Well, ya see, I got my first guitar when I was 13.
It was a Silvertone from Sears. $19.95. Brand spanking new. Came with a record (remember those 45 rpm plastic records????) Anyway, my brother sat on the record and broke it, so I had no idea how to tune or play the guitar, but I tried, to the rest of the family's chagrin, I tried.
A couple years later, I bought a Silvertone archtop at a pawn shop on Okinawa, where I attended Kubasaki High School from Aug 21,1967-Aug 21,1969. I remember the dates because I was 15 on that date in 67 and 17 on that date in 69.
Got married way too young (19 yrs old) and joined the US Army to support a family. 8 years 2 months and 19 days. A couple years before I got out, I heard Eric Clapton & Duane Allman playing Little Wing from the Layla album, and guitar became a major part of my life again.
Left the Army in 1980 and learned to play on stage in and around Huntsville, AL while working day jobs to pay the bills and eat. Country music was king around here and all the house gigs were Country with Southern Rock thrown in. NO BLUES ALLOWED!!!!!
My last working band (RC&theMoonPies;) was a three piece Blues and Country band where we could play our favorite country tunes by folks like Randy Travis, Keith Whitley, George Jones, Earl Thomas Conley, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc.....
My presence wasn't really necessary, but the bass player, Randy Creel, and the drummer Randy Johnson, felt audiences wouldn't want to hear a bass and drum duet for five sets.
These guys were the best rhythm section any guitarist/singer could dream of.
Many, many thanks, my brothers.