Ed Gerhard is an American
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
winning guitarist. He is known for his acoustic
fingerstyle guitar
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of guitar picking, playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with ...
playing
and
lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...
music.
Career
Gerhard was born in
Abington, Pennsylvania. He started playing guitar when he was fourteen, inspired by seeing classical guitarist
Andrés Segovia on television. He was also influenced by the
open tunings of folk guitarist
John Fahey.
In 1987 Gerhard released his debut solo album, ''Night Birds''.
He established Virtue Records in 1991 as a record label for his work and for instrumental acoustic guitar music.
In December 1982, he began performing an annual concert in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, New Hampshire.
He received a Grammy Award for his participation in the album ''
Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar'' (Solid Air, 2004), for which he arranged and performed "
Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 19 ...
".
In 2012, after six years of work, Gerhard release the album ''There and Gone''.
Signature guitar
In 1997,
Breedlove Guitars released the Ed Gerhard Signature Model Guitar. The guitar became one of Breedlove's best-selling guitars and won the Player's Choice Award by ''Acoustic Guitar'' magazine in 2000.
In collaboration with Gerhard, Breedlove also released a
Weissenborn guitar in which traditional design is combined with modern features and contemporary wood combinations.
Discography
* 1987 ''Nightbirds''
* 1991 ''Christmas''
* 1993 ''Luna''
* 1996 ''Counting the Ways''
* 1997 ''On a Cold Winter's Night''
* 1999 ''The Live Album''
* 2006 ''Sunnyland'' (Solid Air)
* 2006 ''House of Guitars''
* 2012 ''There and Gone''
[ url=https://www.premierguitar.com/gear/reviews/album-review-ed-gerhard-there-and-gone ]
On soundtracks
* 2001 ''
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
'',
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...
* 2005 ''Le Vie Di Sempre'', Ivano Ponzini (Italy)
* 2009 ''
The National Parks: America's Best Idea'', Ken Burns
As guest
* 1986
Bill Morrissey, ''North'' (Philo)
* 1992
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...
, ''Son of the Wind'' (Rising Son)
* 1996 Arlo Guthrie, ''Mystic Journey'' (Rising Son)
* 2007
Jorma Kaukonen, ''
Stars in My Crown'' (
Red House)
Video
* 1996 ''All-Star Guitar Night'' (Homespun)
* 2003 ''Ed Gerhard Solo Guitar Performance'' (Rittor)
* 2007 ''A Fingerstyle Summit'' with
Martin Simpson and
Adrian Legg (Alfred Publishing)
Books
* 1994 "The Handing Down" featured in ''Windham Hill Guitar Sampler; 18 Transcriptions from the Modern Masters of the Acoustic Guitar'' (Hal Leonard)
* 1996 ''Ed Gerhard: Selections from Night Birds & Luna'' (Mel Bay/Virtue Records Publishing)
* 1996 Gerhard's arrangement of "O Holy Night" featured in ''Portraits of Christmas'' (Mel Bay)
* 2003 Gerhard featured in Andy Volk's "''Lap Steel Guitar''" (Centerstream Publications)
* 2004 ''Ed Gerhard; The Guitar Songbook'' (Warner Bros.)
* 2004 Gerhard's arrangement of "Moon River" featured in ''Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar'' (Warner Brothers/Alfred)
* 2009 ''Songs & Pieces for Guitar'' (Virtue Records Publishing), six compositions from ''Sunnyland'' and five from previous albums
References
External links
Official siteProfile at Breedlove Guitars
Ed Gerhard InterviewNAMM Oral History Library (2017)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerhard, Edward
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people