ROY NICHOLS WITH HAG, "BOTTLE LET ME DOWN" 1978

This is the best Roy Nichols playing I've seen in a clip. It's a great example of how Roy mixes western swing ideas with chicken pickin'. Also, (although some may balk at this generalization!) Roy's playing here shows an approach to melody that is all too rare today. I spend many hours studying the work of today's Tele hotshots, and I learn a lot from them, but it does sometimes feel that the goal today is to play hot licks and move around the fingerboard fluidly. I'd like to hear more playing that puts the hot licks where they should be-- part of the discussion, but secondary to melody.


I should confess that now I'm just poaching clips from the Telecaster Forum. I hope no-one objects!