Forrest York: While My “Rhythm” Guitar Gently Weeps

Sometimes we as guitarists and onlookers loose sight of what’s really important.

When I was working in Nashville as a “hired gun” for the legendary Hall of Fame songwriter Jerry Foster, Jerry would often point out what the order of importance was regarding a recording/production:

“The first thing that people listen to is the song, and if they like it, they will continue to listen.
The next thing that people listen to is the singer, and if they like it, they will continue to listen. The next thing that people listen to is the rhythm, and if it’s not screwed up and solid, they will continue to listen.”

Kind of reminds me of how they were judging songs on American Bandstand with Dick Clark… (remember that?)

So this was a long and round about way to pay a complement to guitarist Forrest York with his rendition of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

Yea, great song for starters… of course no vocals. But Forrest sure knows how to play rhythm along with the melody and has the groove going on.

Now I don’t know what level you are at with the guitar but, this song and video would be a great tutorial to learn from. And I just want to point out that another very famous guitarist by the name of Tommy Emmanuel uses very similar rhythm along with melody (chord melody) in a big way in his playing.

Nice going Forrest!