It’s 5:12 PM EST and I just learned that today, August 13, is Left-Hander’s Day. What the hell? I’ve been left handed all my life and no one’s ever told me about this day. In the remaining hours of this blessed day, let’s have a time-sensitive Last Man Standing on left-handed guitarists. Lefty bassists count too, but we’ll rule out banjo players, mandolin players, lute players, lap-steel players, and the like. We’ll also rule out guitarists like myself, who are left handed but decided to learn to play right handed to make it easier to buy guitars and play other people’s guitars. The guitarist (or bassist) has to play left handed.
I’m kicking things off with Justin Bieber, who coincidentally I just learned was a left-handed guitarist about a half hour ago, when I picked up a recent issue of Rolling Stone and saw him strumming southpaw.
Entries in this time-sensitive Last Man Standing will run through 11:59 pm EST. The actual Last Townsperson Standing will be awarded a VERY SPECIAL PRIZE! Game on!
“Don’t f*#ing Jimmy me, Jules!”
An easy start: Jimi Hendrix
Dick Dale (Bonus points: he doesn’t restring the guitar. He plays the strings upside down)
Paul McCartney.
Me….if I don’t count, I’ll go with a more obvious choice: Elliot Easton of The Cars.
Albert King.
The very wonderful, Barbara Lynn: http://youtu.be/oO6fe4lWMj4
Kurt Cobain, of course.
Monster of Rock Riffage, Overlord of Metal Heavy-osity, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi (also missing the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his left hand…industrial accident in the sheet metal factory he was working in when he was 17).
Bobby Womack — who put out a nice new album in June!
Ziggy played it left-hand.
Good catch!
Janice from the Muppets…
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb57525/muppet/images/6/65/Janicegmc.jpg
Just a little under 2 hours to go. We must be missing at least a dozen who will make us feel like fools if not listen. I’m thinking myself – and I will resist Googling for answers, as I hope you resist.
My father is a professional guitarist and he is left handed. He was one of the Archies. Played with Charlie Gracie , David Johanson and the Tonight show band.
Whoa, it sounds like we need to interview your father! Very cool – and you are currently Last Man Standing!
Paul Simon
Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos
Huh, unless he’s a switch hitter he’s always played right handed.
Ollie Halsall (Patto, The Rutles, etc)
Doyle Bramhall II
aloha
LD
Less than 2 minutes to go. RaoulG is shaping up to be our grand prize winner!
Karl Wallinger aka World Party
http://store.acousticsounds.com/images/large/UCHR_BFV41552__63712__10092009022152-7499.jpg
JUST UNDER THE WIRE, TRIGMOGIGMO SNEAKS IN TO STEAL THE WIN!
Write me offlist with your mailing address.
(cliffsovinsanity, please do likewise, for winning a contest earlier this week.)
Damn! I’ve got a friggin’ cold, and fell asleep! Anyway, here are some other notables who were missed:
Otis Rush (like Dick Dale, plays lefty guitars strung backwards)
Dave Wakeling of The (English) Beat/General Public (who does the same)
Eddy Clearwater (same here)
Jimmy Cliff (ditto)
Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire
George Johnson of The Brothers Johnson
Dave King of Flogging Molly
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of At The Drive-In/The Mars Volta
Tim Armstrong of Rancid
Iggy Pop
Slim Whitman
Gerard Casale of Devo (who plays bass strung backwards)
Floyd Pepper bassist with Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem (two lefties in that band of felt entities)
And, of course, Dirk McQuickly of The Rutles
“DRAT!” – many an accursed villain
“Heck, I forgot it was a timed contest. I’m a knucklehead.” – LD
Hey Raoul/LD, by the way, help me out on identifying your user photo due to the limited number of pixels. Is that you, Warren Zevon, or Andy Gibb?
I was really trying to find a photo of Flanders from the Simpsons with a guitar. He had that Lefties shop, and I’m sure I saw him strumming a Christian folk melody at some time. Anyone find anything?
Looks like Zevon to me.
“The Leftorium”…I’m sure if Ned plays guitar, it’s a left-diddily.
It is Zevon. On the long list of things I hope to one day get around to doing with sammymaudlin and his Back Office staff is making it so we can click on a Townsperson’s avatar and have a little pop-up window with their profile and a larger photo.
I found possible evidence that unless he’s ambi-doodly-dextrous, he plays guitar right-handed.
http://sports.ajayquest.com/nedflanders.jpg
I bet Lukather can play left handed!
Well, that’s a dilly of a pickle!
Of course he can! Then there’s this guy, who plays both ways at once: http://youtu.be/iQ8ml7eENuI
Yeah, Zevon. But the friggin’ mention of Andy cracked my ass.
aloha
LD
Oh, and I’ll bet Warren’s currently clawing his way through the dirt to come smack you up for that WZ/AG/LD compilation association
aloha
LD