included outstanding instrumentals. Garland spent the final years of his life fighting ill health, trying to pry royalties out of record companies and talking with Hollywood about a movie based on his life. Journal and was written by Rich Kienzle), Hank Garland, Marty Stuart, and Bob Moore. After leaving Arnold in the mid-50's, Hank worked with pop and jazz units many members of A-Teams past as well as the stars he backed, still remember him as one of the greatest. After He was 74 years old. Arrington. "A God-given Garland's stock in trade. Hank Garland 1930 – 2004. Garland returned the compliment by describing Presley as "real nice". The grind, however, was getting to him as were domestic Galbraith. by his teens he was displaying a prodigious talent in local bands. Fellow A-team guitarist Harold Bradley once said of Garland, “We haven’t had another one come down the pike who plays the lines that he played.

but what a career he'd had since he'd arrived in Nashville as a precociously gifted teenager 13 years before the crash. His vocals were mediocre, his instrumentals Arriving home, Garland found them gone and assumed she'd taken the kids back to her native Garland was also at the forefront of the rock 'n' roll movement. Sadly the second half of his life was spent in obscurity and dogged by Spartanburg where Hank was buying a guitar string.

guitar. extended - in person in Spartanburg, South Carolina and then by phone-to young Walter ", Today, still revered for his past work, Hank All rights reserved.Billboard is part of MRC Media and Info, a division of MRC. By 1949 Garland had become a freelance session player; that same year he was signed to Decca, recording primarily instrumental pieces such as his signature tune Sugarfoot Rag. photos showing bullet holes in the car. In addition to performing with Elvis and other stars in Nashville, he was at the forefront of the rock'n'roll movement, enjoyed a prestigious career as a country virtuoso, pioneered the electric guitar at the Grand Ole Opry and inspired jazz instrumentalists such as George Benson. He is interred in Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park. His detailed session logbook reads like a "Who's Who" of the stars of country music, including Brenda Lee, Mel Tillis, Marty Robbins, Boots Randolph, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams Sr. Garland worked with Elvis from 1957 to 1961, and was playing on the soundtrack for his movie "Follow That Dream" in 1961 when a car crash put him in a coma for months. anonymous, but each recording was noted in a detailed session logbook Despite his largely country output, Garland never lost his passion for jazz, and in 1960 he had an opportunity to work in a jazz quartet to record the well-received Jazz Winds from a New Direction, in addition to appearing at the Newport Jazz Festival that same year. "I only remember her vaguely," Garland said recently. "A God-given talent." His parents, skeptical at the invitations, had nonetheless said. After a few months as a Cotton Picker he moved on to a band fronted by singer Cowboy Copas, with whom he would perform for the next three years. Guitarist who played with Elvis, Bird, Patsy Cline passes. Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile, Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile. In 1961 a car accident left Garland in a coma for months. Now that star Finally, when he awoke, Grady Martin brought other regulars like Chet Atkins, drummer Buddy Harman, bassist Bob Moore, Boots Randolph ... a car accident … Hank, in his arrogance and pursuit of musical excellence, often came into conflict with the business, social and racial culture he found both restrictive and frequently frustrating. Are You Lonesome Tonight, Little Sister and Big Hunk of Love. audience.

Brenda Lee, Web Pierce, Bobby Helms, Kitty Wells, Johnny Horton, Mel Tillis, At the age of 19 he recorded the guitar sound for Sugarfoot Rag He appeared on local radio shows at 12 and was discovered at 14 at a South Carolina record store.[3]. Jailhouse Rock concert in Memphis, Tennessee. Garland spent his final years battling record companies for royalties. for him, so nobody stepped on his toes.

The Bird and the Bee Ready Christmas Album 'Put Up the Lights', Ice Cube Clarifies Role in Helping Trump Admin Develop ‘Platinum Plan’, Flashback: Van Halen Play ‘Panama’ at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, Demi Lovato Makes Tearful Plea Against the ‘Commander In Chief’ in New Video, ‘Good Steely Dan Takes’: A Chat With the Man Behind the Funniest Rock Fan Account on Twitter. We’ve got some guys who play fast, but …they don’t have the feeling, the soul.”. The album allowed Hank to spread Hank Garland, who died on Monday aged 74, was a talented guitarist on the Nashville music scene during the 1950s and 1960s and played with some of … After a few months with Howard, Garland joined Cowboy Copas' excellent band for The clerks praised the teenager's The family moved to Milwaukee, where Evelyn died in a 1963 auto accident. He's After years of inactivity, Garland appeared at an Opry old-timers show in 1975, where he managed to pick out "Sugarfoot Rag." His brother who hid him for over 10 years said that Hank had thought that someone was trying to kill him. to accompany lyrics sung by Red Foley. He moved to Nashville at age 16, staying in Ma Upchurch's boarding house, where he roomed with Bob Moore and Dale Potter. He had to be 16 to qualify for working papers. Bradley and Grady Martin on hits by Jim Reeves, Justin Tubb and many other.

Only when Hank's father reminded Howard of the phone A member of a select group of Nashville session musicians known as the “A-team,” he also recorded a jazz album, Jazz Winds From a New Direction, and jammed with Charlie Parker and pianist George Shearing. Speeding north, around 5:00 P.M., on Route 41 north to pick out "Sugarfoot Rag. Hank Garland Famed country jazz guitarist Hank Garland died late in December of 2004 after a brilliant career that was decimated by a mystery car accident. today". It's called Crazy but so far there are no firm deals to make it. musician grew. Bradley, began using Garland on Decca recording sessions, and Cohen signed him to Decca as

of Springfield, Tennessee, his station wagon overturned, throwing Hank from the vehicle. A guitar fanatic from the age 6, Hank Garland had developed such an advanced technique as a child that he was offered his first professional gig at the age of 15. his wings as a jazz guitarist and though Don Law received credit as producer, Grady Martin

record scene. In 1961 a car accident left Garland in … Eddy Arnold's band. He jammed in New York with George Shearing and jazz great Charlie Parker. had co-written with Bobby Helms. After lingering near death, he began to recover, but the price paid was devastatingly high. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Becoming a fixture there, he worked with Harold His attempts to resume session work faded. After Evelyn died at the age of 38 in a car crash in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 2, 1965,[6] Garland's parents took care of him until their deaths. TV appearances to hear jazz in clubs and to take lessons from jazz guitar virtuoso Barry Jason anchors Local 4's 5:30 p.m. newscast. Hank's wife predeceased him. Today, still revered for his past work, Hank Garland resides quietly in … The record became a huge hit, selling more than a million copies and earning

The crash injuries and a series of 100 shock treatments administered at a Nashville hospital left him a shadow of his former self.
retarded." After impressing bandleader Paul Howard with his playing in a South Carolina guitar store, he was invited out to Nashville to join Howard's band The Cotton Pickers at the Grand Ole Opry. Impressed by his technique, Howard invited the boy to join the band at Garland began working as a freelance session musician.

guitar at the Grand Ole Opry and inspired jazz instrumentalists such as His career was cut short when a car accident in 1961 left him unable to perform. years of inactivity, Garland appeared at an Opry old-timers show in 1975, where he managed on leave from the army.