George Cordoba?

gilberdr

I had the great good fortune of running into George Cordoba when I was just seventeen years old. I had flunked out of college in Brooklyn and had run off to San Francisco to be with a friend in the spring of 1967. I had no money and no livelihood, but I could play guitar a little. I wound up in a $10 a week rooming house off E. 14th street on Santa Rita Avenue in Oakland near a music store where I was allowed me to teach students. George was living there with his brother, I think his name was Henry. He drank Tokay and smoked unfiltered Pall Malls - all day. The reason he gave for his condition was that his best friend ran off with his wife and he started drinking heavily. I only stayed there for two weeks but I urged him play for me a couple of times. He had a beat up Martin, a closet full of hand-written sheet music, and a scrap book. Thick fingers, but astounding touch - fast and emotionally rich. He provided inspiration even as a broken man and a powerful lesson about life to a young callow guy. I wish I had had the wisdom then to have stayed with him longer. I haven't thought about him for so many years now. Odd how things happened to lead me to this BB. Anyone reading this thread anymore?

Archtop Eddy

Cool story! It sounds like you had an adventurous youth -- the stuff dreams are made of. A guitar-playing teenager in San Francisco in 1967, right before the Summer of Love. Then you meet George Cordoba... Wow. AE

gilberdr

Yeah, looking back I was impulsive and a bit desperate, but it took me to some interesting places - A couple of months later I accidentally wound up at Monterrey Pop on the last day while hitchhiking back up the coast from LA. I heard Janis and Thelonious Monk from outside the stadium. Anyway, a bit more of the George story. The first time I asked him to play, he asked me what I wanted to hear. He played Malaguena, which I told him I loved. He covered the entire fret board with incredible dexterity, precision, and feeling. I didn't think such movement was possible. Frankly it made me ashamed I even thought I could play. A few days later we crossed paths in the hall and he started pressing me to be his agent. He told me that he was well known enough to get on the Johnny Carson show. He made me wait while he called a friend he said was a millionaire on the pay phone in the hallway. He said he would vouch for him. I spoke to the man briefly. He was certainly his good friend and spoke admiringly of him. He said that he had no doubt I could get him on the show as long as I could keep him sober. It was too much for me, I was then a painfully shy person and couldn't imagine such an undertaking and so I told him I could not help him. BTW, I'm so glad I can hear the recording of him playing on YouTube - Body & Soul, it brings me to tears. I forgot to mention when my encounter took place - late January 1967. I never realized he has become such a mysterious man.

andyk

Wow! These are interesting George Cordoba stories. My guitar teacher ran a music store in Los Angeles (I think) in the 60's-70's. He often tells the story of meeting George Cordoba... a friend of his had called his music shop and said there was a guitar player he had to hear. The friend brought George to the shop and he played a pretty out of this world Tea for Two and possibly a couple of the other tunes mentioned on here, like Malaguena. My guitar teacher tried to help him get a few jobs and what not, but it never quite worked out... a bit later he says he was driving by a beach one day and saw George hitch hiking. He thought he may have been living at the beach. My teacher described him as not too well kept, kind of a nervous personality, but a really beautiful guitar player. Thanks for sharing your George stories, Gilberdr!

Buco

Somebody uploaded the entire album on YouTube:

billyshakes

Ha ha Buco. I went searching for the same thing this morning after reading the original post. Found the same. Props to you for the repost.

Buco

Yeah, this forum is pretty amazing for stories and discoveries like this.
George Cordoba was incredible.

Bones

Wow thanks for that link Buco.

Paul Mehling

Hey Guys,

not sure if you all want this info, but thought i should share- this guitar in the GUITAR ARCHIVE here on djangobooksforum, was made for George Cordoba!

https://www.djangobooks.com/gallery/gabriel-souza-selmer-style/

billyshakes

Paul,

That guitar is legit! The rosette is gorgeous and looks like it was a lot of work. Thanks for sharing the pictures.