George Warren Barnes (July 17, 1921Ross, Sa
"Form B: Interview With George Barnes. 10 May 1939".
''Jazz Music Chicago.'' Chicago, Illinois. Library of Congress. Retrieved 7 July 2022.– September 5, 1977) was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was also a conductor and arranger of music, and became the youngest ever for NBC when he was hired by them in that role at the age of seventeen. At this age he was considered a great player by many musicians including

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

, and

Jimmy McPartland James Dugald "Jimmy" McPartland (March 15, 1907 – March 13, 1991) was an American cornetist. He worked with Eddie Condon, Art Hodes, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, and Tommy Dorsey, often leading his own bands. He was married to ...

. Barnes also later became a recording engineer. During his career Barnes recorded with singers

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

among many others.Yelin, Bob. "George Barnes Interview". ''Guitar Player,'' February 1975. Retrieved 6 July 2022. He was an inspiration and influence to the musician

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer and musician. He is best known for having hosted ''Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influen ...

and guitarists

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...

and

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

, among others.

Biography

Barnes was born in

South Chicago Heights South Chicago Heights is a village and a Chicago Southland, south suburb in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,026 at the 2020 census. Geography South Chicago Heights is located at (41.483375, −87. ...

, United States. George had first started to play the Piano at the age of five.Ross, Sam
"Form C: Interview With George Barnes. 10 May 1939".
''Jazz Music Chicago.'' Chicago, Illinois. Library of Congress. Retrieved 7 July 2022. But when George was ten, the family were forced to sell the instrument along with the home because of the great depression.Leh Barnes, Alexandra (2002)
"George Barnes ''Don't Get Around Much Anymore'' CD Liner Notes".
Accessed via Scribd. Retrieved 3 July 2022. There was an old Sears Roebuck Silvertone guitar left over, which George picked up and his father who was a guitarist began to teach him to play.Sallis, James (1982)
"Further Adventures Of Captain Guitar: George Barnes".
In ''The Guitar Players. One Instrument And Its Masters In American Music.'' Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. p.175. Retrieved 4 July 2022. In 1931, Barnes's older brother made a pickup and amplifier for him because he knew that George wanted to play solo lines that could be heard in a band. He believed he might have been the first person to ever play an electric guitar.Sallis, James (1982)
"Further Adventures Of Captain Guitar: George Barnes".
In ''The Guitar Players. One Instrument And Its Masters In American Music.'' Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. p.184. Retrieved 4 July 2022. When George was eleven, he heard some records with

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

that featured

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie La ...

and knew then that he wanted to be a jazz musician. He had become accomplished enough on guitar to join the local musicians' union at the age of twelve, and helped to aid the family's income by playing at local dances and weddings. When Barnes was young he was given blues guitar lessons by the guitarist Lonnie Johnson. Johnson tuned his 12-string guitar down a whole-tone to make it easier for George to play. Lonnie Johnson influenced the way that Barnes played the blues. George Barnes wanted to play melody and not rhythm, but during his early years of playing because so few soloed, other than Johnson no guitarist influenced the way he played. He listened to records of

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 ...

but could not relate to his playing. So players of other instruments were also primary inspirations to him, particularly the clarinetist

Jimmie Noone Jimmie Noone (April 23, 1895 – April 19, 1944) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. After beginning his career in New Orleans, he led Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, a Chicago band that recorded for Vocalion and Decca. Classical ...

, whom George Barnes played with at the age of 16 and claimed was his single greatest influence. Barnes was also inspired and influenced strongly by the playing of the cornetist

. He wanted to capture the same feeling on guitar that Beiderbecke did through his own playing.Ross, Sam
"Form C: Text 3. Interview With George Barnes. 10 May 1939".
''Jazz Music Chicago.'' Chicago, Illinois. Library of Congress. Retrieved 7 July 2022. Other influences were

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, and saxophonist

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

. From 1935 to 1937, Barnes led a band that performed in the Midwest. In 1937 he played in an eight piece band called the Rhythm-Aires. Barnes did all of the arranging and orchestration for this band. Because most of the players switched from one instrument to another, he had to often double the orchestration. They toured at night around Chicago Heights. He was spotted by

Johnny Mince Johnny Mince (born John Henry Muenzenberger) (July 8, 1912 – December 23, 1994) was an American swing jazz clarinetist. Career Mince played with Joe Haymes from 1929 to 1934, and recorded with Red Norvo and Glenn Miller in 1935. He then worked ...

of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1937. Mince set up an appearance for Barnes on Dorsey's Amateur Hour after driving past his house in his car and hearing him play. George won the $75 first prize along with an appointment to play at the Chicago Theatre for a week. On March 1, 1938, Barnes played electric guitar on the recorded songs "Sweetheart Land" and "It's a Lowdown Dirty Shame" with blues guitarist Big Bill Broonzy. In 1938, when he was seventeen, Barnes was hired as staff guitarist for the NBC Orchestra. He was also staff guitarist and arranger for Decca Records, Decca and recorded with Blind John Davis, Jazz Gillum, Merline Johnson, Curtis Jones (pianist), Curtis Jones, and Washboard Sam. Because he only knew Barnes as a sideman to these artists, Hugues Panassié in ''Le Jazz Hot'' mistakenly referred to Barnes at around this time as "the great Negro blues guitar player from Chicago." From January 1939, while still only seventeen, Barnes began playing at the Three Deuces nightclub in Chicago. He became a featured performer there. He would sit on a chair in front of the band and improvise for as long as he possibly could on different jazz tunes. He became a sensation and the audience would ask for many encores.Ross, Sam
"Form D: Interview With George Barnes. 10 May 1939".
''Jazz Music Chicago.'' Chicago, Illinois. Library of Congress. Retrieved 7 July 2022. On 17 February 1940, Barnes released his first solo recording, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" on Okeh Records. He was drafted in 1942 and served with the U.S. Army as an intercept operator in the Pentagon. After his discharge in 1946, he formed the George Barnes Octet and was given a fifteen-minute radio program on the ABC network. On January 17, 1947, he married Evelyn Lorraine Triplett in Chicago. In 1951, Barnes was signed to Decca by Milt Gabler, and moved from Chicago to New York City. In 1953, he joined the orchestra for the television show ''Your Hit Parade''. The band was conducted by Raymond Scott, and Barnes was a featured soloist. Barnes, Scott, and vocalist Dorothy Collins (Scott's wife) also recorded together. Barnes worked often as a studio musician in New York City, playing on hundreds of albums and jingles from the early 1950s through the late 1960s. He played guitar on Patsy Cline's New York sessions in April 1957. Although he was primarily a swing jazz guitarist, he participated in hundreds of pop, rock, country, and R&B recording sessions. He played on many hit songs by the Coasters, on "This Magic Moment" by the Drifters, and on "Lonely Teardrops". His electric guitar can be heard in the movie ''A Face in the Crowd (film), A Face in the Crowd''. Barnes recorded three albums for Mercury Records, Mercury: ''Movin' Easy'' (1961) with his Jazz Renaissance Quintet, ''Guitar Galaxies'' (1960), and ''Guitars Galore'' (1961). The latter two contained his orchestrations for ten guitars, known as his guitar choir, which used guitars in place of a horn section. The two albums employed a recording technique known as Perfect Presence Sound. Between 1953 and 1961 he was featured on many recordings with The Three Suns. Barnes received the most attention as a jazz guitarist when he recorded as a duo with Carl Kress from 1961 to 1965. He and Kress were invited to play at the White House Christmas party on December 17, 1964. For the occasion, Barnes wrote "Watusi for Luci" for First Daughter Luci Baines Johnson because she was known for dancing the Watusi in clubs with Hollywood celebrities. The song was used as the theme for ''The Clay Cole Show'' in 1965 when the TV show was renamed ''Clay Cole's Discotek''. Barnes formed a duo with jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli that lasted from 1969 to 1972. In 1973, he and cornetist Ruby Braff formed the Ruby Braff–George Barnes Quartet. The quartet recorded several albums, including ''Live at the New School'' (Chiaroscuro Records, Chiaroscuro, 1974), ''To Fred Astaire with Love'' (RCA, 1975), and with singer Tony Bennett, ''Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs'' (Improv, 1976). From 1973 until 1977, Barnes recorded several well-received solo albums for Concord Jazz and with the quartet he had formed with Braff. He also recorded two albums with jazz violinist

for the label. Barnes and his wife, Evelyn, left New York City after his last European tour in 1975 to live and work in the San Francisco Bay area. He died of a heart attack in Concord, California, Concord, California, in 1977 at the age of 56.

Style and technique

Barnes's style took shape before the development of bebop, and he remained a swing stylist throughout his career. His lines were usually short, melodic, bluesy and "inside" (i.e., diatonic), compared to the chromaticism and long lines of bop-era guitarists. His improvisations often employed call and response phrases, and his tone was clearer, cleaner and brighter than many other jazz guitarists (such as Joe Pass or Jim Hall (musician), Jim Hall) and reflected his "happy" approach to music. His playing was noted for its bright quality and melodic style. The single note lines in his solos never strayed far from the tune that was being played. He often made use of blues phrases, string bends and vibrato. His use of vibrato was developed from watching Violinists and would start slowly, then the speed increased."The Technique: George Barnes – the first electric guitarist. George Barnes the best guitarist you (thought) you never heard".
One Man's Guitar. Retrieved 5 July 2022. When creating vibrato he did it across the fingerboard, rather than in line with it."George Barnes".
Via Acoustic Disc.com. Retrieved 3 July 2022. He played a right-handed guitar, but George Barnes was left handed, seeing it as an advantage to use the strongest hand for work on the fretboard. Claiming that it gave him more control, Barnes held the pick between his thumb and middle finger playing mainly with downstrokes. He only used alternate picking when picking very rapid notes on the fretboard. By tightening or loosening his grip on the pick, Barnes could change the volume and dynamics of his guitar sound. Believing that it helped to give him good tone, he always used the thickest picks, and the heaviest gauge strings possible. Not long before his death, Barnes recorded three live albums—two produced from an April 17, 1977, concert at the San Francisco club Bimbo's 365, the other at the Willows Theatre in Concord, California. The albums are good examples of his swinging, happy and often mischievous style. The albums also include his banter with the audience and his introductions of tunes and his band, giving the listener a glimpse of his sense of humour. In a review of the album ''Don't Get Around Much Anymore'' (material from a 1977 concert in Concord, California, recorded a little more than a month before Barnes's death at the age of 56), Jim Ferguson wrote, "Often overlooked in a sea of more modern-sounding, bebop-oriented guitarists, George Barnes could swing like mad and spin out intricate, frequently bluesy phrases with awesome precision and musicality...From start to finish, this well-recorded performance demonstrates the qualities that qualify Barnes for a position among the most elite players in the annals of jazz guitar." In 1942, Barnes wrote the first electric guitar method book, ''The George Barnes Electric Guitar Method'', published by Wm. J. Smith. In 1961, he wrote and recorded ''George Barnes' Living Guitar Method: The Easy Way to Learn All the Chords and Rhythms'' and ''Ten Duets for Two Guitars'' (recorded with his partner Carl Kress) for Music Minus One. In 1965, he wrote ''How to Arrange for Solo Guitar'', published by Peermusic. He also produced the first guitar course offered on cassette tape, ''The Great George Barnes Guitar Course'', published in 1970 by Prentice Hall.

Discography

As leader

* ''The George Barnes Sextet'' (Keynote Records, 1946) * ''Country Jazz'' (Colortone, 1957) * ''Guitar in Velvet'' (Grand Award, 1957) * ''Guitars...By George!'' (Decca Records, Decca, 1958)"New Releases: Barnes, George. ''Guitars...By George!'' Decca – DL 8658". ''Billboard,'' 3 November 1958, p.6. Retrieved 9 July 2022. * ''Guitar Galaxies'' (Mercury Records, Mercury, 1960) * ''Guitars Galore'' (Mercury Records, 1961) * ''Town Hall Concert'' with Carl Kress (United Artists Records, United Artists, 1963) * ''Guitars, Anyone? Why Not Start at the Top?'' with Carl Kress (Carney Records, 1963) * ''Smokey and Intimate'' with Carl Kress and Flo Handy (Carney Records), 1964 * ''Guitars Pure and Honest'' with Bucky Pizzarelli (A&R Records, 1971) * ''The Guitar Album: The Historic Town Hall Concert'' with Bucky Pizzarelli (Columbia Records, 1972) * ''Swing, Guitars'' with Dick Hyman (Famous Door, 1973) * ''Live at the New School'' with Ruby Braff, Michael Moore, Wayne Wright (Chiaroscuro Records, Chiaroscuro, 1974) * ''Gems'' with

(Concord Jazz, 1975) * ''Braff/Barnes Quartet Salutes Rodgers and Hart'' with Ruby Braff (Concord Jazz, 1975) * ''Blues Going Up'' (Concord Jazz, 1977) * ''Live at the Concord Summer Festival'' with Joe Venuti (Concord Jazz, 1977) * ''Plays So Good'' (Concord Jazz, 1978) * ''Two Guitars Volume 1'' with Carl Kress (Stash Records, Stash, 1983) * ''Two Guitars and a Horn'' with Carl Kress, Bud Freeman (Stash, 1983) * ''Don't Get Around Much Anymore'' (Acoustic Disc, 2002) * ''The Uncollected George Barnes and His Octet 1946'' (Hindsight Records, Hindsight, 1977) With

* ''I Love Jazz'' (Decca, 1962) * ''Louis and the Angels'' (Decca, 1957) * ''Louis and the Good Book'' (Decca, 1958) With Al Caiola * ''High Strung'' (RCA Victor, 1959) * ''Italian Guitars'' (Time, 1960) * ''Spanish Guitars'' (Time, 1976) With Ben E. King * ''Spanish Harlem (album), Spanish Harlem'' (Atco, 1961) * ''Don't Play That Song!'' (Atco, 1962) * ''Young Boy Blues'' (Atco, 1964) With others * Steve Allen, ''Jazz for Tonight'' (Coral, 1955) * Tony Bennett, ''Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs'' (Improv, 1976) * Tony Bennett, ''Tony Bennett Sings More Great Rodgers & Hart'' (Improv, 1977) * Solomon Burke, ''If You Need Me'' (Atlantic, 1963) * Solomon Burke, ''King Solomon'' (Atlantic, 1968) * Russ Case, ''Dances Wild'' (Vik, 1957) * The Coasters, ''Young Blood'' (Atlantic, 1982) * Hans Conried, ''Peter Meets the Wolf in Dixieland'' (Strand, 1959) * Jackie Cooper, ''The Movies Swing'' (Dot, 1958) * Bob Dylan, ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' (Columbia, 1963) * Bud Freeman, ''Something Tender'' (United Artists, 1962) * Ronnie Gilbert, ''In Hi Fi The Legend of Bessie Smith'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * Johnny Guarnieri, ''The Duke Again'' (Coral, 1957) * Dick Hyman & Mary Mayo, ''Moon Gas'' (MGM, 1963) * Little Willie John, ''Talk to Me'' (King, 1958) * Betty Madigan, ''The Jerome Kern Songbook'' (Coral, 1958) * Wingy Manone, ''Trumpet on the Wing'' (Decca, 1958) * Carmen McRae, ''Mad About the Man/Carmen McRae Sings Noel Coward'' (Decca, 1958) * Lou McGarity, ''Blue Lou'' (Argo, 1960) *

, ''That Happy Dixieland Jazz'' (RCA Camden, 1960) * Sy Oliver, ''Easy Walker'' (Sesasc, 1962) * Glenn Osser, ''Be There at 5'' (Mercury, 1956) * Don Redman, ''Don Redman All Stars'' (Sesac, 1960) * Buddy Rich & Gene Krupa, ''Burnin' Beat'' (Verve, 1962) * Ernie Royal, ''Accent on Trumpet'' (Urania, 1956) * Charlie Shavers, ''Excitement Unlimited'' (Capitol, 1963) * George Siravo, ''Rodgers & Hart Percussion & Strings'' (Time, 1960) * Tommy Reynolds (musician), Tommy Reynolds, ''Jazz for Happy Feet'' (King, 1956) * Jimmy Scott, ''Little Jimmy Scott'' (Savoy, 1984) * Lou Stein, ''Honky Tonk Piano Featuring Lou Stein'' (Mercury, 1956) * Lou Stein, ''Saloon Favorites'' (Mercury, 1957) * Roy Smeck, ''The Magic Ukulele of Roy Smeck'' (ABC Paramount, 1959) * Cootie Williams, ''Cootie Williams in Hi Fi'' (RCA Victor, 1958) *

, ''Joe Venuti and the Blue Five'' (From the Jazz Vault, 1979)

References

External links

Official site

* [https://www.npr.org/2010/08/16/129158670/five-pioneers-of-electric-jazz-guitar?sc=tw Five Pioneers of Electric Jazz Guitar (NPR, January 2013)]
George Barnes recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, George 1921 births 1977 deaths People from Cook County, Illinois American jazz guitarists Swing guitarists Mainstream jazz guitarists 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians