David William Kearney (September 8, 1934 – April 20, 2022), often called Guitar Shorty, was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He grew up mainly in Kissimmee, Florida. Dixon noticed him enjoying with the Walter Johnson Orchestra. Whereas in New Orleans, Shorty also fronted his personal band which performed recurrently at the Dew Drop Inn the place he was joined by particular guests equivalent to T-Bone Walker, Huge Joe Turner and Little Richard. He steadily began to garner accolades from his peers and, soon after, he joined the Ray Charles Band for a yr. He was known for his explosive guitar fashion and wild stage antics.

Not one to remain in a single place long, Shorty subsequent moved to the West Coast at 19 to play with Sam Cooke. Marsha was the step-sister of Jimi Hendrix. He played up and down the west coast and Canada till he met his future spouse, Marsha or Marcia, in Seattle, Washington. Hendrix was so enthralled with Shorty’s playing, he went AWOL a number of instances from his Military base to see him perform. Shorty introduced Hendrix to the wah pedal and loaned him one when Hendrix couldn’t afford to purchase his personal.

Shorty gigged steadily via the late 1950s and 1960s. Through the 1970s, he worked as a mechanic, enjoying music at nights and on weekends. He again became a full-time musician in 1975, struggling at times to make ends meet. In 1976 he made an look on Chuck Barris’ Gong Present, profitable first prize for performing the music, “They Call Me Guitar Shorty”, whereas balanced on his head. In 2002, he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute! He joined Alligator Information in 2004. His album that year, Watch Your Back and his 2006 album We the People both charted on the Billboard Top Blues Albums at numbers eleven and twelve, respectively.

On Might 10, 2016, his touring van and trailer was stolen with most of his devices and gear. He continued to tour along with his band of a few years that included Loopy Tomes (guitar and vocals), Malcolm Lukens (keyboards), Wadada Khufu (bass) and Dan Gerass (drums). An online fundraiser and several benefit live shows have been organized, by his guitar player Loopy Tomes, in Los Angeles to help him with the financial losses, including a particular efficiency with The Chambers Brothers. Guitar Shorty launched his album Looking for My Way Again in 2019, produced by Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams and Larry “MoogStar” Clemons. He appears within the 2024 documentary film Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, which was in manufacturing at the time of Guitar Shorty’s death.

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