He is an acoustic guitarist
born in Athens, Georgia
and living in Muskogee, Oklahoma
while he was young.He
struggled with partial deafness after an accident with a firecracker, and
it was made worse while he served time in the United States Naval Reserve.He learned the violin and trombone before
the guitar which would become the instrument he was known for, along with
his unique picking style. He
studied at the St. CloudStateUniversity but was known to
sneak to the auditorium instead of going to lessons so he could play his
guitar.He performs with his 6
and 12 string guitars which have unconventional tuning and he sings in a
baritone voice that he describes as "geese farts on a muggy day".His most successful album is the
1969 6 and 12-String Guitar and aside
from his own recordings he has collaborated with many other artists
including Chet Atkin, John Fahey and Lyle Lovitt.From
the 1980s he has suffered from tendonitis and nerve damage caused by his picking
style and so has had to change his way of playing, but still continues to
perform.
