Fred Gerlach (August 26, 1925 – December 31, 2009) was an American

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

and

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

, perhaps most famous for his recording of the traditional song "

Gallows Pole A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

", which

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

guitarist

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

credited with inspiring his own band's version.

Career

In the early 1950s he sang in the Jewish Young Folksingers chorus conducted by Robert De Cormier. Gerlach was among the first folk artists to adopt the 12 string guitar as his medium. A friend of fellow folk musicians Ramblin' Jack Elliott,

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspire ...

and

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

, his first album was even called ''Twelve-String Guitar''. Its flagship song, "Gallows Pole", was heard and covered by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, saying:

I first heard it ('Gallows Pole') on an old Folkways LP by Fred Gerlach, a 12-string player who was, I believe, the first white to play the instrument. I used his version as a basis and completely changed the arrangementFred Gerlach, American Music biography
br/>"I first heard it ('Gallows Pole') on an old Folkways LP by Fred Gerlach, a 12-string player who was, I believe, the first white to play the instrument. I used his version as a basis and completely changed the arrangement."

Gerlach was inspired to adopt the 12 string by his mentor and one-time roommate

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk sta ...

, a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

famous for using the instrument. At the time Gerlach became interested in the instrument, it was almost unknown. He later related:

I went into one of the largest musical instrument stores in the country, and the manager assured me that no such instrument existed. On another occasion a maker of fine 12-string lutes (nylon strings) pictured for me a nightmare of explosive force required to hold twelve steel strings in proper tension. He envisioned bits of guitar and guitarist flying asunder. I have combed New York City pawnshops and music stores and have received a variety of comments ranging' from 'Sorry, we're out of them now. Won't a six-string guitar do? to 'Have you got rocks in your head, buddy?' In fact, it took me about a year after I had first decided to play a twelve-string before I found one. It wasn't a concentrated search, but it nevertheless indicates the general unavailability of the instrument.

Because of the difficulty in finding 12 string guitars, Gerlach began to make his own, for himself and his peers.

, Leo Kottke,

Dick Rosmini Richard John Rosmini (October 4, 1936 – September 9, 1995) was an American guitarist, at one time considered the best 12-string guitarist in the world. He was best known for his role in the American "folk revival" of the 1960s. Life Rosmini was ...

, and other name-brand folk musicians came to use his instruments.

Discography

Albums

* ''Twelve-String Guitar'' (1962) * ''Songs My Mother Never Sang'' (1968) * ''Easy Rider''

Compilations

* ''The Twelve-String Story Vol. 1'' (1963) * ''The Twelve-String Story Vol. 2'' (1963) * ''The Guitar Greats'' * ''Golden Guitars'' * ''Takoma Eclectic Sampler Vol 2'' (1999)Takoma Eclectic Sampler, Vol. 2
/ref> * ''Imaginational Anthem Vol. 2''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerlach, Fred 1925 births 2009 deaths American folk guitarists American male guitarists American folk singers American people of German-Jewish descent American Ashkenazi Jews Jewish American musicians Jewish folk singers 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews

Career

Discography

Albums

Compilations

See also

References