Ton Masseurs
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ton Masseurs (born 7 December 1947, in
Kaatsheuvel Kaatsheuvel () is a town in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands situated along highways N261 and N628. With a population of roughly 16,600, it is the largest town in and the capital of the municipality of Loon op Zand, which also consists o ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
) is a Dutch guitarist noted as one of the first
pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...
players in Europe. He was the
lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
/steel guitar player, and a founding member, of the Dutch
Country and Western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
band The Tumbleweeds, who had a number one hit with their version of the
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 af ...
song "Somewhere Between" (1975). Masseurs was the band's musical leader and producer. After their early success, the band began to rotate members. By 1982, Ton Masseurs and his brother Berry Masseurs were all that remained from the 1975 lineup. Masseurs stopped performing to focus on his music studio, which he had started in 1980, called MMP Studios in Waalwijk, the Netherlands. He did remain active as a session musician on pedal steel. He worked with Dutch acts like Rob de Nijs, Jasperina de Jong and The
Golden Earring Golden Earring (originally known as The Tornados) was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Golden Earrings. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on th ...
among others. From 1980 to 2001 he was a notable music producer in the
Dutch music The Netherlands has multiple musical traditions. Contemporary Dutch popular music is heavily influenced by music styles that emerged in the 1950s, in the United Kingdom and United States. The style is sung in both Dutch and English. Some of the l ...
scene. in September 2001 he suffered a major
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
and retired from the music industry.


Style

Ton Masseurs' style was noted for very fast playing and near-perfect intonation. This was made possible by his
perfect pitch Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (2018 film), a science ...
. Masseurs was noted for playing wearing socks with no shoes.


Gear

Ton Masseurs was an avid user of
Sho-Bud Sho-Bud is a brand name for a manufacturer of pedal steel guitars that was founded by Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons in 1955 in Madison, Tennessee. History In the early 1950s Shot installed string pullers with pedals on Fender, Rickenbacker, an ...
steel guitars. He used two Sho-Bud
amplifiers An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
and a Custom III Sho-Bud pedal steel guitar. When he played standard
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, his main instruments were a 1969 Rosewood
Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bod ...
, and a 1966
Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsc ...
Country Gentleman.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masseurs, Ton 1947 births Living people Dutch guitarists Dutch male guitarists Pedal steel guitarists People from Loon op Zand