Hank Garland

Infobox musical artist
Name = Hank Garland


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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Walter Louis Garland
Alias = Hank
Born = November 11, 1930
Cowpens, South Carolina
Died = death date and age|2004|12|27|1930|11|11
Orange Park, Florida
Instrument = guitar
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Occupation = Guitarist
Years_active = 1946 - 1961
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Associated_acts = Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, many others
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Hank Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004) was a legendary Nashville studio musician.

Born in Cowpens, South Carolina, Garland began playing the guitar at the age of 6. He moved to Nashville at age 16, staying in Ma Upchurch's boarding house, where he roomed with upright bassist Bob Moore and fiddler Dale Potter. At age 19 Garland recorded his million-selling hit "Sugar Foot Rag".

Garland is best known for his work on Elvis Presley recordings from 1958 to 1961 which produced such Rock hits as "Little Sister," "I Need Your Love Tonight" and "A Big Hunk o' Love". However, Garland also worked with many of the country music as well as rock 'n roll stars of the late 1950s and early 1960s including Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Mel Tillis, Marty Robbins, Everly Brothers, Boots Randolph, Roy Orbison, and Conway Twitty . He also played with jazz artists such as George Shearing and Charlie Parker and went on to record Jazz Winds From a New Direction, showcasing his evolving talent.

In September of 1961 a car accident left Garland in a coma that lasted a week. With the help of his wife, he relearned how to walk, talk, and play the guitar. It is believed shock therapy which was prescribed by his doctors, may have caused more damage to his brain, but little evidence exists to support this theory.

Garland died on December 27, 2004 of a staph infection in Orange Park, Florida.

An attempt to tell his life and times is the subject of the partially fictional independent film "Crazy".

Discography

*"After the Riot at Newport" (with The Nashville All-Stars) (1960)
*"Velvet Guitar" (1960)
*"Jazz Winds in a New Direction" (1961)
*"The Unforgettable Guitar of Hank Garland" (1962)

References

* [http://www.nashvillesound.net/current/hank_garland.htm A-Team Musicians]
*Kienzle, Rich (1998). "Hank Garland". In "The Encyclopedia of Country Music". Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 194-5.
* [http://www.hankgarland.com/ Official web site]
* [http://www.crazy-themovie.com/ Official web site for the film]

ee also

*The Nashville A-Team

External links

[http://www.angelfire.com/tn2/bobloyce/garlandbio.html Hank Garland Biography and Interview]