Roy Clark, the greatest country-music guitarist, if not one of the greatest guitarists ever, passed away at the age of 85 at his Tulsa home. Cause of death was complications from pneumonia.
Clark was most famous for hosting the television program Hee Haw from 1969 to 1993. When the show first premiered, it seemed to this Long Island teenager like some sort of transmission from another planet. It seemed so out of touch with the revolutionary, acid-rock zeitgeist of the time that we found it nearly unwatchable. . . until Roy Clark performed his weekly featured song. Whatever we thought about the cultural and political implications of Hee Haw, we knew for sure that Mr. Clark could play himself some guitar. We liked Buck Owens (1929-2006), too.
To paraphrase the last words of the Japanese poet Sohoku:
Silent now
The sounds of strings . . .
Moon above magnolias.
Clark was most famous for hosting the television program Hee Haw from 1969 to 1993. When the show first premiered, it seemed to this Long Island teenager like some sort of transmission from another planet. It seemed so out of touch with the revolutionary, acid-rock zeitgeist of the time that we found it nearly unwatchable. . . until Roy Clark performed his weekly featured song. Whatever we thought about the cultural and political implications of Hee Haw, we knew for sure that Mr. Clark could play himself some guitar. We liked Buck Owens (1929-2006), too.
To paraphrase the last words of the Japanese poet Sohoku:
Silent now
The sounds of strings . . .
Moon above magnolias.
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