Opinion
Oklahoma should honor native guitar hero
EDMOND — Thirty-five hundred years ago, an Egyptian musician named Har-Mose played an instrument that looked very much like a guitar. We know about Har-Mose and his instrument because he was entombed with a high-ranking official attached to the court of Queen Hatshepsut and his “guitar” can be seen on display today. What we don’t know is what Har-Mose’s music sounded like.
Thirty-three hundred years ago, a Hittite artist carved an image on a stone decorating an archeological site we now call “Catal Huyuk.” That image depicted an anonymous Hittite musician playing an instrument that appears to have all the components of a modern guitar. Again, we can only guess at how the music played by this unnamed guitarist sounded.
I am told that Neolithic cave dwellers probably strummed gut strings stretched across tortoise shells and gourds for many generations before Har-Mose and his Hittite counterpart put down their first riffs.
From the dawn of recorded time, there have, no doubt, been players who stun their listeners by coaxing more out of their instruments than anyone could have imagined. From time to time, guitarists must have emerged that took guitar music beyond its previous limits and tested the understanding, appreciation and tolerance of the audience.
Unfortunately, most of these great guitar milestones are lost to us forever. They rose and disappeared before Edison gave us the phonograph.
One Dec. 2, 1997, a California road crew discovered the body of Michael Hedges. We don’t know exactly when his BMW skidded off the road, but he was evidently thrown from the vehicle and died almost instantly.
Hedges was one of the greatest guitar innovators of all time. Though his music is often put in the “New Age” pigeon hole, he vigorously resisted all efforts to confine his sound in a convenient box. He, himself described his music as “Heavy Mental,” “Acoustic Thrash,” “New Edge,” “Savage Myth Guitar” or “Deep Tissue Gladiator Guitar.” He didn’t just “play” music, he engaged in a knock-down, drag-out exotic dance with it. People who saw him perform said it was hard to say whether he was making music or the music was making him.
I don’t know why Michael was so repelled by the “New Age” label. It may be because so much of it is calculated to be mind numbing. It’s insipid, monotonous, repetitive — often an aimless run of superficially related notes with no apparent destination. I say all this in a nice way, of course.
If you want to get a good feel for what Hedges was doing, listen to “Aerial Boundaries.” You’ll hear him weaving diaphanous themes around a solid musical core. He plays both ends of the guitar with amazing skill and confidence. He teases everything out of the strings that he can find by caresses, strangulation and heavy-handed coercion. The sound box itself is man-handled to the point it is no longer a passive amplifier of the work done by the strings. It is made to become an active producer of percussive sound. This is an amazing piece of work.
Michael was only 43 when he died. He was eulogized by such musical greats as Peter Townsend, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Satriani, Alvin Lee and too many others to name. After his death, his “Oracle” received a Grammy award. It is amazing to me that Hedges received such a coveted honor by the music industry and he’s virtually unknown in his home state. He was born and received his early education in Enid. He launched his career from Phillips University. And yet, it’s hard to find an Oklahoman who knows enough about his music to discuss the wonder of it.
As I was preparing this column, I went to the Web site for the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. To my amazement, Michael Hedges is not there. If you will permit me to say so, this is a shame. It would be ironic if the name of Har-Mose lives on simply because of the place he was buried, but Michael Hedges is forgotten even though we have his brilliant playing and performance captured on digital sounds and images.
In my humble opinion, Oklahoma should do more to make the citizens of this state acquainted with the remarkable achievements of this native son. Michael Hedges should be inducted into the Hall of Fame and Dec. 2 should be dedicated to his memory. That would be an appropriate time to mark Michael Hedges’ day. Or maybe Oklahoma has enough musical legends. I don’t know. Anyway, I’m Hink and I’ll see ya.
MIKE HINKLE is an Edmond resident and retired attorney. He may be reached via e-mail at hink@edmondsun.com.
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