Wolf Marshall is one of the most published and best known educators in the jazz guitar world. He has authored acclaimed books on the most important artists of the genre such as George Benson, Charlie Christian and many others. As a performing artist, he has appeared with Burt Bacharach, Kenny Burrell, B.B. King and John Pisano to name a few. He has led his own bands for the last 20 years, performing around the world. Marshall has been teaching jazz guitar at UCLA since 2007.
My short story: Wolf Marshall on Betnun Music
Back in the golden age of rock music in Hollywood, early-mid ‘60s, I was fortunate to have lived three blocks away from one of the coolest places on the face of the planet– no, I don’t mean ABC studios but Betnun Music. Sol Betnun, his wife Lil and the family (sons Nate and Mel and daughter Shirley) ran a store located in their home on Melbourne. I lived on Russell in those days; it was a hop, skip & jump away from an unbelievable fantasy world. Sol was a musician himself and really empathized with the plight of aspiring young players who came into his store looking for a decent instrument at an affordable price. I was obsessed with music and guitar as a kid so when I wandered into Betnun’s it was like a dream world filled with vintage guitars and amps (though nobody knew that at the time). There were guitars and instruments in every room! When I was fourteen I got my first REAL guitar from Betnun Music, a ’57 Les Paul Junior, and learned a bunch of songs on that inspiring guitar.
Me at 14 with my ’57 Les Paul Junior acquired from Betnun Music when it was on Melbourne Street. This pic also appears in Julia Crowe’s famous book My First Guitar (ECW Press, 2012) on page 189-192.
I attended high school with Mel. He was a classmate also interested in music; he played the sax like his dad. We became friends; he was learning electric bass and we briefly formed a teenage band playing surf music and such. Big fun was had at rehearsals where we plugged used Strats, Jazzmasters, P-Basses and the like into Dual Showman, Twin and SuperReverb amps. We were just kids getting acquainted with the instruments and chasing the dream—but what a way to learn! It was glorious and transcendent…all happening in this beautifully informal environment of a nondescript house on a nondescript neighborhood street in East Hollywood. At that age when we were just captivated children and we were drawn to guitars but regularly shooed away from the “name stores” like Music City, Guitar Villa and Music Center in Hollywood. Not at Betnun’s…he had heart and a real love for aspiring players. It was an unforgettable experience. Later, when I was an active professional musician in the ‘80s I purchased my first vintage Strat from Betnun Music.
My first REAL Strat, also purchased at Betnun Music (Larchmont). This was pictured on the cover of guitar course Wolf Marshall Guitar Method (1992, Hal Leonard), cover of AMS catalog (1994) and in my first Vintage Guitar interview in 2001. It’s been played by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Larry Carlton, Allan Holdsworth and Steve Lukather during our interviews.
He had moved to a much larger and more formal facility on Larchmont Street in West Hollywood. By then, Betnun Music was an established business with cachet and a clientele that included serious studio musicians and rock stars as well as local up-and-coming players. Sol was still the great guy he’d been back in the day and happened to have a fantastic instrument that was perfect for my local performances, studio dates and road gigs: a ’64 L-series Strat that now feels like an old friend from a past life. I still have that wonderful guitar. It’s my favorite; I treasure it and play it regularly. And when I do I think of Sol Betnun, Betnun Music and the fantastic times we had in that legendary dream world.
–––Wolf Marshall