Playing the Guitar for a Living
By Robert Lee Johnson
The Guitar Man
www.mp3.com/theguitarman

This is an account of a musician who earned a very good living playing locally in the Saint Louis Missouri Area for over 25 years.

The real name of the Musician has been Omitted to avoid any kind of complication. The real name of the musician is not important, only the story of his success is what is important to the story.

You might find this story interesting. It’s about a country boy who went to the big city to play music for a living. Mr. X achieved success without going on the Road; in the music business this seldom happens.

Mr. X was born and raised in the Popular Bluff Missouri Area. He could sing and play the Guitar and he wanted to do it for a living. Mr. X told a friend of mine, a Guitar Player, that he was going to move to the big City of Saint Louis and earn his living playing Guitar and singing. Both Mr. X and my Guitar Player friend lived in Popular Bluff Missouri and they were good friends.

Mr. X told My Guitar Player Friend that he would do whatever was necessary to earn his living in music. Mr. X said he would even play the dives of South Broadway, a very bad honky tonk music area of Saint Louis. He was possessed with a great passion that made him want to play music for a living.

So Mr. X moved to Saint Louis, probably around 1958, it might have been a little later than 1958. It was around that time period after Elvis had made it big. His success as a local musician was great during the next 25 years. Only one other Guitar Player in the Saint Louis Area has ever had as much success as Mr. X, as a Local Musician.

The least number of nights Mr. X played music was 4 nights a week, which could be considered full time. The four night a week job was in the largest live music establishment in the Saint Louis Area at the time. This was the first music job of importance that Mr. X played during his 25 years of success as a local musician.

Mr. X played with a Rock and Roll Country Band four nights a week for a good number of years in the same establishment. The band was good, but not to the artistic level of Mr. X . Mr. X is a musical genius, not just as a singer but also in playing bass, and as a musician in General.

The second job Mr. X Played was with his own Trio, Mr. X Playing Bass, an excellent Jazz, Country and Rock Drummer, and one of the best Guitar Players in Saint Louis. The Guitar Player with Mr. X , could play Be Bop Jazz, Country and Rock Guitar and do it with expertise. The Mr. X Trio Played this second job for a great number of years, and it was one of the nicest and most posh night clubs in the Saint Louis Area. Mr. X was to always play with a trio after the first job ended. We all know that a trio can earn much more money, per man, than a larger band.

Mr. X and the Trio had a huge following. The night club was filled to near capacity six nights a week. That has to be considered success.

The Guitar Player quit after a good number of years with the Trio. The rumors said that the Guitar Player was not happy because he thought Mr. X was getting more attention than himself. But who knows if that is true or not. However the Guitar Player did quit. This was devastating to Mr. X , he told me so himself. He didn’t seem bitter, but he sure was disappointed.

Later the Guitar Player, booked the Night Club for his own band. Apparently he wanted a Band with his name on it. The billing out front was "The Best Guitar Player In The World. " Now that is a pretty big claim. Most of the Guitar Player’s greatest fans laughed at that billing. They thought he was great, but not the Greatest Guitar Player In The World. The billing actually hurt the reputation of the Guitar Player.

The Guitar Player’s Band must not have filled the night club for he was not there very long. This was the only job that I ever heard the Guitar Player booking with his own band so I think he went back to being just a Guitar Player in Bands. The regular full time music work for the Guitar Player ended when he quit the Mr. X Trio.

Mr. X found another Guitar Player that could play really fine Jazz Guitar and could do well on Country and Rock. So the Mr. X Trio continued to play six nights a week for many years.

Mr. X went through a period of about six months where he played two different very nice, but smaller clubs in the Saint Louis area. Then he moved on to another very posh Night Club. This was a very large Club that could pay good wages to the Trio. Mr. X Played this Club for a great number of years and he always packed the house six nights a week.

Mr. X played full time music continuously for what I think was at least 25 years, in the Saint Louis area. He was never without work that I know of. He played to packed houses that were quite large, so his earnings must have been good.

During the 25 year tenure of Mr. X as a Saint Louis Musician, he went to Nashville and paid for the recording of two songs for a single, a 45RPM recording. The single was very good, kind of Country Pop Sounding. But it never became a hit, nor did it get any major air play.

Later on Stop Records, owned by Pete Drake, the Steel Guitar Player and Producer recorded two songs by Mr. X . He did not pay for this recording session, or at least I don’t think he paid for it.

The Stop Record by Mr. X never made it. Not much air play, it definitely was not to be more than just a good recording that one might listen to once or twice. Stop Records could not even sell all the copies they had made on their first pressing. They offered the surplus records to Mr. X at a bargain price if he wanted to sell them on his personal appearances. Mr. X considered this as an insult.

Mr. X was absolute perfect for the Jazz Music Scene, though he considered himself as somewhat of a Country Musician. He earned his living for 25 years, and had 24 and one half of those years in only three clubs, long term jobs, very long term, and had always played to packed houses, six nights a week. His pay had been excellent, the most anyone could get for local music jobs. In anyone’s book, that has to be great success. However, Mr. X became sour on the music business and quit, just quit, after 25 years of great success on a local level.

The truth is that Mr. X always saw himself as a Star. His singing and music was to the level of any Star, and he was a local star, with all his audiences. But Mr. X wanted more, he wanted real fame. Mr. X wanted National Stardom and thought he would never get it., so he quit the business.

I believe that Mr. X became totally disenchanted with the music business when he saw another Saint Louis Musician and Band Leader, Mr. Y make it big on a national level. Mr. Y who lead a Country Rock Band acquired a recording contract with Mercury Records. Mr. Y had several songs make the Top 40 in many Major US Cities. No local musician, before Mr. Y had ever achieved national fame while working the local Saint Louis Music scene. I think Mr. X just could not stand to see another local Saint Louis Musician become famous on a national level. So Mr. X just called it quits with the music business.

Mr. X only quit music for a short length of time. Exactly how many years Mr. X played no music, I’m not sure. He came back to music, not with his own band, but as a bass player in another band. Let’s face it, once you are hooked on music, it’s harder to quit than cigarettes. People do get hooked, or I would even say, addicted, to playing music. And it’s an addiction that is very difficult to beat.

Mr. X has a good and pleasant personality. He is most enjoyable to be around. However, his look on stage, as a bass player, after he quit music then came back, was one of despair. It honestly was. But he still played the bass in other people’s bands. I think he might have jobbed out to any band that wanted him. He could play in most any band, no matter what kind of music the band played.

Music is full of highs and lows. Playing music for a living has many rewards, and it has many disappointments. Do the highs make the lows worth taking? Is the "Going Up worth the coming down? I guess that would depend on who you talk to. Would those who have had great dissappointments in music chose to have a different life, if they could go back in time and make that decision over again? I think they would choose the life they lead as a musician.

By Robert Lee Johnson
The Guitar Man
www.mp3.com/theguitarman