Danny Gatton was one of the best and finest guitar players in the world. Danny befriended Arlen Roth early in Arlen's career and helped find him work and a career in music. Danny was so beloved by Fender that they created a special one-off Telecaster for him:
That Danny Gatton guitar was a shining beacon in a dark world.
Fender loved and appreciated Danny so much that they made a "Danny Gatton Telecaster" and sold it to the public:
Arlen Roth made a several Hot Licks videos starring Danny.
Then, in October 1994, Danny Gatton threw away his life and rotted his talent by committing suicide with a gun in a locked garage.
Danny's death drowns us in the human condition, and makes one wonder how Arlen Roth feels about Danny's suicide in light of the horrible deaths of his wife and daughter in a 1997 car crash.
I wonder if Danny thought of Arlen's tragic loss before he pulled the trigger?
Here is Danny Gatton in concert playing his Telecaster with a beer bottle and then later a kitchen towel:
Here are Arlen and Danny playing together on Danny's album "Toolin' Around" -- neither of them read music -- and there is no doubt Danny is the better and swifter guitarist.
The song "Tequila" starts around the 2:44 mark and the final minute of the video is the best as Danny tries to get his overdubs correct:
What makes one man choose death over life and how does another man deal with two deaths he never wanted?
Fender loved and appreciated Danny so much that they made a "Danny Gatton Telecaster" and sold it to the public:
Arlen Roth made a several Hot Licks videos starring Danny.
Then, in October 1994, Danny Gatton threw away his life and rotted his talent by committing suicide with a gun in a locked garage.
Danny's death drowns us in the human condition, and makes one wonder how Arlen Roth feels about Danny's suicide in light of the horrible deaths of his wife and daughter in a 1997 car crash.
I wonder if Danny thought of Arlen's tragic loss before he pulled the trigger?
Here is Danny Gatton in concert playing his Telecaster with a beer bottle and then later a kitchen towel:
Here are Arlen and Danny playing together on Danny's album "Toolin' Around" -- neither of them read music -- and there is no doubt Danny is the better and swifter guitarist.
The song "Tequila" starts around the 2:44 mark and the final minute of the video is the best as Danny tries to get his overdubs correct:
What makes one man choose death over life and how does another man deal with two deaths he never wanted?
It's tremendously sad when someone so brilliant extinguishes their own flame like that.
I'm with you, Gordon. I understand the darkness, but I'm always surprised when the leap is taken into it.
Danny Gatton sounded like a true genius...it was gut wrenching reading about his end. His bio says something like him getting in/ out of depression/, his talent was not recognized/ appreciated enough...
I think at some point some people think they don't have anything more to look forward to in life and some people just try finding a way to excel their yesterday.
I think Arlen fell in the second category.
Danny knew he was a genius -- but the only way to get people to remember you is to stick around as long as possible to leave behind the deepest possible legacy. He may have been tired from digging.
I agree Arlen found a way to reinvent his love of the guitar while still increasing the shine of his talent.