Cowboy Guitars [Paperback]

Ron Middlebrook (Author), Steve Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

Back in the good old days, all of America was infatuated with the singing cowboys of movies and radio. This huge interest led to the production of "cowboy guitars." These were guitars manufactured with western scenes painted right on the guitar, and were sold by stores such as Sears and Montgomery Wards. This fun, fact-filled book is an outstanding roundup of these wonderful instruments, starting with the Gene Autry model of 1932, through guitars made to capitalize on the popularity of the Lone Ranger and Roy Rogers, up through present-day makers. Includes hundreds of fantastic photos, a 32-page color section, and biographies of the artists behind the guitars, plus a chapter on leading custom guitar maker Greg Rich, showcasing some of the western guitars he has built. A must for every guitar collector! Steve Evans is the world's foremost authority on and leading collector of cowboy guitars. He owns a music store in Jacksonville, AR. A resident of Anaheim, CA, the affable Ron Middlebrook is the founder and owner of Centerstream Publishing. He is an avid instrument collector and husky musher.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Centerstream Publications (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574241028
• ISBN-13: 978-1574241020
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #731,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yeeee---HAW !!!, November 5, 2002

By 

dan limke (Little Rock, AR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cowboy Guitars (Paperback)

About once a year, Jacksonville Guitar employee Ron Sawyer takes all the guitars off the wall in the museum area of the store and dusts them off.
"It's an all day job," Sawyer says, referring to the large collection of cowboy guitars on display.
Owner Steve Evans has recently co-authored "Cowboy Guitars," a collection of biographies of singing cowboys and the instruments inspired by them.
Evans, along with Ron Middlebrook, have assembled a richly-illustrated work with details on guitar designs, construction and history. Evans' love for his hobby is quite apparent; the book contains an amazing amount of details about each of the guitars.
An excerpt from the "Prairie Ramblers" guitar page reads: "It was a grand concert size (36 1/2" X 14 1/2") guitar made of birch, finished in a light brown sunburst with a white scene and with a top edge and soundhole striping painted in white. The first issue came with a black pickguard attached by two wood screws. The ebonized fretboard had four mother-of-pearl dot inlays and 12 frets clear of the body. The trapeze tailpiece had a hidden string attachment and a moveable wooden bridge."
The guitar was sold by Spiegel in 1942.
Evans and Middlebrook planned the book after Evans wrote an article for Vintage Guitar magazine. Middlebrook wrote to Evans, and while Evans concentrated on guitar research for the book, Middlebrook compiled autobiographies on such legends as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Hopalong Cassidy. The book boasts a forward by Roy Rogers, Jr.
Evans began collecting cowboy guitars about 15 years ago after someone traded in a Roy Rogers guitar.
"When I saw there was more than one, that's when it started," Evans said, pointing to a shelf full of books about vintage guitars. He then bought eight more from a collector in Tulsa, and traveled to guitar shows snagging more guitars and networking with other collectors "who went ape like me," Evans said.
The rest is cowboy guitar history.
Now the walls of Jacksonville Guitar are lined with over 100 guitars made of wood, fiberboard, and plastic. Most of the guitars are made by Chicago-based companies Regal, Kay, and Harmony and originally sold in Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Spiegel catalogs.
Those catalogs, Evans says, are a wealth of information.
Evans did much of his research at the University of Little Rock at Little Rock, where old Sears catalogs are on microfilm. He also studied photocopies of old Spiegel catalogs. Evans photographed most of the guitars for the book, and became proficient with professional cameras and lighting equipment. Other collectors sent photographs of their collections.
These days, Evans makes fewer trips to guitar shows and says online auction service Ebay is "a goldmine."
Though cowboy guitars are his first priority, Evans also collects toy guitars, which became popular in the 1960's after cowboy celebrities went out of style. His has over 100 toy guitars in his collection, with designs depicting hit television shows, teen idols, and cartoon characters.
Other unusual guitars in the Jacksonville Guitar store include a foam rubber "stunt" guitar used in the recent film "Josie and the Pussycats" and a 1977 Peavey T-60 prototype with serial number 00000000. It was the first one ever made.
Evans went into the guitar business at age 18 after graduating from Jacksonville High School in 1975. He started playing guitar as a fourth-grader, and is a fan of modern country music, blues, and rock.
Currently, Evans is enjoying the latest music from the Dixie Chicks and James Taylor. And there is irony in what you won't find Evans listening to.
"I don't listen to much cowboy music," Evans says, laughing.
"Cowboy Guitars" is published by Centerstream Publishing and is available at www.amazon.com.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cowboy Guitars, December 15, 2007

By 

Paul W. Copeland (Greenville, North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cowboy Guitars (Paperback)

This is a well-done, informative book about the "Cowboy" Guitars and the singing cowboy artists depicted on the guitars. History-wise, it appears to be well-researched and documented. The pictures - many in color - are excellent. Just about every movie cowboy artist is depicted here, as well as many of the early country music stars. In addition, there are some wonderful photographs of later custom-made instruments that are dedicated to these singing cowboys. Nicely done!

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete Inventory of Cowboy Guitars, February 15, 2010

By 

Gary E. Brown "Monterey Cowboy" (Visalia, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cowboy Guitars (Paperback)

For those of you that own cowboy guitars of the 30s and 40s or are thinking about collecting them, this is a must read.
Thanks to the author and the contributors, as I now know what I have and a history of each.