Wednesday, June 3, 2009

William Asa Talley - Old American Made Guitar

I got to meet my first cousin, Warren Rouse, from Oklahoma for the first time yesterday. It was really a treat in more than one way! Warren brought with him a guitar that my Dad's father, William Asa, made. It is the only guitar he made. I have posted previously some pictures and a story of how my Dad was able to get a fiddle that his father made, so this was like the icing on the cake! This guitar was made in the year 1900, and was played at the Arkansas State Fair for Teddy Roosevelt by Millie (my Dad's sister). The song that Millie sang for the President was written by William Asa called "My Home in Arkansas." William refused to give the song rights to the State of Arkansas for the State Song.

I am posting some pictures here and also several video clips. The video clips show both the fiddle & guitar being played, and the last video is Warren talking about the guitar and a little bit of our family history about William Asa. I hope you enjoy it!

This first photo shows (from left to right) Earl, Chris, Andy, Jean Marie, Warren:



















1 comment:

sylvia said...

Great postings! Loved the family history, your cousin is a neat guy! I was hoping y'all would play the Arkansas song though. Dont think I've ever heard it.
Sylvia