Rating: 
Summary: Excellent biography!
Review: Finally! The long awaited biography of Danny Gatton by Ralph
Heibutzki has arrived. The best biographies provide insight
into the character, motives, and personality of their subject.
Who was Danny Gatton? In answering this question, Heibutzki
has done an admirable job. Through many, many interviews from
all the people who were part of Danny Gatton's life; family and
friends, I know so much more about this brilliant musician
who Steve Vai (no slouch guitarist himself!) describes on the
cover jacket, "...Danny Gatton comes closer to anyone else to
being the best guitar player to ever live."What drove Gatton to suicide? How did he view himself as a
musician? Why was he at once once blase about fame and at
the same time so driven to acquire it? At one point, he
forgot to call John Fogerty back to join his band, but was
clearly very excited to be signed to Elektra Records.
He craved the notoriety and money that came with stardom,
but would rather play small clubs close to home and
work on customizing vintage cars. Why wasn't he more famous? Wasn't he arguably the best?
Maybe it was precisely because of his extraordinary skill
level. Can it be that he could only be appreciated by other
musicians or guitarists? Many people (non musicians) I play
his music for elicit a "ho hum" reaction, while my mind is
reeling with his stunning technique and musicianship. Who
knows? As someone who knew him observed, "he never threw
away a note". Those issues, and more, are addressed in this biography,
and I feel after reading it that I know Danny Gatton, the
person, a bit more. Good job Ralph!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent biography!
Review: Finally! The long awaited biography of Danny Gatton by Ralph
Heibutzki has arrived. The best biographies provide insight
into the character, motives, and personality of their subject.
Who was Danny Gatton? In answering this question, Heibutzki
has done an admirable job. Through many, many interviews from
all the people who were part of Danny Gatton's life; family and
friends, I know so much more about this brilliant musician
who Steve Vai (no slouch guitarist himself!) describes on the
cover jacket, "...Danny Gatton comes closer to anyone else to
being the best guitar player to ever live." What drove Gatton to suicide? How did he view himself as a
musician? Why was he at once once blase about fame and at
the same time so driven to acquire it? At one point, he
forgot to call John Fogerty back to join his band, but was
clearly very excited to be signed to Elektra Records.
He craved the notoriety and money that came with stardom,
but would rather play small clubs close to home and
work on customizing vintage cars. Why wasn't he more famous? Wasn't he arguably the best?
Maybe it was precisely because of his extraordinary skill
level. Can it be that he could only be appreciated by other
musicians or guitarists? Many people (non musicians) I play
his music for elicit a "ho hum" reaction, while my mind is
reeling with his stunning technique and musicianship. Who
knows? As someone who knew him observed, "he never threw
away a note". Those issues, and more, are addressed in this biography,
and I feel after reading it that I know Danny Gatton, the
person, a bit more. Good job Ralph!
Rating: 
Summary: A good biography hurt at times by unnecessary hyperbole
Review: I enjoyed this book overall. It gives one a good enough idea of who Danny Gatton was and what made him such a respected guitarist. I knew a little about Gatton going in, not a lot though, and I feel like the author succeeded in filling in the blanks. I also thought the book handled Gatton's unfortunate death in an objective fashion while remaining sensitive to the emotional issues involved. But this book also has a few problems, I think. The worst being that, in an effort to give Gatton the status he thinks he deserves, sometimes the author goes a little overboard with stuff hyping Gatton's guitar playing prowess. For example, on page 76, we learn it was 'ironic' that Chet Atkins took an interest in Lenny Breau instead of Gatton, after seeing both play, and that Atkins surely had to have been 'scared' by Gatton's ability. We see this kind of thing at times throughout the book, and at one point it even reaches as far as Eric Clapton. (Only Clapton's manager has lunch with Gatton, so of course we conclude Clapton was scared of him too!) But this happens most often in relation to Roy Buchanan, and I can only assume that is because Gatton traditionally has been eclipsed by Buchanan's shadow. Based on my listening experience, this is probably for good reason -- Buchanan conveyed power and intense emotion in his playing, while still showing awesome creatively and technique; this really isn't the case with Gatton, and at times he even sounds like someone aping Buchanan -- but at the very least it's debatable and the relative status of the two should be presented fairly as such, as was done in Phil Carson's Roy Buchanan: American Axe. This is a very worthwhile book though, despite the (mostly) minor drawbacks. You may want to supplement the book with some CDs to get a better feel for Gatton's status as an elite guitar player, and who his influences were. Of course that starts with Danny Gatton CDs, but I would also suggest picking CDs by the following: Roy Buchanan, Hank Garland, Lenny Breau, and Tal Farlow.
Rating:
Summary: A very good biography with a couple of weak points.
Review: I miss Danny. Best live shows of my life. Ten of my top ten. You had to see him. No tape can convey the sound of the amp and the subtle confidence of the man. Buy the book.
Rating:
Summary: Gatton
Review: I miss Danny. Best live shows of my life. Ten of my top ten. You had to see him. No tape can convey the sound of the amp and the subtle confidence of the man. Buy the book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book about Worlds Greatest Unknown Guitar Player
Review: I was impressed by Danny Gatton the first time I heard him play so fast and so precise. The man was a genius. This book tells the story of a tortured genius musician and is in itself a tale worth telling. Great layout, and pictures and the writing is superb. I felt like I knew him as a human being and a professional.
Rating:
Summary: Everything you need to know to Get Started!
Review: I was not an initiate of Gatton's music before reading this book, but I had heard of Gatton and was familiar with the legends surrounding his guitar heroism. I was curious, but, being a fan of songwriters more than instrumentalists, I never felt motivated to dig deeper until reading this book. Now, however, I am listening to Danny Gatton's music for the first time, propelled into his history by Heibutzki's excellent biography. Heibutzki has done a wonderful job penning a living, breathing *story* here, far beyond what is usually done in rock bios of this sort. He pays all due homage to Gatton's technical bent and & instrumental artistry, but he never forgets to illuminate the human being behind it all. Yes, for you gearheads, everything you ever wanted to know about the pick-ups Gatton used, the type of guitars he favored, and how he invented his own effects box is all here ... But those of us who want just to know why Gatton was so special will not be disappointed either. This isn't a story of a guitar-player; it's the story of a friend, husband, father, and man of principles. Heibutzki has covered all of the bases here. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Hot Rod Writer
Review: Ralph Heibutzki (the underground man) digs deep and brings to us 'Unfinished Business' guitar legend Danny Gatton's un-sung story. Packed with all the right detail, Heibutzki's book let's you see all the scenes in pictures as well as informing us exactly what club or street you are in, and you can almost smell Danny's self-modified amp transformer burn, as does the book.
This work of Mr Heibutzki has to be made into a film sooner-or-later; who needs a script? It's all there in Ralph's polished writing's on the genius underdog-man of Telecaster hot-wired innovation - Danny Gatton - the world's greatest un-known guitarist. Get it!
Rating:
Summary: A Lucid Look Back at Danny Gatton's Guitar Genius and Life
Review: Ralph Heibutzki clearly spent a lot of time and effort collecting information and interviews for this impressive look at the life and music of the late guitar legend, Danny Gatton. Starting with Gatton's roots as a child in the 1950's in Washington, DC--where he absorbed an amazingly varied batch of musical influences--"Unfinished Business" presents a captivating trip through every era of Danny's life until his self-inflicted demise in 1994. The book succeeds in giving readers a thorough examination of Gatton's personal triumphs and struggles as it traces the evolution of his music. The interviews with friends, family members, long-time DC-area music journalists and fellow musicians help paint a complex picture of a man with a great gift as a guitarist, but a rocky relationship with the recording industry. It was what Heibutzki calls Danny's "genre hopping" (and the fact he did not sing) that made his music tough to market in a category-obsessed business. The book also includes an interesting assortment of photos plus discography, videography, bibliography and a listing of unreleased material. With the reissue of much of Gatton's musical catalog on the horizon, the timing is perfect for this fine document of his life and work. -Charlie Young
Rating:
Summary: Thorough Research & an Appreciative Ear
Review: The other reviewers have discussed the merits of Danny's playing, so I will mostly stick to extolling the book. Heibutzki talked to just about everybody, and found most if not all of the print material and used this in his thoughtful, comprehensive biography.
As an interviewer, the author got his subjects to open up, and what they say frequently tells as much about themselves as about Danny. As a consequence, the reader gets a sense of the mileau of clubs, studios, band and record label politics, and Washington DC and Southern Maryland music and lifestyle from the 60's to the 90's. A great deal of attention is paid to Danny's interest in cars, and his family life, as well as his early days gigging in various teenage bands and with Liz Meyer & Friends before he became "unfamous".
Also, the book comes with a bibliography and discography, as well as a useful index, showing the author's almost academic thoroughness.
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