By Eric Kwiatkowski

Back in the 1960s, if you lived in England, had been inspired by the great Doc Watson and wanted to play some of his hot flatpicked material, you were on your own. No instruction videos, no tapes, no transcriptions. Only your ears and hands could give you what you wanted, plus a liberal sprinkling of talent. Enter Thaddeus.

Shortly after the appearance of Doc Watson's first groundbreaking LP, a hugely talented teenage Thaddeus was playing Black Mountain Rag for us all. June Apple followed, along with material from the great Don Reno. I remember Thaddeus playing Gathering Flowers from the Hillside during an afternoon gig in the foyer of Nottingham's Playhouse theatre, and the applause he got. His guitar work was beautiful - it was all there, the tremolo, the guitar back - up for the vocals - so right. That was the thing; as well as the proper notes, Thaddeus had got the feel for the music. His guitar playing was astonishing in many ways. His trademark Guild D-40 was fitted with heavy gauge strings, played with a stiff tortoiseshell type plectrum. Thaddeus produced a solid powerful tone and volume - for example, the Stanley Brothers' If I Lose guitar solo was faithfully recreated, with a real bass quality on the low strings. He was also innovative, and possessed a very fast right hand. I remember him at Reg Cooper's club at the Milton's Head Hotel, Nottingham in the 1960s. The banjoist with him (it would have been Terry Foster or Bill Griffin) had just played through Scruggs' Dear Old Dixie. Thaddeus raised his guitar slightly, stepped up to the microphone, and fearlessly unleashed a torrent of alternately picked notes, which of course brought the house down. I also recall him jamming outside at the Wheatsheaf pub on a summer's evening at Cropwell Bishop village, playing a beautiful solo for Cedar Hill, a tune on an early Bill Clifton LP.

Thad and his wife Angela
at Liecester, Dec 2004

As well as his stunning lead work, Thaddeus played very tasteful backup guitar. I remember seeing him at an event at Islington Town Hall, wearing a Stetson hat and standing alone with Brian Golbey, playing accompanying runs behind Brian's fiddle.

White Lightning, a group fronted by Thaddeus with brother George on fiddle, Bernie Fallon on bass and Terry Foster on banjo were very popular in the early 1970s, with a considerable Stanley Brothers influence in their material. Bluegrass Unlimited published an article about them; some of you may remember it. To this day, they are well thought of and remembered by the aficionados who heard them in action. More recently, Thaddeus and Angela, his wife, had once again been playing the music they loved to appreciative audiences.

There is no doubt that had he chosen to do so, Thaddeus could have joined any American bluegrass group and been successful in the USA. Instead, we were privileged to witness his considerable talents in England. He enriched our lives, and he will be remembered with affection by many.

Eric Kwiatkowski, Nottingham

Eric has contributed several guitar tabs

18 Sept 2004