I love the depth of Tele history and lore on this channel.

Its almost always a good thing when someone comes from one "genre" and settles in playing in "another", when of course these are all just labels from the industry. To the musicians its all just a continuum. Love it.

Ricky is an awsome talent..I've known him for years. His country albums are some of the best ever,that's where I met Ray Flacke which became a good friend of mine. I played bass with JD Crowe for 4 years, where I met Keith Whitley, went on to play bass & guitar for Keith for 8 years. A lot of Ricky's tele playing was a remanence from listening to Flacke. I know that story.

I’m from eastern Kentucky as well. Love me some Skaggs! Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam and old tele’s makes the world go around

I was acquainted with his parents, Hobert and Dorothy, and stayed at their home on several occasions. I heard the story of how he actually got up with Ralph Stanley. His mama was sick (she was a very devout Christian lady), and his dad snuck him in the honky-tonk to see Ralph and convinced him to let "Rick" play a tune...the rest is history. Now, she raised Cane on Hobert for taking him, of course. She said he described his early music as Bluegrass/Country untwisted. They gave me a big songbook of his greatest hits and signed his name to it. I wish I still had it!

One last thing to share....long read ahead! When Ricky was with Emmy Lou, Emmy Lou did some dates with the Bellamy Brothers. The Bellamys had a backing band from right here in my home county, including my dad on bass. Ricky and he struck up a friendship. As a result of that, when Ricky needed a backing band, my dad was called upon and requested. Dad got the job as his bass player and personal manager and was with Ricky from “Waiting For The Sun To Shine” to “Live In London” and “Love’s Gomns Get You”. Just wanted to share because I’m proud of the music he made with Ricky. Have a great day! PS: Dad was most likely on stage that night you first saw Ricky at the Opry!

Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart are two of the greatest Tele players around......Marty Stuart also had a "mullet" haircut at one time.........another great vid from Zac !

The "Highways and Heartaches" album opened my sixteen year old heavy metal mind to the brilliance of Ricky Skaggs.....

I played rhythm guitar in the PRS Band with Brent and Ricky in rehearsals and onstage when they played at the PRS Experience. It was an honor to play with such great musicians both Ricky and Brent trading licks and there may be some video on KZfaq.

It’s feels almost like as if Mr. Rodgers played guitar Well hello 👋🏻 friends. . . . .🙏🏻

I have to believe that if Mr. Skaggs needed a bagpipe player and couldn’t find one he would learn it himself, and then play it masterfully! Thanks for the mini lesson, it’s fun to have a little phrase to work on.

I love how you can tell a story straight through without edits in the video like everyone else has to do. I don’t think most people realize how hard it is to do. Good stream of thought. 🤙🏼 Also...I can really see this format being taken a step further into a fully produced television show with guests and different segments. Always interesting.

I saw Ricky at a fair in the late 70s..the best 4 dollars I ever spent..Ricky does it all...

As usual a great video with tons of valuable information about a fantastic musician. I was a new Ricky Skaggs fan apparently just about the time he took over his own leads on his purple Tele. By pure luck I met him in a parking lot minutes before he went on stage at a concert in Pennsylvania (we were late for the show). When my wife mentioned I was a guitar guy and he invited me back stage after the show to look over his guitars. For me it was like hitting the lottery. I still have the photos I took of him and his rig that night and became a fan for life.

Thanks Zac, That brought back a lot of memories. I got to mix him for the broadcast for Jamboree USA I wasn't that familiar with him and they told me it was kind of a bluegrass show. They were wrong. Him and that glaser tele and mandocaster blew my mind.Amazing player and great guy

Hey Zac, I appreciate you bringing your wealth of knowledge. From an older picker who watched the Nelson tv show just to see James Burton. He started it...Albert Lee, Brent, Roy, Danny,Ray and Ricky kept it going. (Of course Vince and Brad too!)

Mate, that"I'm Ricky Skaggs & These are the " Skaggettes"story is comedy GOLD !! Had me in fits... Stay cool Zac.

I had similar experiences with country music in the 80’s when my dad tried to get young me into it. One he got frustrated and said “one day you’ll love this stuff, when you’re old enough to understand it. And of course, he was right. He died in 2012, and I wish he could see how obsessed I am with the golden age of country now. Thanks for the video!

It's easy to see how Ricky Skaggs became a monster Telecaster monster. Natural aptitude, of course, and being a pro since entering his teen years - there's no substitute for talent and experience. That's for starters. Mastering bluegrass on an acoustic steel-string does wonders for developing your calluses and your strength and technique. I remember someone asking Ricky about transitioning to an electric guitar after all those years on a flattop acoustic, and he said "Yeah, I felt like I was about the rip the strings off!" or words to that effect. After moving into mainstream country and becoming a star, Skaggs began to hang out with the cream of the Nashville Cats, guys like Albert Lee and Ray Flacke on down the line. Who better to show you the ropes on your new axe than those guys!? I was fortunate-enough to see Ricky live on a couple of occasions. Back in the early 1990s, when he was in his hit-making prime. HW101 was the opening act. Ricky just tore it up on his electric guitar - just shredded country-style. Then, saw him at a club in Chicago around 2010 or so, when he sat in with Albert Lee and his band, as well as James Burton and Vince Gill. That was an amazing show, too, and a once-in-a-life treat for fans of hot country guitar.

Reluctant lead player describes me. I was lead singer in my first R'N'R band. I was a more than adequate rhythm player but just learning how to build solos and play fills. The other guitarist on the band was not a good singer. He literally forced me to play lead. He kept saying I really like the way you play. Oh well I struggled with it for a year or so. Now 50+ years later I can hang with anyone. I learned much from listening to Ricky and some others like Marty Stuart and Vince Gill.

Thanks for the background. Been a Skaggs fan for many years.

Ricky’s purple Tele was a Glaser with benders. He’s such a great picker. Singer and influence on so many musicians. Thanks for your KZfaq channel.

Love your souvenirs and experiences with these greats! Thank you for sharing this :)

Zac, the highlite here is your face after the disclosure of "Skaggs and the Skaggettes". Your expression said "I have no words" and you indeed had no words! Classic! Great video!

Great video - just a suggestion but maybe you might could do one on Danny Gatton and his history with the telecaster?

I didnt say "ricky skaggs and the skaggetts ever again... until now.." Hahaha

The first Tele video lessons I bought in VHS ,was Ray Flack. He taught me a lot,especially some cool rhythm licks.

Loving the channel Zac!

Zac, Thanks for the content and licks and Playlist - loved it !

I really feel like I am in the room with you, your tales are so very engaging and enjoyable. My dad took me to see Jerry Lee Lewis when I was twelve in 1977, I was big into Rock 'n' Roll then ( it still holds a big place in my heart). I already knew that I wanted to be a musician at that point. I became the singer in the school punk band and after writing songs on one string for two years at the age of sixteen started playing guitar. I have had a lifetime of fun from it. I became aware of Ricky Skaggs in around 2004 when I learnt to play g-string banjo and I have got to say that I love his stuff. So much so that I moved on to mandolin shortly afterwards. Thankyou for sharing, a great post.😎🎙🎸✅

Another great video on an under appreciated Tele player. He's a phenome for sure, like many country players. I was a big fan from an early age and part of that was that he was born two counties away from where my grandparents lived in eastern Kentucky. I hear some Claremce White influence is his style (Clarence White playing with the Byrds introduced me to the Telecaster and blue grass/country). Another connection is that White played with Rice as well. I love the lines that connect musicians, almost like a family tree. Thanks, Zac.

thanks for this show Zac ... learned so much ... really enjoyed this one!

only time i ever scrolled down to double check i was subscribed

Zac!!! Live in London is one of the best chicken fried pickin records ever made. Skaggs playing changed me forever. That's when I put aside Neal Schon, SRV and EVH and started listening to everything SKAGGS. This lead me to Albert Lee. Whoever is listening to this please listen to Live in London and listen to his b-bends and mandolin/fiddle licks incorporated into his Tele playing. Still gets me fired up after 30-40 yrs after its release.

Great episode. When I was a kid I remember the solo for Country Boy and how that playing blew my mind having just started my interest in guitar. Ricky is a legend. I love the story btw and I had no idea of how in depth his history is. The musical connections and level of player he associated himself with was at the very highest. That guys musicality is incredibly solid. And I had no idea of what a beast he was with the b-bender. I had a hard time making it through the episode Bc I wanted to check out all the cool material you suggested.😂

Great video! Love Ricky! I met Albert lee a couple of years ago. Great guy. He signed my lefty "Frankenstrat". You are very knowledgable on the great "Tele" pickers. I'm 76 and my first "Tele" Hero was and still is The great James Burton. I used to watch Ozzie & Harriet to see James play his great solos. Keep up the good work my friend!

Three guys made me want a Telecaster 10 or so years ago... Roy Buchannan Dave Carpender (GK band) Ray Flacke,,, Highway 40 Blues. Even found the Rickey Skaggs album. Never nailed it but had fun trying.

On a beautiful clear night in 1980 I watched Skaggs and his group live outdoors beside the St. John’s River in downtown Jacksonville. Enormous respect for Ray Flacke’s playing. Not long after I saw them, Skaggs released Flacke, I think because Ray had a drinking problem.

Thanks for another great video. I do love his Tele playing. Thanks for the in depth information you give us. I’m always learning things I didn’t know. Your channel helps feed my Tele obsession.

I saw Ricky and the boys play last year at 3 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon in an Oklahoma casino. I didn’t know about it til about 2:30 and couldn’t get there fast enough.. I was about the only person under 65.. people don’t know what they’re missing. Got to meet him afterwards and he was a super cool guy.. another great episode Zac!

Great stuff as always, Zac! My first time to see Ricky was the Sweet Sensations tour. I don't remember who was in the band, but do remember everyone hollering out Bluegrass requests and Ricky kept apologizing over and over that they hadn't worked up any of those tunes. I did get to see Ray Flacke years later on the Masters of the Steel String tour w/Jerry Douglas, Wayne Henderson, John Cephas and Phil Wiggans, and local jazz legend Cal Collins.

I'm glad you mentioned Skaggs and Rice- my favorite bluegrass record.

Ricky Skaggs- from the Stanley Bros to the New South to Emmylou and onward; a tremendous musician and a STANDARD BEARER for real Country Music!

Man, you always bring a lot of good stuff to the picnic!!

Long before I was in any way interested in country and bluegrass, things like Ricky Scaggs, Charlie's Pride and Rich, Willie and Waylon and the Boys - and all the ladies - these things were just the fabric of childhood through high school - because all of my grandparents and parents listened to this stuff all of the time. All but my mom tended to think all my rock and roll mess was noisey and maybe the work of the devil. LOL. We also routinely watched ACL, so I did pay attention. Anyway, Ricky was the one who just blew me away early on - and he's so likable and generous. Now, I am 51 - and I love everything and respect it all. I love how your dad handled your ass, too. I guess Texas and Mississippi have a even more in common than I thought! Love it. Thanks, Zac.

Great video Zac! I got to see Ray Flacke with Marty Stuart in 1990!

1985, I was 19 years old and moved to Nashville to draw a Caricatures at Opryland theme park. Conventioners at the Opryland hotel would bring their families to the park for a little fun between convention sessions. It was a great arrangement. Who knows. I might’ve seen you there.

Rickys music is amazing and his country album is one of my favorite. He and Kieth Whitley played with Ralph Stanley as kids and are amazing musicians.

Ask Zak, please have a note about Marty Stuart. If you ever seen him live with his two deluxes, wow what a tone and what playing!

Thanks Zac, always fun stories with great info!

Highway 40 blues was my favorite song of that Era.

Joe Bonsall and Ricky were both in line at the Sporting Goods store I worked at in Hendersonville back in 98. Ricky was buying some insulated clothing because he was going to Iran to do a USO show. I’m not 1 to bother artists BUT……😂 I asked both of them to sign the back of my business card.They were in the check out line so they weren’t going anywhere. They were both super nice,& did it.I told them,I know this moment will never reoccur in my life again where Joe & Ricky are both together in a store I was working.😂

Great episode Zac!! Going to see him Oct 22 in Lancaster PA. Now o can drill his knowledge 😆 🎸

Wow! Awesome tone Zac in that black Tele!!!!! Thanks 😊

I think in such a flighty town as Nashville , Ricky is Universally loved!

Great show about Ricky!! He sure has influenced a lot of musicians. Johnny Hiland always talks about after seeing Ricky live at 10 years age, he had to have an electric guitar!! Now that is some history making for sure!!

I look forward to these videos every week.

Thank for this video just reminded me of Ricky Skaggs I went back to listen to some albums and men I’m suck on highway 40 blues such an awesome song. All way enjoy watching and listen to your stories. God bless have a great day

Cool stuff man. And stellar playing!

I'm going to have to pick up some Ricky Scaggs albums, thanks to you. Love that Tele tone on that one!

The 1st time I ever saw Ricky must have been on an ACL show with Emmylou and the Hot Band. The only thing I remember about it was the last song they did - "Hallelujah, I'm Ready" and that band just tore it up like nobody's buisness. I didn't care for Country or Bluegrass back then, I just happened to stumble on to it by chance, but I never forgot it. Thanks Zac for this great ride down Skaggs Avenue!

Love Ricky and all his many talents, using a lab series 3 from the late 70,s, and it still a fine amp.

Greta Video Zac, You covered that history very well.

His work with Ralph Stanley and JD crowe are really up at the pinnacle

Thanks for doing a session on one of my all time musical heroes. Looking forward to checking out the play list. I was a huge fan of The David Grisman Quintet in the 1980's and made it a point to see them every time they came to my area. On one occasion Ricky Scaggs opened for them and I was delighted to get to see him since I was vaguely familiar with him and liked what I had heard. I just assumed he would be playing bluegrass - I wasn't aware he was even playing country at the time. The lights went up and out walked Ricky with an acoustic guitar but the band had electric instruments and plugged into amps that were then visible on the stage. My friends and I looked at each other with confused expressions. After about the second guitar solo I was about to have a conniption wanting to know who the guitarist was. Ricky eventually asked the audience to welcome all the way from from London, England, Mr. Ray Flacke. I had never heard a tele played like that and with such gorgeous tone. The amp was a Fender but I couldn't make out the model. By the time they played Don't Get Above Your Raisin' I was fit to be tied.

Awesome stories! You have an incredible memory.

Watched this video again, great stuff, Zac. In the early 80s, Roger Miller had maybe the greatest Tele player of all time, Danny Gatton, in his band.

Great! Enjoyed this!

I worked at a local guitar shop with his current guitar player, Jake Workman, I was very happy for him to see that he is playing with Ricky Skaggs now. I remember he was incredible even back then just out of school.

Thank you Zac!!

Thank you Zac!

That’s a great looking and sounding tele and you play it excellent. Great funny story with your dad. I need to check out more of Ricky Skaggs music although I always admired him seeing him play on tv and videos.

Wonderful attention to my favorite artist of all times. Ricky's album "Live in London" was for me the - point of no return - becoming a chicken picker instead of a typical rock guy. The Ricky Tele playing style is spot on. Zac nailed it with the respect Ricky deserves. I dare to say that Ricky has made me name my guitar picks to what I am as a guitar player - a chicken picker - Thanks Zac...!!

skaggs and rice is in my top 10 rotation..."there's more pretty girls than one" have seen kentucky thunder twice

I loved those Lab series amps. Great sounding amps! Thanks for the video Zac!

I kept muttering “I’m Ricky Skaggs and these are the Skaggettes”… then your dad saying “son, you better stop saying that otherwise I’m gonna knock you in the chest.” hahaha that was so funny, I laughed out load. I remember being a kid and doing something similar.. I was being stupid and kept saying “hey kids, it’s Bebop the clown” in a clown voice and my older sister kept laughing uncontrollably and telling me to do it over and over again.. I did it so many times, I was starting to piss off my dad.. well after the 100th time of saying it, my dad says “Steven, shut the hell up already with that! I mean it!” And without even thinking I said “okaaay” in this clown voice and he just about slapped me. Hahahaha I’ll never forget that moment. Good story, Zac!!

I never knew he was a Tele guy. I've always associated him with acoustic and mandolin . I learned something new every time I turn around

Man that was super tasty picking at the beginning Zac! Loved it!

Great knowledge; thank you.

i was in a band in residence at the Saddle Rack in San Jose CA in the 80's. i recall Ricky Skaggs playing a couple of shows there with Ray Flack in the band and Ricky having words with Ray regarding who was the star of the show with Ricky feeling that Ray was intentionally upstaging him.

Ricky's Highway 40 Blues cassette pretty much got worn out in my dad's car. It's embedded into my brain.

Always an education from Zac.

I love all the details about who recorded with whom, equipment they used, and licks they came up with. Zac, you do a great service to people like me who failed to study the liner notes and therefore missed out on a world of information about the community of players who shaped the music. I've learned so much from your bite-size tutorials and it's sent me down a lot of happy rabbit holes learning more about players I never knew or followed. I can't thank you enough, Zac. I grew up with country music, but then left it far behind the moment the Beatles hit the radio waves. As a middle-aged adult I got reconnected with country music. I went all the way back to old timey music and then followed the thread through 50s and 60s country western, and it was a real joy until I hit 70s and 80s country. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I blame Chet Atkins for turning country music into pure pop music. Because of Chet's influence, violin drenched records and smarmy background vocals became essential elements of "country" music. To me, and I know this is anathema of the highest order, I think Chet was a mercenary power broker who actively suppressed the artistic evolution of country music in favor of gimmickry and commercial sales.

Very cool episode. I first saw Ricky on an Austin City Limits episode and was blown away by his Tele playing and tone. That episode featured Ricky playing his own Tele parts and of course his fabulous mandolin and fiddle playing. And what a band! I still have that show on VHS tape. I remember Ricky playing the solo break on Honey Open That Door and and asking myself "how the heck is he doing those multiple string bends?" I knew nothing about B benders at that time. I then purchased the cassette of his Country Boy album and of course his Live in London concert on cassette. He was a big influence on me since then. His famous purple Glaser b bender Tele tone stayed in my head for years and I wanted to achieve that tone. Of course I should have know better that you need Ricky's talent to bring it out. Incidentally that purple Glaser Tele is the sister guitar to Steve Wariner's red Glaser tele and I think that was mentioned on your Steve Wariner interview. I love the Waking In Jerusalem solo too and you did a fine job of demonstrating it too. As always another great episode and always a great kick start to my day.

So many guitar , music memoirs center around Nashville....i lived in Franklin(20 miles south) back in the mid 60s ...after seeing the Beatles "Hard Days Night" ran home ,grabbed my dad's blonde sears silvertone and never looked back. Nashville at that time was a facsimile of a northern urban city, with signs, billboards, traffic but a big heart of country. The heart beat faintly for several years cause of the British invasion nevertheless Nashville kindles so many profound thoughts.

Ricky Scaggs is awesome! And yes, very underrated!

Obviously, Ricky is a musical genius 🎻🎸 You're great too Zac!

The first big concert I ever went to was Ricky Skaggs, with Vince Gill opening, in 1985. Telecaster heaven. The high point was when Vince joined Ricky on "One Way Rider." I just assumed it was normal for the opening act to do a song with the headliner.

I’ve seen and met Ricky many times. Unfortunately I was a little too young to get to see him in his country prime but was always a fan of that era too. I’ve seen more of his bluegrass shows than I can count but a few years ago at a show I was at he broke out that old purple glaser bender and you can imagine my excitement! Lol. Ricky is definitely one of the greats but also just a guitar guy all around. He has always surrounded himself with best players in the business not only in country but THE BEST bluegrass guitar players out there. Bryan Sutton, Clay Hess, Cody Kilby, and Jack Workman to name a few. If you haven’t heard them it’s worth looking up!

Onya Zac top effort on your channel and your race tips on musicians that I've overlooked. Mr Skaggs is is a ripper

Thank you, Mr. Childs, for introducing me to so many good players. I'm shopping Discogs for some Ricky Skaggs (minus the Skaggettes) right now.

I was bombed by Skaggs about the same way and same time you were. Strong influence, in fact a gospel band I played guitar in did Walking in Jerusalem as close to his version as we could..the solo guitar intro did get a few "looks" as we played in all types of church settings. Ricky is one of the best all around musicians for sure.

Enjoyed this a bunch. I'm a huge fan of Ricky, Albert and Ray. That was great music. How do we get that magic back? There was sooo much great music in the 70s and 80s...not just country. We need to find that musical sprout and water it. I had a L3 and a L11 back in the late 80s. The L3 had a 12" speaker, 60 watt combo. The L11 was a 200 watt head with a 4x12 cab. I really liked the compressor on those Lab Series amps. I might think about retiring my 77 Dynacomp if some pedal maker would make a Lab Series compressor pedal.... Thanks for sparking my memory. Those were great times to be playing bars.

Ricky’s Mosaic is one of my favourite albums. It may not showcase his tele playing but his work with Gordon Kennedy on it makes it terrific.

Great video Zac!

Went to see Skaggs at The Pier in Raleigh, NC back in 1980ish. Thought I was going to see the bluegrass Ricky I knew from the past. Was totally flabbergasted when a full electric country band, with drummer, showed up. I didn't know who Ray Flacke was before then, but I sure did after that night. FWIW, I thought Ray had a very amicable stage presence, He was having a great time playing that night and seemed like a very likable guy. Ricky played the mandocaster pretty much the whole night. Bobby Thompson was on fiddle, but don't remember the rest of the band.

Tried to look it up and it only goes back to 2005 in the Dollywood Archive. So my guitar player and I saw some cool shows at Dollywood and Ricky was one of them. My wife's uncle played on stage with Ralph Stanley and I've got a cool few pics here somewhere I could upload that show a young Ricky and a young Keith Whitley hanging out in the mountains of Southwest Virginia circa either Haysi or Clintwood. I saw Keith Urban, Tracy Lawrence, Mark Chesnutt, Steve Wariner whom I had the pleasure of hanging out with his steel player from back around where he and his brother Terry or Terri can't remember how he spelled it were from. My dad knew a guy who knew a guy. The coolest concert I saw at Dollywood though would be between Marty Stuart, Sawyer Brown, and Aaron Tippin though Tippin put a tricycle together while singing Working Man PHD which was really cool. He donated it to toys of tots. When he did a concert years ago in my hometown of Pikeville, Kentucky he ordered Papa John's pizza for his crew and the delivery driver said he was really nice and tipped very well. I have some crazy concert stories about Chris LeDoux, John Berry, and Toby Keith and like Sammy Kershaw whom you can watch here on KZfaq attempt to sing Three Steps by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Trace Adkins tried to sing Skynyrd and shew it was bad...It was bad. Toby Keith God rest his soul had beer thrown at him and then proceeded to call the guy a Moth3rFu@$3r at least six or seven times on an open mic apologizing as he did it to the crowd which had kids and elderly people sitting in it. John Berry I saw back in college and it was the last concert before he had some kind of aneurism and nearly died after flying to his wife in I want to say Florida maybe for the birth of their first child. He got up and said some B!t@h stole this next song from me after I had recorded it on an independent label and then proceeded to play Wrong Side of Memphis. He also had someone yell play Freebird during the show and told them he had their Freebird right here and grabbed himself lol. Chris LeDoux opened for Sawyer Brown. Sawyer Brown were one of the biggest things in country at the time and this was the first or second time I had seen them. It was probably 1994-1995. We had 12th row floor seats right in front of the stage and this woman in the front had brought a dozen roses to give to Mark Miller, lead singer of Sawyer Brown. Chris started off with Little Longhaired Outlaw and a few songs in did When I Look At You Girl. The woman had one rose left 30 minutes later for Mark lol. Thought she had...well you get it. Cowboys...whatcha gonna do? LeDoux was LeGit though...see what I did there lol. He was incredible and while I didn't have any flowers for him I did take all my hard-earned work study money and dropped it down for four of his cassettes the next day after walking across campus and over into town to the local music store. Yeah kids we used to have to walk miles to buy little pieces of plastic that housed our favorite musics. I was probably listening to Marty Brown's first album in my walkman while trekking across Morehead State University's campus and down onto Main Street to the music store. Good times. Thanks for reading and God Bless. Oh Sawyer Brown did four encores after playing for hours in the first run that night so that the kids wouldn't leave a Sawyer Brown concert thinking Chris LeDoux had blown them off stage. He had 30 minutes and did probably 10-12 songs rushing through. They did I think it was nearly 3 hours of music maybe a little over 3 hours and wow...best show I've ever been to.

Going to see Ricky at 8 tonight. Usually catch him getting on Bus. Unfortunately I ordered my Ask Zac shirt to late 😢

Nice playing, MR. Zac.

The Skaggettes story is hilarious. 😂