Loose Leaf Notes

Wayne Henderson is a renowned guitar player and instrument maker sought after by the likes of Eric Clapton and Brad Paisley.  Word is that Clapton waited seven years for his handcrafted Henderson guitar and Paisley is still waiting. Floyd’s own Tina Liza, collector and performer of Appalachian songs, waited over twenty years for her Henderson guitar (which she proudly displays HERE.)   Above is Henderson, performing with Helen White at the Floyd Country Store, in a number that shows off his legendary pickin.

Henderson, who has played at the White House and Carnegie Hall and is a recipient of a National Heritage Award, was part of last night’s Floyd Radio Show, an old time variety show modeled after the Opry and Prairie Home Companion, held at the Country Store once a month.  Apart from playing, Henderson was a good sport about doing faux advertisements with the radio show ensemble, punctuating recited Shakespeare and nursery rhymes with guitar picks and telling a down home story from his own life.   In the above clip, Henderson talks about his “guitar shop” in Grayson County, Virginia.  About making instruments, like the one White is preparing  to play, he says “I just whittle off everything that doesn’t look like a fiddle.”