Roy Buchanan - Walk Dont Run

[BobDaniel56]

Roy seemed to enjoy playing that one!

[MrSmiley1964]

Genius and depression maybe. That would explain why a man would hang himself over some bullshit midemeaner charges. Of course hanging has the advantage of covering up some heavy handed jail house abuse. Cough"crushed windpipe"cough. They say Roy could be hard to get along with when he was drinking. Bad enough for a guard to punch him in the throat? Stranger things have happened

[MELLSBAD]

@MrSmiley1964 would look different during an autopsey

[MrSmiley1964]

@MELLSBAD If the local authorities had allowed an autopsy these questions wouldn't exist. As it was the judge ruled that the family would have to pay for digging Roy up, the autopsy and reburial of the body. There was a very limited time to do this in and the widow Buchanan was unable to come up with the cash in time. So now things stand as they are. Conspiracy theories and unanswered questions

[RushmoreGerleve]

Too bad he didn't get his guitar in tune.

[twwilliams100]

The Ventures Rule!!! my new discovery in life :]

[wizardalvin]

i like

[ryanrocksteady1355]

His bass player and rhythm guitarist are horrid

[Fr3derick]

Beautiful video!! Thanks for sharing:)

Grandma Mary

[buchananstreet]

now, did they actually MURDER hjim in thatpolice stationor was he simply sick of this world and finished it himself ? please inform me if you know more of what happened that day there ....

[danieljaypark]

@buchananstreet

He killed himself. There are lots of evidence that point to this and there is sort of an eyewitness whom made up a tribute site for both roy and what he witnessed at the time of his passing at the jail cell. Google for it; the webpage should come out in the first page of the search results.

[buchananstreet]

@danieljaypark , well, I dont believe much of what people say these days anymore .... i wonder why such a genius should commit suicide but then .... genius has unfathomable ways, hasnt it .... and i can understand that being surrounded by all these mediocrities for a genious can be hell - also, it may have been a sudden huge depression which caused him to end it all .... whatever has happened ...i weep the loss of some real real genuinely great artist

[strandwolf]

Check out the version by Johnny Smith.

[bioloidboy]

people that troll make me sick

[Jayshrewla]

this song as not by the ventures john barry made it

[magnusv100]

r.i.p roy,a few years ago voted by his peers as the best guitarist

[bkeay100]

Andreas Segovia,Jimi Hendriks,Leo Kotke, Al Dimeola Chet Atkins ,Les Paul

Jimmy Paige, Pete Townsend, Mark Knoffler.... Go Ahead Pick The Best!!!

Roy Buchanan can hang with them all

[MsChristian07]

One of the best performers with the guitar.

[Ozzmanconnection]

Wow very dynamic

[SergeiSMel]

Very good theme indeed

[HaywireCustomGuitars]

The era approx.1985 is correct. He is playing a new Telecaster after Danny Gatton borrowed his "Nancy" Telecaster and returned it with the bridge pick up taken apart and rendered useless. So Roy began to play other guitars. Some built by the Fritz Bros. from Alabama. Also notice the new hat. He began wearing hats after beginning to bald in the early 80's up until the last year of his life when he shaved his head.

[siggi01100]

one of the old leegndary guitar players,............great

[rebstrat]

Roy did the song justice! Better than some of the Venture versions I've heard.

[leftchicago]

Ah, the magic of cocaine!

[BCRSIX]

The link between Johnny Smith's original version (I've been trying to play it for 40+ years now and still can't get it right) and The Ventures is Chet Atkins' version. He kind of "dumbed it down" so that the common guy could play it, though his is tricky as well, and you have to be a thumbpicker to do it. On the 1st Ventures recording Bogle played the lead, and he flat-picked it. On the '64 recording, Nokie Edwards thumb-picked the lead. On this, I thing Roy was just coked up & had a bad band.

[Sirclydecrashcup]

I have great admiration for Roy Buchanan, but this is about the sloppiest version of "Walk, Don't Run" that I have ever heard. The band sounds like they are all stoned...dreadfully disappointing.

[cdrams33]

@Sirclydecrashcup

No kidding not only is it the worst version but the worst performance I have heard by Buchanan. Shows ya that even the virtuosos have an off night!!

[n15M0]

dunno who it was written by but this is gooooood!

[claptonfan1000000]

The song was not written by the ventures it was written by Johnny Smith Jazz guitarist. I also heard a weird ventures interperatation of jazz standard Lullaby of the leaves.

[BluezGuitarz]

The old Ventures tune as only Roy could play it.

[carloundertaker]

Maybe he is playing this song because he likes it, not because he trying to show off guitar skill. He doesnt always have to make the guitar scream.

[hendodabest]

One of the best.Roy makes it look so easy.Thanks for posting this video.

[keefek]

O.K. Maybe this is a song that is somewhat below Roy's talent. Still, it's a great piece.

And it's splendid that a guitar god plays this iconic song.

[skipper8257]

This is childs play for Roy. I am surprised he would even play this. It was one of the first songs I ever played. I grew up loving the Ventures and Nokie Edwards. Watch Nokie play the updated version of Caravan live from Japan.

[ciaoo92]

Weird...The song is called walk don't run, WDR - and the tv channel this was on was called WDR too...

[keefek]

Thing is, Roy Buchanan is one of the gods of the guitar. This may not be the best example of his playing, but he is one of the truly gifted, and truly tragic, figures in rock blues history.

[hendodabest]

A truly underated guitarist.

[javajax0987]

This doesnt show much. There are a million players that can do WDR as good. I like him, but this isn't it.

[steamjunkie]

Hmm,maybe Roy does "look " bored. I see a guitarist who is so into his instrument he does not see the crowd but is one with his guitar

[myfukingusernames]

Amazing!!

[naosuketyan]

ベンチャーズとは、また違った雰囲気ですね。

[Schneider10101]

Roy always looks very bored.

[baboonmaster]

true

[pooball111]

well to be that terrific you gotta have alot of practice id be bored to

[PurpleAndZeppelin]

What a great class !!!!

[lazur1]

Those of you who own recordings of "Walk Don't Run" will notice the name  "J. Smith" on the writer's credit. Johnny Smith was the house guitarist for NBC back when that was the best guitar gig in the world. His version of "WDR" ,(which,as he wrote it, of course, is the "real" version), is still the finest, and most techinally challenging of them all.

[dyskover]

@lazur1 technically challenging? I read that the Ventures covered Walk Don't Run after hearing Chet Atkins play the song on an LP...it became, as another poster here has said, iconic. As such, a player of Roy Buchanan's caliber playing this song is a tribute to the song as an influence of hundreds of thousands of guitar players around the world....

[lazur1]

Ok, the Ventures heard Chet's version. Ok it's iconic. Ok, Roy's version's a tribute. How does any of that change the fact that Johnny Smith wrote it, & played the most incredible version? The Ventures' version wouldn't be very influencial if Smith never wrote the tune:-) I think perhaps you haven't heard Johnny's yet: Not nearly as easy to figure out as the Ventures', w/very different fingerings in order to achieve a very different effect.Try it, you'll like it.

[dyskover]

Yea! Johnny Smith! Great tune! Thank you Johnny Smith for such a great old guitar tune that only you played with any proficiency. I wish I could have heard YOUR version, but, alas...all I have access to are those by Chet Atkins, The Ventures and Roy Buchanan....what a bunch of schlubbs, eh?

[lazur1]

You argue w/something I never said. I've been a Ventures / Chet fan 46yrs, & a Roy fan 37yrs. The difference between us: I'm also a Smith fan, while you prefer to make fun without hearing him. Technique's a technical matter, not necessarily musically better, but also not a matter of opinion. I prefer an inspired ragged performance over emotionless perfection, that's not the point. We like what we like (can't argue taste) but Smith's -is- the most technically challenging, (& quite beautiful).

[dyskover]

@lazur1 OK, OK...you are right about this discussion on all counts and I mean that sincerely. Please, accept my apologies for any slight to yourself or to Johnny Smith. You have convinced me of my own prejudices and I will hope to have learned from this. Thank you very much.

[lazur1]

I see the Lenny clip on your page. I bought "The Velvet Touch Of.." the -day- it arrived at a record store I went to every day, fall of '69. I had -no- idea who Lenny was: Sometimes "You CAN Judge a (book/record) by looking at it's cover :-) You obviously have good taste. I really think you'll love Smith's WDR. He uses some 'stretch' fingerings to play scales more resonantly, in a way that may remind you a bit of some of Lenny's stuff.

[dyskover]

@lazur1 yah, well, I am lucky to have known Lenny when he was doing gigs back in early 70's in TO. I did access JSmith's WDR...and you're absolutely correct! Glad we've got my dubious petulance reigned in some ;~))

[pyannaguy]

@dyskover

I'm just an onlooker, but I wanted to remark on your classy comportment. Seriously, it's amazing how many people just argue and get more and more insulting and angry. You guys' exchange was a cool one. At first, some slightly missed communication and a bit of disagreement, but then a mature, civilized resolution. Refreshing and encouraging...

[dyskover]

Pyannaguy....thanks...for making that observation and commenting upon it...I agree with ya even as a participant in the exchange...

[Finnvikarocks]

I´m pretty sure this clip is taken from the famous "Rockpalast nights" that was being broadcast throughtout Europe sometime in the mid -70´s

[lee32uk]

I think the huge neon 'Rockpalast' sign in the background gives it away ;)

[xsamitt]

@lee32uk

I think you on to something.:]

[jspartacus]

The performance is from the mid-1980s. 04/24/1985 to be exact.

[homelessathome]

@Finnvikarocks this gig was on 2.24.1985

[thefrost420]

parker griggs?

[JustJakeBlues]

Great post!

Hadnt actually seen that one before

Could anyone tell me the setlist in full to this show

And thanks to lee32uk these clips are the only way people can see this show

its about time a dvd was released methinks

[v2vroth]

Where can I find a copy of the 1970's PBS special on Roy?

[coolcatzattack]

what dvd is this off? id love to buy it so i can wacth his hand play abit more closely as well as hearing it on a stereo. :-)

[tomg212]

Roy played on (I think) Austin City Limits in July, 1976. I'll never forget watching him! Does anyone know if that show is available anywere?

[jmsbk12345]

Roy is brilliant, but the two all time masters of the Telecaster are without doubt Scotty Anderson and the genius Danny Gatton.

[bondservant33]

ARE YOU DRUNK?

[BiZZiEBucKZ]

Yess? whats it to you

[dereck223]

oh wow

i didnt know roy played surf rock

[IK1963]

Roy could play anything. That is why Roy was / is still so good.

[DudleyMMoore]

Roy Bucnanan could not only play anything, he streched the limits on what was possible to play, it was like inventing a new instrument. Its why Alan Holdsworth, Eddie VH, Joe Sat, Vinnie, Nils, and Jimi (Roy jamed with) and all the greatest guitarests looked up to him.

[rorygg1]

from what i read in american , hendrix saw roy, but they never jammed or met. roy was a like a machine gun on steroids, blistering rapid fire notes thru a small amp with no effects cranked to 20!!!!!!!!!!. love the livestock lp, blisters clapton's EC was here. came out around the same time.

[v2vroth]

Where can I get a copy of his 1970's P.B.S. documentary??

[Richk2010]

Yeah, this was cool. I always liked this song. Never knew he did it. Thanks!

[JohnCittadino]

Has anyone seen the clip of Roy performing Hey Joe?

[lee32uk]

Some of my clips were taken down due to copyright reasons.I will upload the version from this setlist at Rockpalast though.