Johnny Bellar

Johnny Bellar is a virtuoso performer on resophonic and lap steel guitars. Often called a Dobro after the first and most famous manufacturer of this instrument, the resophonic guitar has recently become a pervasive voice in modern recordings of country, rock and popular music. An acoustic instrument invented in the USA in the 1920's and usually played with a metal slide, the resophonic has a mysterious, dark and compelling voice. Only the human voice seems able to match this instrument in tonal shadings and in the expressions of emotion and there is a current explosion of interest in the instrument that is keeping Bellar busy.

The lap steel is and electric adaptation of the resophonic and was the first form of electric guitar ever made. The primary voice in Hawaiian and country music from the 1930's until the 1950's, lap steel is undergoing a major revival and is especially popular among "retro" country performers. Famous as a Nashville session musician and composer of gorgeous melodies, and the 2005 National Resonator Guitar Champion, Johnny Bellar is occasionally seen on Nashville Now and the Grand Ole Opry and at "guitar wizard" gatherings in the USA, Australia, and England.

 

 

 

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