I was talking to Wade White and Donnie Williams of Paris a couple of weeks ago after a jam session we all had together. The jam included the Hard 2 Git band, Glen Evans (Wade's steel guitarist), Van Barton (dobro player for Simply Gospel), William Rogers (guitarist for the Cowboy Church band), and the Bolton Family. As we were leaving, we stood outside and talked for quite a bit. As we talked about other musicians we know, I felt compelled to tell Wade and Donnie about a couple of great players that made an impression on me when I was just a child of around seven years old. Some stories always bring a tear to my eye...
I've previously blogged about my grandfather and some of the musician friends he had around Selfs, Texas as I was growing up. Grandaddy and Grandmama would sometimes take me to a musical get-together they used to have at either Monkstown or Telephone...I can't remember which. My memory of what went on at these get-togethers has always been pretty vague. I was so young! But two people definitely made an impression on me back then, and it lasted for about 40 years. All I remember...is that I heard two different guitarist that I just knew had to be the best pickers in the world. For about forty years, I carried their names around in the back of my mind. Then, somewhere around 1996, a fellow church-goer invited me to attend a Men's Breakfast at First Baptist Church Blossom, just east of Paris. He asked me to bring along my banjo because there were some other musicians at the church that would enjoy playing some Gospel music after the breakfast.
So, I packed up my banjo and left for Blossom early that Saturday morning. When I arrived, my friend started introducing me to the other men at the meeting. All of a sudden he said, "Boyd, this is Roger Cato. He plays guitar." BANG!!! I can't describe the emotion that overwhelmed me at that instant...and I'm getting teary-eyed even as I type this. A name that had been hidden somewhere in the back of my mind for forty-some-odd years leaped out and became reality, standing right there shaking hands with me! This WAS the greatest guitar picker I had ever seen when I was growing up. When I was around seven years old, I probably knew who Chet Atkins was, and Brent Mason was probably about my age...maybe strumming on a ukelele like me...but THIS was the real-life HOT GUITAR PICKER that I still remembered after all those years!
Mr. Cato and I eventually sat down and picked some good ole Gospel songs together...and to tell the truth...I don't remember much about that session...other than the fact that I had met the person connected to that 40-year-old name in the recesses of my mind. Months, or a few years later, I got to have some quality picking time with Mr. Cato at the Prestonwood Antique Mall in Paris. My memories were re-inforced...he was, and still is a GREAT guitar picker.
During one of those sessions at the antique mall, another guitar picker showed up. He was lightning fast on the guitar...and also played the banjo. Most of the time, I would show up at the mall and sit down to join the pickers already there. So, it wasn't until after minutes or hours of playing that Mr. Cato finally got around to introducing me to that lightning fast picker. BANG!!! Another memory from the past became reality to this 47 year old banjo picker...Joe Eddie Swint! I've since had the opportunity to play with Mr. Swint at his church and at some other get-togethers. Also, Mr. Swint is still a GREAT guitar picker. I later learned that he plays banjo and piano too.
I believe the impressions we make on children around us is very important, just like the impression Mr. Cato and Mr. Swint made on me...some 47 years ago! God bless them!
Banjo Boyd
