R.I.P.Harry Hess

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 22 May 2003 7:53 pm

I just recieved a phone call from my friend who grew up with Harry in Philly,I'm not sure of all the details,He told me that Harry had passed away,Very sad.Sometimes a little hard to understand ,but a good friend,and a great musician.I will miss his postings that get the blood going.

BobG · Post by **BobG** » 23 May 2003 3:17 am

I personally never met Harry.. but have always enjoyed his posts. The man never had a problem saying exactly what was on his mind and you had to respect him for that... even if he did agitate people
from time to time ..including myself

Most of all I admired him for his commitment to his Father during his final days..I remember him venting his frustration here on the forum during those troubling times.. I hope we were some comfort to him then.
*
Rest in Peace Harry...
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It seems to me it might be a nice gesture
if everybody who might have something to say post their feelings on this thread.
I'm sure his family would love to have a copy of it.

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Bob Grado, Williams D10 (lefty), Peavey 1000,
Profex ll.

[This message was edited by BobG on 23 May 2003 at 04:17 AM.][This message was edited by BobG on 23 May 2003 at 04:18 AM.]

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 23 May 2003 6:40 am

I saw Harry at the last PSGA show back in
November. I wouldn't have known it was him
but overheard him introducing himself
to PSGA president Bob Maickel.
May the gates of "Steel Guitar Heaven"
be wide open for him.

Howard Kalish · Post by **Howard Kalish** » 23 May 2003 12:21 pm

This is terrible news. He was a pretty young guy, maybe around 50. What happened? I knew Harry from his days here in Texas. We did several gigs together and he and Doug Sahm used to come down to a happy hour gig I did at the Hyatt in Austin back in the 80's. He was a fun loving guy and great musician. He wanted me to come visit him in Pa and do an instructional video on playing honky-tonk fiddle. I wish I'd taken him up on it. I'm sad.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 23 May 2003 1:32 pm

Well, yes, I do remember Harry. He said it like it was. I also remember going out to his
website. He was rather tall and slender.

Stu, is his website still up?

I'm glad that, Harry, maybe rankled some. Not
in a negative, demeaning way. But only to ring a louder bell. Like, "look at it this way".

Tragic. Very tragic.

Without checking the archives, I'm sure Harry and I met on the Forum. I feel sad
for his family, for the Forum, for me.

..."Only The Good Die Young"...

Chipper[This message was edited by CHIP FOSSA on 23 May 2003 at 02:33 PM.][This message was edited by CHIP FOSSA on 23 May 2003 at 02:51 PM.]

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 23 May 2003 3:28 pm

All these questions about Harry are answered in posts in the "OUR EXTENDED FAMILY" section. There's some good memories that would make Harry proud. Don't miss it.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 23 May 2003 4:23 pm

chip:I dont have many details,I was grocery shopping yesterday and my Cell phone went off,and a friend of mine who grew with Harry had heard from his Brother in Philly that Harry had passed away,He was 51 the same age as me.Harry was one of the great Slide Guitar players,He was doing that style that the Black Crows play 30 years ago,and better.So Sad.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 23 May 2003 6:08 pm

Yes, sad news indeed. Harry was a good guy and he played with Roky Erickson, Doug Sahm, etc.. the list goes on.

Sorry to hear of his passing.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 23 May 2003 11:08 pm

hey b0b ?
Perhaps you could send Harry's password to his wife so she could post here on the Forum

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Steel what?

Jerry Hayes R.I.P. · Post by **Jerry Hayes R.I.P.** » 24 May 2003 4:33 am

I'm really sorry to hear this...I first met Harry in the late 70's when he moved to LA for a while. I was working at the Swizzle Stik in Huntington Beach and we had a Sunday night Jam Session at 9 PM. One sunday this guy comes in the side door carrying an old ShoBud rack type D-10 which was beat up and sort of a walnut color. It was old Harry. He asked if he could sit in and our steel player (Steve Silver) said "Sure man, but does that thing work?" Harry said "It works OK for me" and set the rickety thing up on the bandstand and did the next two sets with us. He did a great job and came back from time to time. I think he left LA and maybe went back to Austin. I didn't hear from him again until he started showing up on the Forum and we exchanged some emails. I'm really saddened about this as he was so young and talented....JH

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

John Russell · Post by **John Russell** » 24 May 2003 8:27 am

I did meet him once when he was auditioning for Lucian Turk's band back around 93-94. I was their steel player and wanting to gig with other bands, Lucian needed another steel player to cover those gigs and he brought Harry over to rehearsal. We jammed a bit. He seemed like a very interesting cat, very focused on music, I don't think he'd been playing PSG all that long but he sounded pretty good. Said he was from New York or somewhere on the east coast. Never saw him again but his name kept popping up, then I read some of his many posts on this forum. It's sad, he'll be missed.
--JR