David William Kearney (September 8, 1934 – April 20, 2022), known as Guitar Shorty, was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was known for his explosive guitar style and wild stage antics. Credited with influencing both

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

and

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

, Guitar Shorty recorded and toured from the 1950s until the 2020s. In 2017, ''Billboard'' magazine said, "his galvanizing guitar work defines modern, top-of-the-line blues-rock. His vocals remain as forceful as ever. Righteous shuffles...blistering, sinuous guitar solos."

History

Shorty was born in either

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, or Loughman, Florida. He grew up mainly in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...

. He was taught by his uncle to play the guitar at an early age, and began leading a band not long after. During his time in

Tampa Bay, Florida Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

, at age 16 he received his nickname, Guitar Shorty, when it mysteriously showed up on the marquee of the club he was playing as 'The Walter Johnson Band featuring Guitar Shorty.' He steadily began to garner accolades from his peers and, soon after, he joined the

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Band for a year. He recorded his first single in 1957, "You Don't Treat Me Right", for the Cobra label under the direction of

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

, after Dixon saw him playing with the Walter Johnson Orchestra. While in New Orleans, Shorty also fronted his own band which played regularly at the Dew Drop Inn where he was joined by special guests such as

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

. Not one to stay in one place long, Shorty next moved to the West Coast at 19 to play with

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

. He played up and down the west coast and Canada until he met his future wife, Marsha or Marcia, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. Marsha was the step-sister of

. Hendrix was so enthralled with Shorty's playing, he went AWOL several times from his Army base to see him perform. Shorty introduced Hendrix to the

wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of effects unit, effects pedal designed for electric guitar that alters the timbre of the input signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeia, onomatopoe ...

and loaned him one when Hendrix could not afford to buy his own. Shorty married Marsha in 1962 and they separated in 1970. Shorty gigged steadily through the late 1950s and 1960s. During the 1970s, he worked as a mechanic, playing music at nights and on weekends. He again became a full-time musician in 1975, struggling at times to make ends meet. In 1976 he made an appearance on

Chuck Barris Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host, author, and songwriter. A key crew member of several hugely successful game shows, he was the creator of ''The Dating Game'' (1965– ...

' '' Gong Show'', winning first prize for performing the song, "They Call Me Guitar Shorty", while balanced on his head. In 2002, he was featured on the

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

tribute album ''Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!'', performing the song "Don't Let It Go (Hold On To What You Got)". He joined

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

in 2004. His album that year, '' Watch Your Back'' and his 2006 album ''

We the People The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence of ...

'' both charted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Blues Albums at numbers eleven and twelve, respectively. ''Billboard'' said of ''We The People'', "it's difficult to imagine that he ever tracks a better album than this one." On May 10, 2016, his touring van and trailer was stolen with most of his instruments and gear. An online fundraiser and several benefit concerts were organized, by his guitar player Crazy Tomes, in Los Angeles to help him with the financial losses, including a special performance with

The Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1968 psychedelic soul hit " Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions ...

. Guitar Shorty released his album ''Trying To Find My Way Back'' in 2019, produced by Jerry "

Swamp Dogg Jerry Williams Jr. (born July 12, 1942), generally credited under the pseudonym Swamp Dogg after 1970, is an American Southern soul, country soul and R&B singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Williams has been described as "one of the ...

" Williams and Larry "MoogStar" Clemons. He also played lead guitar on Crazy Tomes' single "Livin' on Memories", released in 2020. He continued to tour with his band of many years that included Crazy Tomes (guitar and vocals), Malcolm Lukens (keyboards), Wadada Khufu (bass) and Dan Gerass (drums). He died on April 20, 2022, in Los Angeles, at the age of 87."In Memoriam: Bluesman David “Guitar Shorty” Kearney"
''Blues Magazine'', April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022 He appears in the 2024 documentary film '' Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted'', which was in production at the time of Guitar Shorty's death.Joe Gross
"SXSW Film Review: Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted"
''

Austin Chronicle Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

'', March 9, 2024.

Discography

* ''On the Rampage'' (Olive Branch, 1989) * '' My Way or the Highway'' ( JSP, 1991) * ''

Topsy Turvy ''Topsy-Turvy'' is a 1999 British musical period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert and Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan, along with Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville and Ron Cook. The s ...

'' ( Black Top, 1993) * '' Get Wise to Yourself'' (Black Top, 1995) * '' Billie Jean Blues'' (Collectables, August 27, 1996) * '' The Blues Is All Right'' (Collectables, August 27, 1996) * '' Roll Over, Baby'' (Black Top, 1998) * '' I Go Wild!'' (

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

, 2001) * '' Watch Your Back'' (

Alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

, 2004) * '' The Best of Guitar Shorty: The Long and Short of It'' (

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

, June 2006) * ''

'' (Alligator, August 2006) * ''Bare Knuckle'' (Alligator, March 2010) * ''How Blue Can You Get'' (Janblues, December 2010) reissue of ''The Blues Is All Right'' * ''Trying To Find My Way Back'' (S.D.E.G./Essential Media Group, 2019) CD

References

External links

Guitar Shorty Official website

Guitar Shorty at Alligator RecordsGuitar Shorty Interview – NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guitar Shorty 1934 births 2022 deaths American blues guitarists American blues singer-songwriters 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male guitarists American male songwriters Guitarists from Texas Songwriters from Texas Musicians from Houston Black Top Records artists JSP Records artists Cobra Records artists