I want to share a story about a young boy who wanted to play guitar, how he got his first Martin, and how playing guitar changed his life.
I heard this story from my friend Gordon Kennedy, a very talented guitar player and hit songwriter in his own right. Gordon is currently playing for Garth Brooks in his Plus ONE residency at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. This story is about Gordon’s father, Jerry Kennedy, and his first Martin guitar. The story starts in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1950, when Jerry Kennedy’s dad asked his son out of the blue, “How would you like to go get a guitar lesson?” He took young Jerry for his first guitar lesson at age nine. It was a Friday afternoon.
Jerry Kennedy’s First Guitar Lesson
Gordon: “My dad was a big fan of the singing cowboy movies — Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry — so he was excited when his dad dropped him off for his first guitar lesson. The guitar teacher was Tillman Franks, who was the acoustic bass player for lots of artists including Johnny Horton, and he also played on the Louisiana Hayride radio show. At that first lesson, my dad learned how to play a song that Tillman wrote called ‘How Far Is Heaven?’ Tillman was so impressed with young Jerry that he often commented that, ‘He came back for his second lesson knowing more than his teacher did.’ Dad was a natural on guitar.”
“What no one knew that Friday afternoon was that my grandfather, Jerry’s dad, the deputy sheriff in Caddo Parrish, would die the following Monday, just three days later. His widow, my grandmother, was left with three kids — my dad and two sisters, one a baby. She took a job at a bakery, where she walked to work and was making $32 a week. At some point, Tillman, who had taken my dad under his wing and was like a father figure to him, told my grandmother that Jerry was good and showed a lot of promise. ‘You need to think about getting him a good guitar.’ So, she went and spent three weeks’ salary on a brand-new 1950 Martin 00-18 guitar.”
Gordon continues: “Dad had been playing guitar for about seven months when Bob Wills brought a talent show to Shreveport, and my dad entered the talent show. Remember, he’s 10 years old, but he really wants to win. He gets up to play ‘New Panhandle Rag,’ and when he comes to the guitar break in the middle, he throws the guitar behind his head and plays it behind his head. And he wins the talent show!”
A Budding Career
Thus began the career of Jerry Kennedy. By age 11, he was offered a singing contract with RCA Records, and by 18, he had joined the house band for the Louisiana Hayride, playing for stars such as Faron Young and Johnny Horton.
When Jerry moved to Nashville in 1961, he landed a job at Mercury Records, eventually becoming the vice president for country music. In that role, he discovered a songwriter named Roger Miller. They cut 16 songs in two days, including “Dang Me,” “Chug-a-Lug,” and the million-selling “King of the Road.” That success established Kennedy as one of Nashville’s most successful country producers. He helped Roger Miller earn 11 Grammy Awards in 1964 and 1965. His production credits span the careers of artists whose names you know: Reba McEntire, the Statler Brothers, Johnny Rodriguez, Tom T. Hall, Connie Smith, and Mel McDaniel.
Jerry Kennedy isn’t only famous as a producer. You’ve probably also heard his guitar playing on such huge hits as Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” and Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” plus he played the dobro fills on Jeannie C. Riley’s 1968 hit “Harper Valley PTA.” You can hear his playing on recordings such as Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde sessions and songs by Elvis Presley, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ringo Starr, and many more.
Quite a career, huh? And the reason I’m sharing this with you is to emphasize the importance of getting a quality instrument when your child wants to play, especially if they show talent. I’ll let Gordon pick up the story from here.
Gordon Kennedy on Choosing a First Guitar
Gordon: “Don’t get your kid a starter guitar, a cheap guitar, something that’ll wind up in a pawn shop. If you do that to somebody, they may get the wrong impression if that’s the first guitar they meet. If you want to put something in front of your child that they’re going to grow into and appreciate for years and years, and maybe for the rest of their life, go ahead and get them a good guitar first because it’ll be hard for them to put it down. They’ll walk through the room and hear it calling their name.”
“I remember being four years old when my dad gave me my first guitar. It was a Sears Silvertone, a catalog guitar. He also gave my brother Bryan a guitar, and he was two! Bryan used his for drums! But I learned how to play and started chording.
“Then, when I was 15 years old, for Christmas, my dad gave me a Fender Telecaster that I didn’t ask for. That changed my life — there was no going back from that moment. When he gave me that guitar, that was the first electric guitar he bought for me. He didn’t get me a ‘starter guitar,’ which might have dissuaded me from pursuing it any further. I still have it — I’m playing that guitar onstage with Garth Brooks in Las Vegas right now. It’s a full-circle moment for me. All these years later, I never dreamed that I would be doing a gig like this at this stage of my life. I had some reservations about taking it out on the road, but it’s sort of a ‘now or never’ moment, like ‘What are you saving your prom dress for if not the prom?’”
Gordon has spent his life as a guitar player. He is also a Grammy Award-winning songwriter who cowrote Eric Clapton’s hit “Change the World” and has written songs recorded by Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Faith Hill, and Bonnie Raitt. Gordon collaborated with Peter Frampton on his Fingerprints album, which won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album. And Gordon will admit that he traces all of that back to his grandfather taking his dad to that first guitar lesson just days before he died and his grandmother buying his dad that first Martin.
Want to Know What Gordon Would Recommend?
As we wrapped up, it occurred to me how valuable Gordon’s opinion would be if he were recommending a first guitar for a friend who wanted to play or whose child wanted to take up guitar.
“My first electric guitar was a Telecaster, so amen and hallelujah to that being a great choice! At any price point, Leo’s first design got it right the first time! To me, it’s the perfect bread-and-butter guitar. I love the global volume and tone controls. You don’t get hung up on too many knobs but rather just playing the dang thing.”
“For an acoustic? It’s hard to argue with a Martin for your first guitar. Or for your last guitar, for that matter!”
The Moral of the Story
What’s the takeaway from this fascinating story of two young guitar players, father and son, and two lifetimes of making music? I think there are three.
- We never know how long we have in this world, so don’t hesitate to do what you feel motivated to do. You may not get another chance.
- Recognize that something you do today, even as simple as getting a guitar lesson, can change someone’s life forever.
- Don’t skimp on a good instrument for a young child who wants to play. Having the right instrument may change their future, even into the next generation.
Sweetwater Has the Guitar for You
Sweetwater carries thousands of guitars from six-string acoustics to 10-string electrics and everything in between. If you are interested in finding the right guitar, then call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer and let them help you get the guitar that will excite and inspire you or your child to play. Call Sweetwater at (800) 222-4700, and we can set you up with the guitar that’s perfect for you.
To learn more about the long history of Jerry’s first Martin guitar, how it was lost for 70 years and then reunited with its owner, check out this video of Gordon sharing the story: