Superstition...

January 19, 2016 8:30 AM

Peter Huttlinger, who died on January 15th, was an American guitarist known for impressive fingerstyle arrangements, in particular this one [SLYT]
posted by 43rdAnd9th (25 comments total)

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That was amazing. I was expecting him to sing the vocals, so I was confused about why you couldn't play Superstitious on the guitar, but yeah, holy crap. Nice patter, too.
posted by Huck500 at 8:44 AM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

That's great, thank you for linking it.

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posted by LobsterMitten at 8:49 AM on January 19, 2016

My dad took me to see him when I was a boy. He was sharing the stage with Peppino D'Agostino and Tommy Emmanuel. That might have been the concert where I resolved to learn fingerstyle. Gifted player and a true showman. His ability to overcome a stroke and pick the instrument back up isinspiring.
posted by The White Hat at 8:52 AM on January 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

Aw hell. He was a regular at Winfield, a staple of a certain guitar sound that I first really encountered there, along with D'Agostino, Emmanuel, and Stephen Bennett. He won the fingerstyle championship there a few years before I started going, and if memory serves I think he sat out the stage shows at least once since then in order to compete again. I thought I remembered that he played with John Denver for a while, which Wikipedia says he did from '94-97.

Dude will be missed.

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posted by brennen at 9:01 AM on January 19, 2016

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posted by OmieWise at 9:19 AM on January 19, 2016

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posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 9:21 AM on January 19, 2016

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posted by jkaczor at 9:33 AM on January 19, 2016

That's some good magician stagemanship, demonstrating in great detail why something is impossible before you do it.
posted by straight at 9:46 AM on January 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

You know, I sit in my son's guitar lessons -- a boy who says he wants to play bluegrass because he loves picking -- and just listening to the music gives me a huge smile and a sense of wonder that someone can coordinate so many fast, fine movements. My friend's uncle is Pat Donohue, so I have been listening to this stuff since I was a kid.

This guy, though, is…wow. Thank you for sharing him with me, 43rdAnd9th. Though I am saddened to learn that he died before I ever heard of him, that performance made my day. Damn.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:46 AM on January 19, 2016

Damn. Huttlinger was kind of a hero to me. Hits me hard. As an intermediate noodler, I really admire his virtuosity. A few more of his performances:

McGuire's Landing
The Water is Wide
While My Guitar Gently Weeps/Eleanor Rigby

And for those who like Superstition, here's a performance by Adam Rafferty which I think is equally as sweet at Huttlinger's.
posted by CincyBlues at 9:59 AM on January 19, 2016 [3 favorites]

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Brilliant. Thanks for posting.

Anybody know of a tab? I reckon I could get that in under four years if I gave up work (and sleep).
posted by stanf at 11:36 AM on January 19, 2016

God, that "MaGuire's Landing" is gorgeous!!
posted by wenestvedt at 12:19 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

Did he release albums, as such, or just play behind/with other musicians? I would love to fill my ears with More Of This.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:19 PM on January 19, 2016

I'd like to get an acoustic and start studying this but I don't think I could cope with the fingernails.....my RH fingertips are pretty tough from years of bass playing, I wonder if I could just carry on with them?
posted by thelonius at 12:35 PM on January 19, 2016

Wikipedia lists:

Catch & Release (Instar Records, 1994)
Naked Pop (Favored Nations, 2002)
Hymns for Guitar (Instar, 2005)
Two Friends Two Guitars - Some John Denver Favorites (Instar, 2005)
The Santa Rita Connection (Instar, 2006)
Things Are Looking Up (Instar, 2007)
First Light - A Pete Huttlinger Christmas (Instar, 2007)
Fingerpicking Wonder: The Music of Stevie Wonder (Instar, 2009)

I think this misses some stuff. His site has CDs and mp3s for sale, and you can find some more good stuff on YouTube.
posted by brennen at 12:38 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

He has put out at least a half-dozen albums of solo work, plus he's done a lot of instructional stuff (so tabs are available!) His expressive artistry stems from his sense of restraint, imo, so his playing is not as in-your-face as someone like Tommy Emmanuel. Did a lot of Celtic/Old world melodic material.
posted by CincyBlues at 12:38 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

Also, I just checked Rhapsody, and there're a bunch of his albums listed, so I'm guessing you can find him on your streaming service of choice.
posted by brennen at 12:39 PM on January 19, 2016

Actually, thelonius, one can play some really fine fingerstyle using the flesh of your fingertips. Stefan Grossman preaches flesh, other guys like to use fingerpicks, and many others use nails (James Taylor, for example.) I use flesh because I can't keep fingernails, but I do use fingerpicks when I play slide.
posted by CincyBlues at 12:43 PM on January 19, 2016 [3 favorites]

I know some people use fake nails too....I'm so used to playing with fingers that I don't much feel like trying that
posted by thelonius at 2:26 PM on January 19, 2016

I always loved this version of Darcy's Guitar with a nice intro story.
posted by markr at 2:54 PM on January 19, 2016

You guys, I played Stevie Wonder for the boy and then played this version, and followed those up with some of the other links you shared…and blew his mind. :7) Thanks!!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:16 PM on January 19, 2016

Damn. Saw him at Winfield last year, when he played a set of Beatles duets with Stephen Bennett.
posted by key_of_z at 9:54 PM on January 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

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Thanks for your post.
posted by nicolin at 1:01 AM on January 20, 2016

I'd never heard of him, and now I know how much I've been missing.

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posted by bryon at 1:07 AM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thanks for making me aware of him.

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posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:41 AM on January 20, 2016