Legendary Country Music icon Jerry Reed was a monster guitar player. Some folks probably aren’t aware that Jerry Reed, the guy that played the part of “The Snowman” in the 1977 Hollywood movie “Smoky and The Bandit” alongside Burt Reynolds, was not only a great singer and songwriter, he was also simply an uncanny animal with a guitar in his hands. Let’s just say, guitar players in the know, understand and realize just how good Jerry was.
So, in 1997 when Jerry was needing to hire a new guitar player for his band, one can only imagine just how high the level of guitar-playing talent must have been for those auditioning for the job.
On today’s episode of The Troubadour, we’re interviewing the guitar player Jerry Reed picked for that position and who played with him until Jerry’s passing in 2008.
His name is Mark Thornton and he’s a multi-talented guitar player, engineer and producer based in Nashville.
Mark’s Nashville recording studio, Sidekick Sound, was founded in 1994 and since that time it’s been graced by great artists like Marty Stuart, Chris Scruggs, the aforementioned Jerry Reed and others.
Today, when Mark’s not busy recording in his studio he can be found playing around Nashville with his band, “The Sidekicks”. Or, you may find him driving his 1937 Ford stakebed truck, aka “The Nashville Show Truck”, to a nearby event where the truck operates as a vintage mobile stage for artists to perform on.
You can learn more about Mark, his studio Sidekick Sound, and The Nashville Show Truck by visiting www.themarkthornton.com or by clicking on the show notes for this episode at www.thetroubadourpodcast.com .
So here comes our visit with the multi-talented musician, engineer and producer, Mark Thornton.
CONTACT MARK BY EMAILING HIM AT: sidekicksound@yahoo.com
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