Billy Jones Sighting

William W Western · Post by **William W Western** » 14 Apr 2000 11:12 pm

Whoah Daddy! Billy brought his ten string lap steel guitar to Winnipeg for the Linkon Steel Convention. My, how the boy can play. The guitar sounds every bit as good as it has been reported. Course, having Billy perched in the operator's seat helps a good deal. The fun continues Saturday as well. Four non-pedal powered guitars here this year, with plenty of spectator folks gathered around showing great interest. Centrally located, this is the place to be this weekend.

Joe Delaronde · Post by **Joe Delaronde** » 20 Apr 2000 9:12 pm

I was there!!!! Some of the best steelers in the country.......I was the big (fat) guy taking pics.......Joe

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 24 Apr 2000 7:48 pm

William and Joe....just wondering, did Jack Mooney show up for the convention in Winnipeg ? Back in the mid forties, he was my mentor...man, he was years ahead of his time ! In later years, he switched to jazz pedal, excellent, but I still preferred his swinging double neck single string style back in 1946.

Billy Jones · Post by **Billy Jones** » 25 Apr 2000 8:20 am

George .. I'm sorry to say that Jack Mooney passed away on March 27th 2000 in Winnipeg. He was a long time friend of mine and I was looking forward to seeing him again this year. He bought a new Carter about a year ago and two days before he died, he was getting a ring fitted for his bar so that he could hold it better.
For those of you that didn't know Jack, he was once listed in the top six jazz steel players in the world. I will miss him and I'm sure a host of his peers feel the same way.
Thank you for asking. ... Billy

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 25 Apr 2000 6:42 pm

How sad. I had no idea he had passed away. I first met Jack in 1944. He was not a great teacher, but you could learn a lot just by watching him play. In those days he had a daily radio show on CJCA called "4 Lads and a Lass"...it lasted some 4 years ! (steel,r/guitar,bass and vibes plus vocal). His wife, (at that time), Gladys Spence was a fine vocalist who selected all the songs and Jack would come into the studio 'cold' minutes before air-time. He'd ask her what songs they'd be playing and then do an excellent show everytime. Where he was before air-time, I'll leave to your imagination. He was a fantastic musician...almost a 'jb' of Canada in a jazz sense. I tried hard to emulate his style, but as Jerry has often said, "It is not 'xxxx's' name on your driver's license, it's yours." Thanks for the (sad) news.