Buy the DVD: www.shoppbs.org for more: www.pbs.org Watch the full segment from the History Detectives Special celebrating African American contributions to music. A Michigan man owns a Guild brand acoustic guitar that he says once belonged to legendary African-American folksinger Josh White, who is credited with introducing black folk, gospel and blues music to a world audience in the 1940s. The contributor met White after a concert when he was a kid, and the guitar reminds him of a confidence White had shared with him: the Guild Company was talking to White about making a signature guitar built to his specifications and marketed under his name. If this is the guitar White had spoken of, it would be the first signature guitar ever created for an African-American musician in the United States. HISTORY DETECTIVES host Elyse Luray travels around New York City and New Jersey to explore the crossover appeal of Josh White’s music and his ability to win over a racially polarized music industry. Exploring historical objects and the stories behind them, HISTORY DETECTIVES crisscrosses the country, delving into legends, folklore and personal histories to discover potentially extraordinary objects in everyday American homes, cities and small towns. Watch for the new season of History Detectives premiering June 2009. For more information, visit www.pbs.org
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August 18th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Way cool – a great story about a truly great man.
August 18th, 2010 at 2:39 am
Great*****5/5***** Video!!
thanks,
C. N.
August 18th, 2010 at 2:49 am
Public Television just got freakin seXXXier
August 18th, 2010 at 3:32 am
@rrw1981 She is 42. . . one sexy cougar indeed. . . but she looks 23
August 18th, 2010 at 4:18 am
Elyse is definitely hot!
August 18th, 2010 at 4:50 am
Her referring to that beautiful instrument as “product”, as if it’s only purpose is to be bought and sold, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
August 18th, 2010 at 5:34 am
I was originally looking for something else, but boy this video was a very nice surprise for a musician like myself.
August 18th, 2010 at 6:00 am
heck yea. . . she is hot
August 18th, 2010 at 6:40 am
As fascinating as Josh White’s music is his relationship with FDR & Eleanor.
August 18th, 2010 at 6:41 am
SHE’S HOT LOL
August 18th, 2010 at 7:39 am
This was great. Intelligent and interesting!
August 18th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Come to think of it, I do remember one of them, something like “Butterfly”. . The first line was “Butterfly, flutter by my window, tell her that I love her so —-” or something like that. It was in the 1950s or 60s.
August 18th, 2010 at 9:12 am
I seem to remember he had some songs in the British hit parade with his daughter Beverley, but I don’t see them anywhere in YouTube
August 18th, 2010 at 9:38 am
this is a great video
August 18th, 2010 at 9:55 am
My Father gave me Josh White records. I have a picture of Josh playing a kaykraft as well. . I have one of those.
August 18th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Guild made such great instruments, too bad it didn’t work out. Kaman made a Josh White Ovation which is/was an inferior (far inferior) instrument.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:00 am
WOW! What a great snip of history this is! Josh White was, in the 60s, one of my major influences as I learned Blues guitar. I saw him live many times, and I also distinctly recall marvelling at a Guild he played. . . with a slotted 12 fret classical neck. . .
To own this guitar, and to learn that it’s a one-of-a-kind, would be a thrill of a lifetime. It’s amazing to watch this story unfold.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Loved it! In the mid-50’s, while Josh was based in Europe, English music dealer, Ivor Mairants commissioned and marketed (with Josh’s approval) a Josh White model guitar under the Zenith brand. The guitars were made in Germany and advertised on the back of the “Josh White Guitar Method” which Mairants published in 1956. So wouldn’t that be the first signature guitar named for an African-American player? It’s not made by a US manufacturer, but then that wasn’t one of the stated criteria.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:58 am
A barrier breaker before Hendrix. Wow!!
August 18th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Very interesting, Glad i came across it.
August 18th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
*****