Linc Chamberland

Lionel Victor Chamberland (13 September 1940 – 24 June 1987) was an American jazz guitarist born and based in Norwalk, Connecticut. After playing with The Orchids in the 1960s, he stopped touring, became a private teacher, and performed regionally.

Linc Chamberland
Birth nameLionel Victor Chamberland
Born(1940-09-13)September 13, 1940
Norwalk, Connecticut
DiedJune 24, 1987(1987-06-24) (aged 46)
New York City
GenresJazz, rock, jazz fusion, R&B
Occupation(s)Musician, teacher
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1961–mid 1980s
LabelsMuse, Roulette, Mainstream, A&M Horizon
Associated actsGotham, Dave Liebman, The Rascals

Career

Beginning around 1962, Chamberland was the leader of an R&B band called The Orchids.[1][2] Bad experiences discouraged him from touring again. In 1971 he joined the band Sawbuck. The band's members included Frank Vicari (who replaced Dave Liebman), Pee Wee Ellis, John Gatchell, John Eckert, Schuyler "Sky" I. Ford, Chris Qualles, and Jimmy Strassburg.[3] A year later the band was renamed Gotham and recorded an album for Motown.[4] Chamberland died from leukemia at age 46 on June 24, 1987, in New York City.[5]

Guitars

Chamberland played a 1953 Fender Telecaster. In his search to get exactly the sound he wanted from the guitar, Chamberland modified it. From the top down, the guitar had Grover heads, a 1957 Stratocaster neck, Humbucker pick-ups, and a Gibson bridge and tailpiece. The bottom portion of the body was milled out to fit these last two things. Chamberland also modified the internal wiring. He had his bridge set abnormally high, raising the strings far off the fingerboard. This gave him his very distinctive clean tone, an example of which can be heard in his playing on "The Cat's Meow" (1965, The Orchids). The raised bridge required additional finger strength, particularly on high notes. In its original version, the Telecaster had the stock Fender bridge and tailpiece. In order to get the height on the strings that he wanted, Chamberland stuck popsicle sticks under the bridge to raise it higher.[6]

According to Tommy Mottola, other guitarists couldn't play Chamberland's Telecaster because of the way he modified it. He replaced the E-string, the bottom one, with a banjo A-string that he bent almost to the top of his Telecaster. Mottola said there was no way to bend a guitar string like that because of the tautness. But the banjo string was so thin that it allowed Chamberland to create his R&B style. Mottola said, "Nobody, nobody, nobody had a sound like Linc's."[1] The Telecaster became the property of Bob Maclauglin, one of Chamberland's students.[6]

In 1975 Chamberland purchased a 1960s Gibson L-5 from Arthur Betker and recorded two jazz albums for Muse. The L-5 became the property of guitarist Paul Sullivan, one of his students during the 1970s.[6]

Praise

Tommy Mottola, who in 1990 became the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, called Chamberland "one of the greatest guitarist of all time." In his 2013 book, Hit Maker, Mottola said, "You won't find any mention of Linc when Rolling Stone magazine does a cover story listing their top hundred guitarists. Take it from me. In 1966, you never heard anything like Linc."[1][7][8] Billy Vera, in his 2017 autobiography, referred to Chamberland as "the Telecaster genius."[9]

Discography

As leader
  • A Place Within (Muse, 1977)
  • Yet to Come with David Friesen (Muse, 1983)

As sideman
  • Dave Liebman, Light'n Up, Please (A&M/Horizon, 1977)
  • The Orchids, Twisting at the Round Table with the Orchids (Roulette, 1962)
  • The Rascals, Peaceful World (Columbia, 1971)
  • Ernie Wilkins, Hard Mother Blues (Mainstream, 1970)

References
  1. Mottola, Tommy (January 29, 2013). Hit Maker: The Man and His Music. Grand Central Publishing. pp. 23–. ISBN 978-1-4555-0543-2.
  2. "Hawiaan Life's TV & Radio: Questions," by Bert Darr, Hawaiaan Life (section of the Sunday Honolulu Star-Bulletin), May 6, 1962, pg. 9 (retrieved October 29, 2017, via newspapers.com at www.newspapers.com/image/269986947)
  3. Who's Who in Rock Music, Entry: "Gasmask," William York (ed.), Charles Scribner's Sons, 1982; OCLC 8034627
  4. Liebman, Dave; Porter, Lewis (2012). What it is: The Life of a Jazz Artist. Scarecrow Press. pp. 139–. ISBN 978-0-8108-8203-4.
  5. Betts, Graham (June 2, 2014). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. pp. 203–. ISBN 978-1-311-44154-6.
  6. "Linc Chamberland, Master Guitarist," by Rich Blechta, RickBlechta.com Mysteries & Music (website of Rick Blechta), August 1, 2004 (edit April 2, 2013) (retrieved October 26, 2017)
  7. Hermann, Mark (December 9, 2013). "Missing Linc: An Open Letter to My Great Mentor". Rock and Roll Zen. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  8. "The Tommy Mottola Nobody Knows," by Timothy White, Billboard, Vol 113, No. 30, July 28, 2001 (retrieved October 27, 2017, via ProQuest at search.proquest.com/docview/227124520)
  9. Vera, Billy (March 1, 2017). Billy Vera: Harlem to Hollywood. Backbeat Books. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-1-61713-694-8. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
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