Elderly Guitarist, 80, Brings Down the House in Nashville
Watching older musicians gradually lose their ability to perform is incredibly sad. However, Bob Wood, an 80-year-old guitarist from Tennessee, was still performing exceptionally well, to the extent that a video of him rocking out in a music shop went viral on YouTube, garnering over 10.3 million views so far!
The father of nine visited the British Audio Service music store in Nashville, TN, to collect some amplifiers he had sent for repairs. As he himself stated, “When they told me they were ready, I took the guitar to check ‘em out.”
The outcome was incredible. Wearing his pink and blue checkered shirt and playing a classic-style, sunburst Epiphone Riviera, Bob demonstrated extraordinary agility for his age; his fingers moved swiftly across the frets as he played a flawless, Latin-inspired riff while fingerpicking! His sound was impressive, drawing inspiration from the blend of blues and tango melodies, uniquely original and mesmerizing.
It was Shane Radtke, a store employee, who cleverly captured the moment on film, giving Bob his viral fame. Shane told Nashville News Channel 5, “I was in the back at my bench and I heard somebody playing something pretty original. And I was like, Wow, that’s really cool. So I said, ‘Guys, let’s shoot a video of this.’”
Bob’s performance was of “Bésame Mucho,” a song as timeless as he, composed in 1932 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez and considered the most covered Spanish song ever. Bob’s effortless live guitar rendition stands among the finest versions we’ve heard here at The Music Man!
Bob’s exceptional skill showcases a lifetime of dedicated practice. He first started playing guitar at six and had his first performance at twelve on a live radio show. Although he never reached major fame, Wood’s music career was filled with legendary stories and collaborations with top artists. A contemporary, James Brown, would call Bob, but as Bob explained: “I couldn’t understand a word he said. He’d start rattling off so fast and, man, he’d lose me.”
He even performed a few sets with electric guitar pioneer Les Paul, who passed away in 2009, humorously recalling, “For me to follow Les Paul was like following a bulldozer with a spoon.”
Between 1981 and 1986, Bob ran his own music store, releasing three studio albums during that time. He worked as a session musician and a musical equipment salesman, while also playing at festivals on the side. Bob Wood passed away peacefully at 88, just days before Halloween 2022, surrounded by family and survived by his nine children.
