Isaac Guillory (February 27, 1947 – December 31, 2000) was an American
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
guitarist.
Career
Guillory first began performing in 1965, while still attending
St. Johns River State College
St. Johns River State College is a public college in Northeast Florida with campuses in Palatka, St. Augustine, and Orange Park. Founded in 1958 (for organizational purposes) as St. Johns River Junior College, it is part of the Florida Colleg ...
where he became a member of The Illusions, eventually becoming lead guitarist.
While studying music at
Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The unive ...
in Chicago during 1965 to 1969, he recorded two albums with
The Cryan' Shames
The Cryan' Shames are an American garage rock band from Hinsdale, Illinois. Originally known as The Travelers, the band was formed by Tom Doody ("Toad"), Gerry Stone ("Stonehenge"), Dave Purple ("Grape") of The Prowlers, Denny Conroy from Pos ...
, having joined them in 1967 as bass player.
Towards the end of 1965, Guillory moved to Chicago where he studied guitar at the Chicago School of Music.
He then attended Wright Junior College
Wilbur Wright College, formerly known as Wright Junior College, is a public community college in Chicago. Part of the City Colleges of Chicago system, it offers two-year associate's degrees, as well as occupational training in IT, manufacturing, ...
for three years where he played with The Revelles. The group played with Chicago DJ, Art Roberts, of WLS. He then played with The Cryan' Shames
The Cryan' Shames are an American garage rock band from Hinsdale, Illinois. Originally known as The Travelers, the band was formed by Tom Doody ("Toad"), Gerry Stone ("Stonehenge"), Dave Purple ("Grape") of The Prowlers, Denny Conroy from Pos ...
.
During 1970 to 1976, Guillory performed at the Shakespeare's Head Folk Club in Carnaby Street
Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, it is home to fashion and lifestyle retailers, including many independent fashion boutiques.
Stre ...
, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England.
After active resistance to the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, Guillory left the US in November 1970, acquired a Martin D-35 and lived throughout Europe. He worked as an acoustic solo performer and settled in the United Kingdom. Guillory developed 'hybrid picking', where he would sustain a bass line with a plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...
held between his thumb and first finger, whilst picking chord and melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
lines with his second and third fingers.
Having studied classical guitar in his younger years, Guillory incorporated quasi-classical techniques into his playing and on occasions would even throw in some pure classical guitar pieces, merging them into various songs as a medley.
He was widely known for insisting on carrying his own PA sound system with him from gig to gig. This allowed him to reproduce the exact sound he wanted night after night regardless of the venue. This was quite rare at the time with solo singer/guitarists on the folk circuit and certainly helped him to communicate his renowned performing skills to his audiences without having to fear the usual technical blips that can occur using a venue's house PA.
He always concentrated on live solo performances (which put him up-close with more intimate small audiences) and sharing his understanding of music; touring, creating his own online guitar school. After an initial recording deal with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
published five more CDs on his own independent label, Personal Records. As a performer he was dedicated to sharing his gift with both audience and fellow musicians, and as a teacher he never hesitated to share in a manner that others could understand.
He performed frequently as a guest artist for recordings and films with, among many others, Al Stewart, Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...
, Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 1980 ...
, Michael Marra
Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk cl ...
, Peter Sarstedt
Peter Eardley Sarstedt (10 December 1941 – 8 January 2017) was a British singer-songwriter and instrumentalist. He was the brother of singers Eden Kane, a teenage pop idol and Clive Sarstedt, with both of whom he also recorded and performe ...
, Buggles, Barbara Dickson
Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include 'I Know Him So Well', 'Answer Me' and ' January February'. Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had a ...
, and Nick Heyward
Nicholas Heyward (born 20 May 1961) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first alb ...
. Guillory released ''Isaac Guillory'', a self-titled album in 1974. For a while he delved into jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
and recorded with Pacific Eardrum. Guillory lectured at the Guildhall School of Music in London. His music can be heard on 'A' Net Station, a web radio station that he helped found, where his website continues to be available.
He also wrote ''The Guitar Hand Book'' with friend, Ralph Denyer, which became the foundation for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
In his later years, he performed on the folk club circuit in Great Britain. His virtuoso guitar playing made him popular with audiences and ensured a steady stream of work as a performer and teacher. His final album, ''The Days of '49'', recorded on tour during late 1999 and released in early 2000, included a number of solo compositions as well as arrangements of some folk standards. His tribute to the British guitarist
, "Dear John", is one of the highlights of an outstanding album.
, the son of Victoria (Ojalvo) and Easton Joseph Guillory, an American sailor.