The Grammer Guitar

Links for the Grammer Guitar

I have great hopes that this site will continue to develop and grow as new information is uncovered. Please feel free to correspond via email. I can be reached at: gilhooly@grammerguitar.com. I have started a database containing serial numbers from all the Ampeg era Grammer guitars with the hopes of someday figuring out how these serial numbers were assigned. If you have an Ampeg era Grammer, please send me your serial number and I will add it to my list. It would be great if some of the folks who had any affiliation with Grammer guitars would share their stories.

Billy on the Porter Wagoner Show

Check out Billy singing and playing his Grammer guitar on Youtube. Sleepycreek has two videos on Youtube featuring Billy singing I'm Letting You Go, Columbus Stockade Blues, and Mabel You Have Been A Friend To Me on the Porter Wagoner Show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0f_RM8FZfY&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDP0vuQc2xM&mode=related&search=

Special Thanks

A very special thanks to Billy Grammer for the great interviews and for taking time to answer all my questions. Billy has a remarkable memory. Also thank you to Ruth Grammer for answering all my emails. Billy and Ruth lived the story and were more than helpful guiding me through this project.

Thanks to Drew Morrison for his help throughout this project. Also for the great old RG&G catalog and the photo's of the nicest cleanest looking Grammer out there.

Thanks to my wife Cheryle for proofreading and editing the History section. Also for listening to me ramble on and on about Grammer guitars.

Many thanks to Jim Gass for educating me in the fine art of HTML. There is nothing like an expert to help you along in an area you are unfamiliar with.

Thanks to Jay Friedlander for taking the super photographs of my Grammer guitar that were used on the index and specifications pages. Jay is very good at his craft.

Many thanks to Vivek Dwivedi for digitizing the sound clips on the Discography. Apple Soundtrack software was used to do this.

Thanks to George Gollin and his great web site on the Gower guitar. You can find many Grammer guitar enthusiasts here as well as photo's of their guitars:

http://www.hep.uiuc.edu/home/g-gollin/guitar/

Check out Butch Moore's super collection of Grammer Guitars. Not only does he have a Merle Haggard, but also a split model, a Stars and Stripes, and a 12 string:

http://webpages.charter.net/manomusic/grammer.html

There are some more great photo's of the 1966 DJ Convention on Larry Reid's Webshot's page. Larry & Phyllis are Clyde Reid's children and they posted all these great photos for everyone to enjoy:

http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/556338405PQjEVO?track_pagetag=/ page/photo/entertainment/entertainment&track_action=/MediaInfo/ AlbumTitle

Thanks to Jack Stoner who worked at the Nashville Showroom and knew what went on at the end. You can read about Jack or get in touch with him through Gulf Coast Steel Guitar.

http://www.gulfcoaststeelguitar.com/

Thanks to Al Dauray who was very helpful guiding me through the Ampeg days.

http://www.manleylabs.com/galleria/ampeg.html

Thanks to Gregg Hopkins, author of Ampeg - The Story Behind the Sound.

http://vintage-amp.com/ampegbk.htm

Thanks to Steve Weiss, Director, and Kelly Kress, who take care of the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This is where the Guthrie T. Meade Collection resides, and where I was able to find Country Song Roundup Magazine number 88 which had part two of the Billy Grammer autobiography from 1965. These nice folks sent me photocopies of the text which I would still be looking for. You can read about Gus Meade at:

http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/sfc1/hillbilly/HTML/Biographies/bio_Meade.htm

Thanks to Turtle Hill Banjo Company for the great photo of the early Grammer guitar with the mustache bridge. It's not for sale since one of there savvy employees snapped it up long ago.

http://www.turtlehillbanjo.com/

Thanks to Bobbi Geyer who is the proud owner of the Grammer guitar shown on the Gallery page and the Turtle Hill website. There are more photos of this guitar in the Specs section. Check out the Windy Strings website for all your banjo needs.

http://www.windystrings.com/index.htm