Hot studio guitarist, whose career was cut short by auto accident, dies

Perhaps the greatest tribute to Hank Garland's genius was the fact that I had to stop and think about where to post word of his passing. He made his reputation in Nashville backing Patsy Cline, effortlessly made the transition to rock 'n' roll with Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers, and recorded a single, excellent and influential jazz album.

A ways down in the article the writer wisely observes, "Hank Garland the human being died Monday evening, but Hank Garland the guitarist was put to rest more than four decades ago."

The accident that robbed Garland of the remainder of his career as a musician robbed the world of decades of great music.

To quote Jeff Tweedy from one of the year's great singles:

"The best song will never get sung/The best life never leaves your lungs/So good, you won't ever know/I never hear it on the radio/Can't hear it on the radio"

Now Playing: "Cool Struttin'" Sonny Clark Cool Struttin' (Blue Note)

Thank You very much. We all miss Hank Garland. Hank Garland actually did not recieve brain damage from a car accident. He recieved a broken collar bone and a injury to his ear followed by a coma for a few weeks. It was after he was released from the hospital he was forced to a local sanitarium for 77 electro shock treamtments. That is where the brain damage &injury happended.( Other musicians were man handled out there as well. I was told by a girl working there that they were orded to burn the documents from 1963 on down. But, I told her to find Hank Garland's records and she did. This is fully documented even the his car with bullet holes all over the car.We had it analized. etc. and eye whitness's, affadavits, and a person that was with him the day he was set up. He could not talk on film becuause of the obvious. In the the Movie "Crazy" The Hank Garland Movie you will see what took place as they studied the documents and talked to people for 10 years. Also a young fellow that was out at the sanitarium was Hank's roommate and he wrote and called us. The movie was Produced two weeks after his passing. They spent allot of time with Hank Garland as his mind came back and he woke up in the 50's before his passing. He told his own story. It was a miracle. Althouhg we had the records and documentation's it was great to hear it from Hank Garland.
God Bless Hank Garland & His Family,
Thank you,
~ Mrs. Garland of the Legendary Guitarist Hank Garland Family