Mel Bay – The Most Awesome Jazz Music Guitarist Ever!
Jazz guitar player Mel Bay was born on February 25, 1913 in the small Ozark Mountain town of Bunker, Missouri. He bought a Sears guitar at the age of 13 and a number of weeks later played his initial “gig.” He recalled performing until his fingers were raw! Mel took up the tenor banjo shortly thereafter and continued to master both instruments. In the course of his adolescent years Mel played with a wild assortement of bands and characters in rural Missouri. Quite possibly no “gig” was as odd as the job he landed with, in Mel’s own words, “a snake oil salesman.” This flamboyant peddler would pull his ostentatious Pierce Arrow automobile, complete with steer horns secured on the grill, into the center of a small, rural town. Mel would sit on the car and play up a storm on the tenor banjo. Immediately after a crowd gathered, the peddler took over and began extolling the miracles of his “wonder elixer.”
In 1933 Mel Bay relocated to St. Louis and commenced his professional career. He played with a lot of local and traveling bands. In addition, he landed staff guitar work on several radio stations. Mel fronted his own trio (piano, bass, guitar) and performed steadily for 25 years! He was equally adept on various other fretted instruments and played mandolin, uke, Hawaiian guitar, tenor and plectrum banjo professionally.
Although Mel was actively pursuing his playing career, he continued to tutor as many as 100 pupils a week. He made the decision to start writing instructional books of jazz guitar tabs and jazz guitar tablatures due to the problem encountered by guitarists at performing good sounding chord forms in rhythm sections and due to the mediocore note reading ability typical amongst guitar players.
Right after World War 2 Mel was asked to create instructional tutorials on guitar for soldiers wanting to learn music under the GI Bill. In 1947 Mel formed his own publishing company and wrote his landmark first book titled “The Orchestral Chord System For Guitar”. This book is still in print and continues to be one of the best rhythm guitar chord text books available! His “Modern Guitar Method” was authored shortly thereafter. For many years Mel traveled from town to town talking to guitar instructors and performers and showing them his publications. At one time Mel claims to have known practically every single guitar teacher in America on a first name basis! The guitar and Mel Bay’s publications become popular in a big way in the 1950’s. Things have continued to grow ever since.
Mel also used to sell D’Angelico jazz archtop guitars. At any given time he would have 5 or 6 “lying around the house.” Mel performed professionally on his D’Angelico New Yorker Model but his preferred guitar was the initial Mel Bay Model designed as a gift for him by John D’Angelico. This well-known guitar had all of the main features of the New Yorker but was a “cutaway” model and had a slightly thinner neck. This same instrument has been pictured on the Mel Bay “Modern Guitar Method” for decades.
Someone once calculated that sales of guitar books created by Mel Bay have exceeded 25 million copies. When asked, Mel frequently said that he stopped counting long ago. Sales of his “Modern Guitar Method” have alone passed the 7 million mark! It is safe to say that Mel Bay is one of the pivotal figures in the world of guitar music and instructional methods in this or any other century!
Peabody Conservatory trained guitarist Steven Herron helps people become better guitar players His company ChordMelody.com features an unique selection of jazz guitar tabs
as well as instructional books by Mel Bay himself. Find out more and claim Steven’s popular free monthly guitar lesson e-course available at: =>
Mel Bay guitar music books
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