A Little Info About Gordy Maness
(Probably way more then you really want to know)
Gordy joined his family's trail on February 8th in 1951 at Grand Rapids, Minnesota. A small town, about 80 miles west of Duluth, it was best known for its' paper mill and also as the birth place of Judy Garland. He was the only boy, the 3rd child of 4 in a household which depended heavily on income earned logging. Gordy was about 16 when he first picked up the guitar. The first guitar he owned was a D28 Martin bought new for $350. His Mom cosigned the loan for him. Gordy's parents, Harold and Helen, had played country music for years, both at home and professionally in local bars and clubs. In fact, Gordy got his start playing in public as his parent's bass player. He cut his musical teeth learning the tunes of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride and whoever else happened to have a hit country tune in the mid-60s. He caught glimpses of Bluegrass from time to time from a few albums of his Dad's, but country seemed more popular with the crowds, so he didn't give Bluegrass much attention. However, about 1970 he heard an album called "Strictly Instrumental" and was mesmerized with the guitar magic of Doc Watson. His focus immediately began to shift toward Bluegrass or anything else which featured flat-pick guitar. To this day, he still considers Doc as the King of flat-pick guitar. About the same time he first heard Doc, he became eligible for the military draft and chose to join the Air Force instead of being forced into the Army. Well 30 years, and many countries later, he woke up one day to find himself retiring from the Air Force. Following the advice, love, and encouragement of his wife, Maria Esther, Gordy decided to give his musical aspirations more attention. During his military career he did play both country music and bluegrass with a variety of groups in a variety of countries, in a variety of, shall we say, interesting settings. From Thailand to Okinawa to Germany and England along with numerous locations coast to coast in America, he always seemed to find someone to share music with. Not full time, but enough for him to pick up many wonderful musical memories and become an accomplished guitarist and fine songwriter. His first CD, "The Trail", consists of 15 songs he wrote over a period of about 10 years. He sincerely hopes you will enjoy sharing in some of the experiences and feelings he has picked up along his trail.
Check out the artist's website:
http://manessmusic.com
Track List:
1. The Trail
2. Lessons of Life
3. Fly Like a Sparrow
4. Beyond the Next Hill
5. Why Did You Run From Me?
6. Impatient Love
7. After the Night You Said Goodbye
8. Between Love and Alone
9. More Then Water
10. Sing a Happy Song
11. Hope
12. Listen to Your Heart
13. Memories of You
14. You and Me
15. When
Suggested CDs:
(Probably way more then you really want to know)
Gordy joined his family's trail on February 8th in 1951 at Grand Rapids, Minnesota. A small town, about 80 miles west of Duluth, it was best known for its' paper mill and also as the birth place of Judy Garland. He was the only boy, the 3rd child of 4 in a household which depended heavily on income earned logging. Gordy was about 16 when he first picked up the guitar. The first guitar he owned was a D28 Martin bought new for $350. His Mom cosigned the loan for him. Gordy's parents, Harold and Helen, had played country music for years, both at home and professionally in local bars and clubs. In fact, Gordy got his start playing in public as his parent's bass player. He cut his musical teeth learning the tunes of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride and whoever else happened to have a hit country tune in the mid-60s. He caught glimpses of Bluegrass from time to time from a few albums of his Dad's, but country seemed more popular with the crowds, so he didn't give Bluegrass much attention. However, about 1970 he heard an album called "Strictly Instrumental" and was mesmerized with the guitar magic of Doc Watson. His focus immediately began to shift toward Bluegrass or anything else which featured flat-pick guitar. To this day, he still considers Doc as the King of flat-pick guitar. About the same time he first heard Doc, he became eligible for the military draft and chose to join the Air Force instead of being forced into the Army. Well 30 years, and many countries later, he woke up one day to find himself retiring from the Air Force. Following the advice, love, and encouragement of his wife, Maria Esther, Gordy decided to give his musical aspirations more attention. During his military career he did play both country music and bluegrass with a variety of groups in a variety of countries, in a variety of, shall we say, interesting settings. From Thailand to Okinawa to Germany and England along with numerous locations coast to coast in America, he always seemed to find someone to share music with. Not full time, but enough for him to pick up many wonderful musical memories and become an accomplished guitarist and fine songwriter. His first CD, "The Trail", consists of 15 songs he wrote over a period of about 10 years. He sincerely hopes you will enjoy sharing in some of the experiences and feelings he has picked up along his trail.
Check out the artist's website:
http://manessmusic.com
Track List:
1. The Trail
2. Lessons of Life
3. Fly Like a Sparrow
4. Beyond the Next Hill
5. Why Did You Run From Me?
6. Impatient Love
7. After the Night You Said Goodbye
8. Between Love and Alone
9. More Then Water
10. Sing a Happy Song
11. Hope
12. Listen to Your Heart
13. Memories of You
14. You and Me
15. When
Suggested CDs:
- Country & Western Greats Of The Past
- Freight Train Riders of America
- COUNTRY: Bluegrass
- FOLK: Traditional Folk
- TYPE: ACOUSTIC