Gene Hoover

[Skip Edwards]

I'm sorry to say that I recently learned of guitarist Gene Hoover's passing on April 10th. He was 79, I believe.

Gene was originally from Ohio, spent many years in LA, and had been living in Arizona for the past few years...not sure exactly how many.

He played with Lynn Anderson in the early '70's, and we did quite a few gigs together in different country bands back then, including a couple stints with Johnny Western at the old Ponderosa in Reno.

Gene had fooled around with a steel before we met, and he could emulate a steel like nobody I've ever heard, before or since. I'm not talking about those jive little "steel" licks that most guitar players do, but real steel parts. He had a p/p tone on a Jazzmaster with that floating trem and a volume pedal. We didn't have a steel player at the time - I was playing piano - and he would fill a verse as guitar and then take the chorus as a steel would...and no one would have known there wasn't an Emmons onstage if they weren't looking.

He was a real mentor to me, in the finest sense of the word. He taught me what to do, as well as what not to do. He was that older influence that some of us are fortunate to find in our musical lives. When we played together I was in my early '20's and he was an "old man" in his late '30's.

I'll forever be grateful for his mentorship, and the lessons he taught me. I was lucky enough to reconnect with him a few years ago, and I'm glad that I was able to tell him what an important figure he had been to me. I'll miss him, his playing, his humor, and his wisdom alot.

My sincere condolences go out to his wife, Barb.

[Jerry Hayes]

Hey Skip, I was sorry to hear of Gene's passing. I knew him for a lot of years back in SoCal... When I left in Oct. of '85 I was working in North Long Beach with Clarke Rohn and Gene was the guy I set up to take my place with Clarke's band when I left....JH in Va.

PS.. I'm lovin' those records!