Provenance
My father taught me to play on this 1957 Martin D-28 when I was six years old. He bought it new the year before I was born. During family singalongs, both my father and my uncle played guitar while we sang folk songs and sea shanties from England, Ireland, Scotland, Appalachia and early Americana. I would hold his Martin guitar and pretend I was playing along, and after a while my father noticed that I WAS actually playing, watching the chords and getting the shapes while he and my uncle played. Then he taught me everything he knew, and his Martin D-28 was the guitar I learned on. I still remember a dozen or two of those early folk songs, where I learned how to fingerpick, play chords in all keys, and add ‘runs’ (bass lines) during the accompaniment.
Later my father gave me this guitar and I took it to California with me. In 1986, my father’s Martin guitar carried me into a new chapter when I recorded Sunburst on it for “Perfect Sky”, my first album. Sunburst would travel far beyond me, into the hands of countless guitarists worldwide, and you can still hear this version of Sunburst on my 1957 Martin on all the streaming services.
Recordings
- Perfect Sky (1986) Timeless Records - solo album
later released on Artifex Records, then Guitar Solo Publications - Excerpts - “From My Heart”, Carol Steele (1981) - MartinD-28excerpts.mp3
Andrew York-producer, arranger, all guitars
YouTube video
Amabassador Auditorium 1991, Sunburst
This guitar has lived a rich and intense musical life, and shows natural wear from international travel and countless concerts and recording sessions. It remains in excellent playing condition, and has not been refinished to preserve its original condition and provenance.
