Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Marvin Rainwater





I wrote a letter to Marvin Rainwater in 1999, telling him how much I enjoy his music and asking him to sign this LP cover. He sent me back the signed cover, a signed 8x10, two CD-Rs of his music, and a note explaining the significance of the guitar in the photo. I thought it was really cool that he took the time to put together a nice package for me and relate that amusing anecdote about him accidentally cracking Red Foley's (beautiful) guitar. Aesthetically, I would have preferred the inscription without the side-comment, but the unique way he signed it made for a more memorable interaction with this under-appreciated artist.

6 comments:

  1. I had completely forgotten about this. This has to be one of the funniest stories I recall from that period. Notice!!!!! Whose Guitar????

    "Keep Rockin", in quotes: two of the worst things you will find on a signed cover: quotes and phrases like keep rockin. At the same time, this is a real treasure.

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  2. The arrow pointing to the neck of the guitar is hilarious, too.

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  3. The additional comments written on the record cover do not bother me at all. Actually that, combined with the autograph and the hand written note are (not to sound cliche) priceless. Did you realize before you received this correspondence that the guitar neck clearly says "...Foley"?

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  4. No, I had never noticed that until Marvin pointed it out to me. I doubt that many people have noticed it, except maybe some guitar collectors.

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  5. I agree with BJ, the personal comments on the cover do not bother me. I also agree that they add a personal and priceless touch. I love the fact that Marvin wrote you a personal message on his very stylish stationary.

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  6. Yeah, his stationary is really cool. Note that the name "Blue Bird Enterprises" is a reference to Marvin's biggest hit Gonna Find Me a Bluebird.

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