Hummingbird trivia....

[bobby b]

Was reading some interesting quotes from Keith Richards, thought I'd share.........

I love this kinda stuff..... anyone else have some interesting HB trivia

 

 

"Jumpin' Jack Flash was in open E, and there's a certain ring that you need there. And what's always fascinating about open stringing is you can get these other notes ringing sympathetically, almost like a sitar, in a way. Unexpected notes ring out, and you say, Ah, there's a constant. That one can go all the way through this thing."

- Keith Richards, 1992

 

 

"(I used a) Gibson Hummingbird (acoustic) tuned to open D, six string. Open D or open E, which is the same thing - same intervals - but it would be slackened down some for D. Then there was a capo on it, to get that really tight sound. And there was another guitar over the top of that, but tuned to Nashville tuning. I learned that from somebody in George Jones' band in San Antonio in (1964)... (The high-strung guitar) was an acoustic, too. Both acoustics were put through a Phillips cassette recorder. Just jam the mic right in the guitar and play it back through an extension speaker."

- Keith Richards, 2002

 

 

"With Jumpin' Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man I'd discovered a new sound I could get out of an acoustic guitar. That grinding, dirty sound came out of these crummy little motels where the only thing you had to record with was this new invention called the cassette recorder... Playing an acoustic, you'd overload the Philips cassette player to the point of distortion so that when it played back it was effectively an electric guitar...There are no electric instruments on Street Fighting Man at all... All acoustic guitars. Jumpin' Jack Flash the same. I wish I could still do that, but they don't build machines like that anymore."

- Keith Richards, Life (2010)

[thevalleygirl]

Was reading some interesting quotes from Keith Richards, thought I'd share.........

I love this kinda stuff..... anyone else have some interesting HB trivia

 

 

"Jumpin' Jack Flash was in open E, and there's a certain ring that you need there. And what's always fascinating about open stringing is you can get these other notes ringing sympathetically, almost like a sitar, in a way. Unexpected notes ring out, and you say, Ah, there's a constant. That one can go all the way through this thing."

- Keith Richards, 1992

 

 

"(I used a) Gibson Hummingbird (acoustic) tuned to open D, six string. Open D or open E, which is the same thing - same intervals - but it would be slackened down some for D. Then there was a capo on it, to get that really tight sound. And there was another guitar over the top of that, but tuned to Nashville tuning. I learned that from somebody in George Jones' band in San Antonio in (1964)... (The high-strung guitar) was an acoustic, too. Both acoustics were put through a Phillips cassette recorder. Just jam the mic right in the guitar and play it back through an extension speaker."

- Keith Richards, 2002

 

 

"With Jumpin' Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man I'd discovered a new sound I could get out of an acoustic guitar. That grinding, dirty sound came out of these crummy little motels where the only thing you had to record with was this new invention called the cassette recorder... Playing an acoustic, you'd overload the Philips cassette player to the point of distortion so that when it played back it was effectively an electric guitar...There are no electric instruments on Street Fighting Man at all... All acoustic guitars. Jumpin' Jack Flash the same. I wish I could still do that, but they don't build machines like that anymore."

- Keith Richards, Life (2010)

 

Very Cool. Thanks for the Trivia!

[EuroAussie]

There are no electrics on Jumpin' Jack .... C'mon ..?

[bobby b]

There are no electrics on Jumpin' Jack .... C'mon ..?

 

 

Crazy huh....!

 

If it's true, I think it's cool.....

[E-minor7]

Personally I'm very interested in the Angie-intro.

I'm sure Keith played and designed it. But in how many takes was it done – and on exactly which Bird. I have the feeling an adjustable ceramic saddle was involved.

 

Remember seeing Stones doin' it live where Wood lifted the task on his blonde J-200. It was another version (an imprecise print of the 1972 take which worked fine), still nothing like the original if we go in detail.

 

There are many facts about iconic tunes available nowadays – Yesterday was done on the down tuned Epiphone in 2 takes – Helpless by CSN&Y was recorded late in the night to get the heavy vibe and so on.

 

Never heard/read any close-up facts about the Angie recording. A shame as the tune is such a great anthem (maybe the last big Stones ballad) and because the intro captures the mood of the song before we even know what it is about. A huge achievement for any musician – a precious virtue in rock'n'roll expression.

 

[EuroAussie]

Out of curiosity .. do you think Angie is in the key of A minor or C ?

 

There was quite a bit of debate on the AGF about the actual key of this track, same with Sweet Home Alabama, is in D or G ?

[bobby b]

Personally I'm very interested in the Angie-intro.

I'm sure Keith played and designed it. But in how many takes was it done – and on exactly which Bird. I have the feeling an adjustable ceramic saddle was involved.

 

Remember seeing Stones doin' it live where Woods lifted the task on his blonde J-200. It was another version (an imprecise print of the 1972 take which worked fine), still nothing like the original if we go in detail.

 

There are many facts about iconic tunes available nowadays – Yesterday was done on the down tuned Epiphone in 2 takes – Helpless by CSN&Y was recorded late in the night to get the heavy vibe and so on.

 

Never heard/read any close-up facts about the Angie recording. A shame as the tune is such a great anthem (maybe the last big Stones ballad) and because the intro captures the mood of the song before we even know what it is about. A huge achievement for any musician – a precious virtue in rock'n'roll expression.

 

 

http://www.urbanimage.tv/rock+and+pop/rolling+stones/recording+goats+head+soup/dyn-7_ab_y/

 

More than likely recorded with Keiths Hummingbird...

[E-minor7]

In my world the song is in C – Perhaps Matt has the precise answer.

 

Yes, I see Richards blonde Bird and know it from the exile in southern France pics. But he had several – there was one with rosewood saddle, a pair of cherrybursts, even a sunburst* in the camp during those years. And let's not forget a couple of guitars was stolen from the Nellcôte villa in '72. Acoustics could have been among them and new ones might have been brought in.

 

I believe much of this has vanished in the haze of history. Only one thing seems to be certain. Richards wouldn't be the right person to ask. And then again there's a chance I'm wrong – maybe exactly the series of Birds is all he remembers.

 

 

*Is the one seen in flower-headstock video in reality a square S.J. . .

 

 

[E-minor7]

http://www.urbanimag...oup/dyn-7_ab_y/

 

Doin' a little 'Sherlock', it becomes clear that the acoustic between Jaggers hands isn't a Hummingbird. Though the angle is sharp, it's possible to see the fretboard has no mop parallelograms. In fact the one on the Goats Head Soup picture is more like this, taken while touring in 1972.

We had it up before, but I don't remember the brand.

 

 

*****************************************

[bobby b]

http://www.urbanimag...oup/dyn-7_ab_y/

 

Doin' a little 'Sherlock', it becomes clear that the acoustic between Jaggers hands isn't a Hummingbird. Though the angle is sharp, it's possible to see the fretboard has no mop parallelograms. In fact the one on the Goats Head Soup picture is more like this, taken while touring in 1972.

We had it up before, but I don't remember the brand.

 

 

*****************************************

 

 

Good eye.....

[E-minor7]

Good eye.....

Thank you sir, a pleasure -

[Del Nilppeznaf]

Out of curiosity .. do you think Angie is in the key of A minor or C ?

 

There was quite a bit of debate on the AGF about the actual key of this track, same with Sweet Home Alabama, is in D or G ?

 

I would say C also.

I play with a harp player in a band and alot of the time i will have to tell him the key before I go into a song, a good way I have found to determin the key is what the chord the song ENDS on.. this usually give the correct key.. seems to work for me.

[EuroAussie]

To me it sounds more in Am due to its melancholy, minor feel.

 

Also, I think the key chord in cracking the puzzle is E major, which is not normally found in the key of C / Am but I blelive its in the melodic minor scale of Am, so its a bit of a 'borrowed' chord, which gives the impression it comes from the A minor key..

[blindboygrunt]

I would say C also.

I play with a harp player in a band and alot of the time i will have to tell him the key before I go into a song, a good way I have found to determin the key is what the chord the song ENDS on.. this usually give the correct key.. seems to work for me.

 

i used to go to a session in the loal bar where a flute/ whistle players name was kyle . and like your harmonicaist i had to tell him the key of the song , so anything in the key of C ended up being called hitlers key

 

 

think about it ....

 

true story

[Del Nilppeznaf]

To me it sounds more in Am due to its melancholy, minor feel.

 

Also, I think the key chord in cracking the puzzle is E major, which is not normally found in the key of C / Am but I blelive its in the melodic minor scale of Am, so its a bit of a 'borrowed' chord, which gives the impression it comes from the A minor key..

 

Hmmm not sure what you mean EA ..

 

E is in the scale of C major

 

i havent actually played Angie with my harp player.. still nailing it.. but I just tried it out playing abit of harp over it and sure enough the harp in C fits

 

Am is the relative minor of C.. so maybe thta has something to do with it... all I know is C works for me

 

BBG

 

I'm thinking about it...still... haha

[blindboygrunt]

C kyle

[EuroAussie]

What I meant is the E major is not part of the group of scale tone chords usually found in the key of C ... E minor is, but E major isnt.

However E is part of the A minor harmonic scale, and it is the major 5th.

 

 

Of course borrowing chords outside the common set is nothing knew.

 

So I wonder if Keith instinctively just felt E major(7th) feels right after the A minor, or he knew that E was was part of the A minor harmonic scale and in particular that E was the dominant in A minor.

 

In a way it seems like Angie starts in Am then transposed to C, in a way they are sort of flirting with us without really revealing whether its major or minor. Quite interesting approach.

 

 

 

Hmmm not sure what you mean EA ..

 

E is in the scale of C major

 

i havent actually played Angie with my harp player.. still nailing it.. but I just tried it out playing abit of harp over it and sure enough the harp in C fits

 

Am is the relative minor of C.. so maybe thta has something to do with it... all I know is C works for me

 

BBG

 

I'm thinking about it...still... haha

[fortyearspickn]

Not to digress away from chords, but I am amazed - reading here for the first time that the Stones were also victims of guitar thieves, like the Beatles and Dylan I believe - and I'm sure countless others. I wonder what kind of low life steals a top musician's instrument? Or anyone's instrument. I've had one stolen -of course it was only a Bacon-Belmont long neck banjo, but I doubt the thief knew the difference between that and an H'bird. I guess humans haven't evolved as far as we'd like to imagine. Anyway - thanks for the thread. Makes me feel even more tingly about my H'bird TV! Jim

[DanvillRob]

Not to digress away from chords, but I am amazed - reading here for the first time that the Stones were also victims of guitar thieves, like the Beatles and Dylan I believe - and I'm sure countless others. I wonder what kind of low life steals a top musician's instrument? Or anyone's instrument. I've had one stolen -of course it was only a Bacon-Belmont long neck banjo, but I doubt the thief knew the difference between that and an H'bird. I guess humans haven't evolved as far as we'd like to imagine. Anyway - thanks for the thread. Makes me feel even more tingly about my H'bird TV! Jim

 

 

It's VERY common.... many years ago, we were doing a show with Chuck Berry and we had a sunburst pre-CBS Strat nipped from us!

[bobby b]

I hate theives.. :angry: My first Hummingbird ( a 1991 ) was stolen from me many years ago.....its taken me this long to get/afford another.

[EuroAussie]

Very sorry to hear that, its my worst nightmare. Excellent case for getting them insured. Ive got all mine insured for something like $150 per annum, worldwide for both home and outside.

 

I hate theives.. :angry: My first Hummingbird ( a 1991 ) was stolen from me many years ago.....its taken me this long to get/afford another.

[vourot]

I'll vote Am for the key. Am - E7 - Gsus4 - Fsus4......

 

Good thread. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the acoustic forum is the only one on this sight worth reading.

[Del Nilppeznaf]

To me it sounds more in Am due to its melancholy, minor feel.

 

Also, I think the key chord in cracking the puzzle is E major, which is not normally found in the key of C / Am but I blelive its in the melodic minor scale of Am, so its a bit of a 'borrowed' chord, which gives the impression it comes from the A minor key..

 

Well a quick search on google and most seem to say Am... so wadda I know

 

 

C kyle

 

yeahhh

 

I c Kyle

 

was a bit early in the morning for me

 

 

I'll vote Am for the key. Am - E7 - Gsus4 - Fsus4......

 

Good thread. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the acoustic forum is the only one on this sight worth reading.

 

and EA i can't imagine Keef thinking about A minor harmonic scales and dominant E's.... can you

 

I stand corrected tho

 

and funnily enough I am trying to insure my HB today.. not so easy in Rep of Ireland.. managed to find a company that will though..

as long as I don't play Rock or Pop music...???????

this country cracks me up sometimes

[EuroAussie]

You can go through Andersons, who are based in the US and cover for anywhere in the world. Came highly recommended through the AGF folks.

 

Havent had to make a claim so far, but very good to deal with. All my guitars in the signature are insured for around !!$150 annual premium and that includes theft and damage.

 

 

and funnily enough I am trying to insure my HB today.. not so easy in Rep of Ireland.. managed to find a company that will though..

as long as I don't play Rock or Pop music...???????

this country cracks me up sometimes

[MissouriPicker]

Good, good thread.

Speaking of "Jumpin Jack Flash," there's an interview with Richards about how he and Jagger wrote the song. The thread I first found it on (with the salty language and humor of Keith Richards) now says "forbidden content" when I go to it, but I did find a more gentle and family-friendly rendition of the story in The Rolling Stone archives.

 

Keith Richars was on a historic run in 1968, exploring the open-D blues-guitar tuning for the first time and coming up with some of his most dynamic riffs. He overheard an organ lick that bassist Bill Wyman was fooling around with in a London studio and turned it into the unstoppable, churning pulse of "Jumpin' Jack Flash." The lyric was inspired by Richards' gardener, Jack Dyer, who slogged past as the guitarist and Jagger were coming to the end of an all-night session. "Who's that?" Jagger asked. "Jumpin' Jack," Richards answered. The song evolved into supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London. The Stones first performed it at their final show with Brian Jones.

 

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-rolling-stones-jumpin-jack-flash-19691231#ixzz1pDOCgrbl

 

In the other version, it was not an "all-night session" of song, which the above seems to indicate. Richards said it was an all-night party with some ladies and that he and Mick were both in another world that morning when the gardener came through the house.