This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most important inventions in electric guitar history: the invention of the wah-wah pedal. This device has graced the recordings and public performances of guitarists of all genres from rock to funk, surf to country and all others. I still have an original Cry Baby Wah knocking about somewhere in my goods. A local weekly newspaper here in LA (the pedal was created here in Hollywood) ran an article on the inventor of the wah-wah pedal and the device's history:
http://www.laweekly.com/music/50-yea...garage-7767475
It is a bit stunning to find out such a wild musical device was created by the guy who played guitar in Lawrence Welk"s orchestra. (For those of you to young to remember or know, Welk hosted a network TV program for for about two and a half decades that was the epitome of straight, corny music, such as polkas and waltzes; his show basically ended because his audience was literally dying off from old age.) The fact Del Casher also played with Zappa makes him even more amazing. Here are a couple of cuts I feel are prime examples of the wah-wah pedal at its best:
God, I really miss SRV. Not only was he the best guitarist since Hendrix, he was one of the coolest live performers ever; not even a broken string could faze him; watch this little clip whose title says it all:
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