Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis Played a Wurlitzer Spinet!?!?!?

And just a bit more background...one of the reasons for so many gospel songs is the background of the people singing. All of these guys would have cut their singing teeth on old time Southern Gospel.

Especially Elvis...IIRC, Memphis used to have big gospel shows every Friday night. After the show was over, the guys would continue to hang out and jam until the wee hours of the morning. Folks who were not in the show would drop by, to play and sing with the different performers...one of the regulars was a kid by the name of Elvis Presley.

Elvis was an extremely frustrated bass singer - he just didn't have the voice. Many people say that's why he hired Richard Sterben and J.D. Sumner, who were the best bass gospel singers of their generation.

Thanks! I'm pretty OCD over pianos....especially Spinets.......
Yep! It can sometimes be hard to tell. Usually Spinets are below 38 inches in height. I always look inside to see if it's a drop action or not. Then I know for sure if it's a Spinet.

A Big 'un? I love the older Uprights. I played one at a Garage sale a little while ago.....A Henning Upright. Never heard of the name, but they were selling it for 25 dollars. And the price was for the bench. It still sounded good, just a little warped! And I'm not a Big Elvis fan m'self.....he's decent, I suppose. But he's still 'The King.'

No, that would be Conway Twitty.

Seems to me, in the world of “rock-stardom/pop-stardom/country-stardom”, you don’t have to be all that good musically, just likable.

I don't know that Johnny Cash ever sang a note that was not flat or sharp, but he had his own style, his own songs and his fans loved him! And, there were lots and lots of them; still are.

Rick

Rick,

It's well documented. Mr. Cash sang one note, precisely on pitch, on November 19, 1973 at a friend's home at exactly 9:36 p.m. June swooned. His guitar was out of tune, however.

Actually, I enjoy his work very much. There's something that draws you in to that thick gravelly voice.

Wurli,

You might like to check out some of the recordings from Cinnamonbear over in the Pianist Corner. He has a Lester 'Betsy Ross' spinet that he has sounding great. He's learning to tune and become a technician and he is mentored by Bill Bremmer. Bill is major league in the tuner/tech realm.

Andy (C-B) has done a great series of comedy productions played on "The Mighty Lester" as well as some classical performances. His stuff is worth checking out.

True, Conway was Indeed a far better singer. ....Great, now I'm gonna have "It's only Make Believe" stuck in my head again.........

Thanks, Marty! Sounds cool; I'll take a lookie!

And I'm stuck in "A Ring of Fire!"

And I'm stuck in "Folsom Prison Blues"

Johnny Cash left hand piano style…

Rick

I always wondered how those guys managed those rapid-fire repeated triads in triplets up in the high treble. Maybe the spinet's insubstantial feel, or shallow key travel, or something, contributed to their ability to play them so fast?

None of those things; It's funny you mention the action of Spinets, Especially those with a better drop action design like the Wurlitzer. Do you think the touch is going to feel the same 60 years later? Example: The Henning Upright I played last week. Large Upright Piano. Almost all of the feel in the keys was gone, wasn't very responsive. 90 years ago, however, the piano probably had all of it's touch. I estimate that only about 30 percent of the population of piano owners actually regulate their piano; hence, after so many years, the touch starts to wear down as the action continually gets neglected. The Bass notes in my spinet are very responsive and have almost as much control as a Newer upright piano. The treble notes.....not so much. They were played far more often.

Whoops, I keep on missing your posts! I do try and reply to everyone that takes the time to comment on my topics. Sorry 'bout that! I agree with you, though; Uprights are more suited for certain kinds of music. Imagine a Spinet with Tack Hammers.....that would be extremely tinny and amazing for Ragtime and Honky Tonk! You need a 'dirty' sounding piano for the blues! Speaking of Atlantic, the same spinet piano heard in 'Mess Around' Can be heard in the background on Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle, and Roll!"

Oh come on now, the repetition isn't THAT poor on an upright. I just tried some triplets on my spinet in the middle range and then higher up, started off medium (fats domino speed!) then faster (little richard) and then some speedy stuff (jerry lee lewis). I didn't have trouble with either

Those triplets are a common figure in Blues and Boogie-Woogie piano, both styles that are the genesis of early Rock and Roll.

Many of those original Rock and Roll players learned by listening to Blues players.

Jerry Lee Lewis and his cousins as youngsters hung around the outside of Blues juke joints to listen to the piano players. And they very likely practiced the triplets.

But you are on to something...such fast notes are easier on a looser piano.

rocket88 - perfect display name for this thread, hahaha. I love the dirty piano sound on that jam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbfnh1oVTk0

My home piano, as a youngster back in the late 1950s, was a spinet, and the action seemed very light to me, so that's why I brought it up.

Hmmmmm...maybe! I'm gonna try the triplet test on a full sized upright next time I play one!

A good pianist can play on a good upright, anything they can play on a grand.

An upright will, with a skilful player, repeat faster than a grand. The only difference is that there isn't the precise degree of control.

Much is written in these pages comparing grand and upright actions. while it is true in theory, in practice it is a whole different experience.

Spinets, even only in reasonable condition will respond adequately to the demands of any and all of the pianists mentioned.