Eldon Shamblin (April 24, 1916 – August 5, 1998) was an American guitarist and arranger, particularly important to the development of

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

music as one of the first electric guitarists in a popular dance band. He was a member of The Strangers during the 1970s and 1980s.

Career

In his teens, Shamblin learned about guitar by analyzing the techniques of Eddie Lang. He performed in clubs in Oklahoma City and on his radio show as singer and guitarist. During the 1930s, he spent three years as a member of the Alabama Boys, a Western swing band. In 1937 he became a member of a

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

and His Texas Playboys. As the band's arranger and its first electric guitarist, Shamblin moved it closer to jazz. During World War II, he served in the military for four years, then returned to Wills and remained with the band until the middle 1950s. Soon after, he left music, gave guitar lessons in Tulsa, and operated a convenience store. Shamblin recorded with

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

on a tribute album to Bob Wills which was released in 1970, then worked intermittently with Haggard on tours during the next five years. Aside from Wills and Haggard, he recorded with

Leon McAuliffe William Leon McAuliffe (January 3, 1917 – August 20, 1988) was an American Western swing guitarist who was a member of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys during the 1930s. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a me ...

Tiny Moore Billie "Tiny" Moore (May 12, 1920 – December 15, 1987) was a Western swing musician who played the electric mandolin and fiddle with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s. He played with The Strangers and Merle Haggard during the ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

, Joe Venuti, and Asleep at the Wheel. Wills told Shamblin what to play on two occasions. While recording "Ida Red", he told Shamblin to put a lot of runs in his rhythm chords to keep up with the bassist. He told him to imitate

Junior Barnard Lester Robert Barnard (December 17, 1920 – April 15, 1951), known as Junior Barnard, was an American Western swing guitarist who was a member of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. He was among the first electric guitarists to create a guitar ef ...

, who had been part of the band and had a bluesy style. Shamblin was instructed to play louder and bend strings. Shamblin incorporated a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

style similar to

Freddie Green Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years. Early life and education Green was born in Charleston, South Car ...

's with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

. His acoustic, single string, lead guitar work in the 1930s resonated with the influence of Lang and

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

, while his brief chord solos evoked the harmonies of

George Van Eps George Abel Van Eps (August 7, 1913 – November 29, 1998) was an American swing and mainstream jazz guitarist. Biography George Van Eps was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, United States, into a family of musicians. His three brothers – Fred ...

. By the 1940s, his style was reminiscent of early

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

, with the occasional chord flourish added to good effect. Shamblin and steel guitarist

began experimenting with what would become their Twin Guitar idiom. At a rehearsal years later, Wills heard what they were doing and asked them to work up a solo arrangement for a fiddle tune he was going to record called "Bob Wills Special". A few days later Wills asked them to write an instrumental that would feature them. They came up with "Twin Guitar Special", which Wills recorded with his fiddle tune in 1940. The other song was "Twin Guitar Boogie". Wills never recorded it, but McAuliffe did in the 1960s under the name "Bouncing Bobby", a nickname for fiddler Bobby Bruce. In December 1973, Wills made his last recording with the Playboys. Shamblin and McAuliffe played "Twin Guitar Special" but it was renamed "Twin Guitar Boogie", with the two of them listed as composers. In 1941 ''

Metronome magazine ''Metronome'' was a music magazine published from January 1885 to December 1961. History Founding (1885) Bandmaster Arthur Albert Clappé (1850–1920) first published ''The Metronome'' in January 1885 for band leaders. In 1891, Harry Colema ...

'' called Shamblin the most inventive guitarist since

Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nat ...

, who was also a native of Oklahoma. Thirty years later, a ''Rolling Stone'' writer repeated the praise of ''Metronome''. ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine acknowledged his contributions, calling him a jazz-oriented swing musician though he worked in Western swing and country bands.

Army service and teaching

Shamblin was drafted into the Army in 1942. He served for four years as a captain in General George S. Patton's Third Army in the European Theater of War and fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. After playing with Leon McAuliffe's Western Swing Band in Tulsa, he returned to the Texas Playboys in September 1946 in Fresno, California. He spent ten years with the band before joining Hoyle Nix and the West Texas Cowboys in Big Spring, Texas, where they played at the Stampede Ballroom. After two years with the Nix band, he returned to Tulsa, managed a convenience store, and attended night school to earn a license in accounting. He decided the accounting business was not for him and began teaching guitar at the Guitar House music store. He became a piano tuner and electronic organ serviceman. In 1970, Shamblin returned to music when he was asked to help organize a tribute to Bob Wills and played on Merle Haggard's album ''

A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) ''A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)'' is the eleventh studio album by Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1970. Background Although it is often assumed that Haggard, who was enjoyin ...

''. He then became a member of Haggard's band, The Strangers. In the 1980s, Eldon, along with

and

Junior Brown Jamieson "Junior" Brown (born June 12, 1952) is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released twelve studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the '' Billboard'' country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is t ...

taught music at

Rogers State University Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through several stages, from its foundation as a stat ...

Claremore, Oklahoma Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County in Green Country or northeastern Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,580 at the 2020 census, a 5.4 percent increase over the figure of 18,581 recorded in 2010.Joe Venuti with

Jethro Burns Jethro is a male given name meaning "overflow". It is derived from the Hebrew word ''Yithrô''. People named Jethro * Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), mandolin player in satirical country music duo Homer and Jethro * Jethro Franklin ( ...

and

Curly Chalker Harold Lee Chalker (October 22, 1931 – April 30, 1998), known professionally as Curly Chalker, was an American pedal steel guitarist. Born in Enterprise, Alabama, Chalker began playing the lap steel guitar while still in his teens and made ...

. Shamblin is noted for being one of the earliest adopters of the

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuousl ...

electric guitar. A demonstration model painted gold and dated 6/4/54 was given to him by

Leo Fender Clarence Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 – March 21, 1991) was an American inventor known for designing the Fender Stratocaster. He also founded the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In January 1965, he sold Fender to CBS, and later foun ...

. Shamblin played the guitar with the Texas Playboys in what became the final Bob Wills recording session for MGM Records, later taking it on the road with Bob Wills on a month and half long tour of the great Northwest. Rock guitarist Eric Clapton called Shamblin at his home in Tulsa and offered him $10,000 for it in the early 1980s. Shamblin declined and sold the instrument to legendary Rock and Country Promoter Larry Shaeffer, a good friend of Eldon's and owner of

Cain's Ballroom Cain's Ballroom is a historic music venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma that was built in 1924 as a garage for W. Tate Brady's automobiles. Madison W. "Daddy" Cain purchased the building in 1930 and named it Cain's Dance Academy. In 2021, Pollstar ranked Ca ...

and Little Wing Productions. Shaeffer sold the guitar to well known Vintage Guitar Dealer Larry Briggs (also of Tulsa) years later, and Briggs then traded it to Dave Crocker of Missouri for his stake in the Vintage Guitar Show(s). It was purchased by Mr. Proler of Texas. The Stratocaster was loaned to guitarist and collector

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his ind ...

for a year. It is now back in Mr. Proler's collection. By 1996 Shamblin was in ill health and retired from music except for rare appearances. He died in a nursing home in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, on August 5, 1998. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 with Bob Wills and a select group of Texas Playboys. He was inducted into the

Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, honors Oklahoma musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The induction ceremony and concert are held each year in Muskogee. Since its establishment in 1997, the Hall of Fa ...

in 2006.

Discography

As co-leader

* 1975 ''S'Wonderful: 4 Giants of Swing'' with

, Joe Venuti (Flying Fish)

As sideman

With Asleep at the Wheel * 1976 ''Wheelin' & Dealin' '' (Capitol) * 1993 ''A Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys'' (Liberty) With

* 1970 ''

'' (Capitol) * 1989 '' 5:01 Blues'' (Epic) With

The Tractors The Tractors were an American country rock band composed of a loosely associated group of musicians headed by guitarist Steve Ripley. The original lineup consisted of Steve Ripley (lead vocals, guitar), Ron Getman (guitar, Dobro, mandolin, tenor ...

* 1994 ''Tractors'' * 1998 ''Farmers in a Changing World'' With

* 1974 ''For the Last Time'' (United Artists) * 1982 ''The Tiffany Transcriptions'' * 1983 ''Heaven, Hell, or Houston'' * 2000 ''San Antonio Rose'' With others * 1974 ''Take It Away Leon'',

* 1976 ''The Mac Wiseman Story'',

Mac Wiseman Malcolm Bell Wiseman (May 23, 1925 – February 24, 2019) was an American bluegrass and country singer. Early life He was born on May 23, 1925, in Crimora, Virginia. He attended school in New Hope, Virginia, and graduated from high school the ...

* 1979 ''Joe in Chicago'', Joe Venuti (Flying Fish) * 1979 ''Back to Back'',

and

* 1993 ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'',

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year awards ...

(Warner Bros.) Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamblin, Eldon 1916 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American guitarists American country guitarists American male guitarists Western swing performers Guitarists from Oklahoma Country musicians from Oklahoma 20th-century American male musicians The Strangers (American band) members