. My playing is a sign of a mis-spent youth, though - make no mistake about that!
Will Says:
April 26th, 2005 at 07:13 pm
Amazing! You are awesome on the gee-tar!
Jim Says:
February 1st, 2004 at 03:05 am
Wow! Very very nice. Where have you been hiding? Why haven’t we heard of you? This video is getting around on the web.
Oscar Says:
December 25th, 2003 at 02:48 pm
Thanks Rori! I get a lot of emails on this one, but people don’t comment much (and I LOVE comments). Glad you liked it. I plan to do another one pretty soon. I’ve been playing one called “TheClaw” for almost 35 years (that means I learned it when I was 14 ... so as not to seem toooo old) and I have never recorded it, but I get requests for it here all the time, so that’ll be next, I think.
Rori Says:
December 25th, 2003 at 07:24 am
I am so bad, I had downloaded this a while ago, and just now watched it. It was very cool! I was mesmerized! Thank you!
Billy Says:
November 25th, 2003 at 12:22 pm
WOW! I couldn’t believe that. Like I thought you were just going to start strumming away or something, and BLAM! you kick it right off, and all this music come out! That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard!!!!
Julious Says:
November 22nd, 2003 at 02:20 pm
way fucking cool oscar!!! you are better at the guitar than I remember you from so many years ago, and i thought you were great then. i don’t know if i can learn that tune since you’ll rememebr i was never that good at fingerpicking, but i’m going to try. maybe i’ll make a “music video” too
tien Says:
November 22nd, 2003 at 12:30 am
wow, oscar, that was great. you should put it in an mp3 format, so we can listen to it on itunes (or whatever other people use).