The HUMBLER

October 04, 2015

Me and my confreres usually place Jimi at the crest of all-time greatest guitarists.  But then, there’s case of Danny Gatton.  Not for nothing is he known among peers as the HUMBLER.  Danny (along with Stevie Ray and a few others) might get close to copying knuckle-busting Jimi solos note for note.  But I doubt it could’ve have worked the other way around.  Danny was a chameleon and master of more styles than any other guitarist I can think of.  Rock, blues, jazz, shred, rockabilly — all jumbled together.

And maybe that was the bugaboo.  He was too good at too much.  Record store clerks couldn’t figure out where to rack his albums.  There was no single hole shaped like his pegs.
If, during his lifetime, Gatton had gotten even half the acclaim he deserved, maybe he would’ve granted that lifetime a little more longevity.  Instead, on this day 21 years ago, aged 49, Danny deprived the world of his genius. 
If you don’t know him already, YouTube a few random tunes.  They’ll floor you.