I come to praise King Carson, not YouTube-linkblog him

Slow-start morning -- I've been thinking about Johnny Carson a lot lately, particularly how THE TONIGHT SHOW was remarkable for how it maintained a sense of energy and momentum even though it moved at a much slower pace than talk shows today. Whether that was Carson's genius as a host, his producers' knack for choosing the right mix of guests [and that guests would always stay on the couch for later guests], that the show was genuinely live, or if it's simply that posterity [and Carson's production company] has buried the boring shows, there's still a crackle and drama in even corny, old-folks segments like the many times Carson hosted Mel Blanc for no apparent reason beyond him wanting to hear Blanc do the classic bits and voices he used with Jack Benny.

In watching a bunch of Carsonia, I happened across this, which fired all of my guitar-nerd synapses at once:



I wish there was more "Lonesome" George Gobel easily available, especially his formative years as a singer/guitarist/comedian on the Chicago radio show NATIONAL BARN DANCE in the mid-'30s. After mustering out of the Army Air Corps. after WWII [he was such a local star that he was sworn into service on the radio], Gobel began a four-decade streak as a professional guest star on variety/talk/music shows briefly interrupted by his own popular NBC sitcom in the early '50s. Like Benny, you can see Gobel's influence on a young Carson.

But that's not at all what I can think about watching the above clip -- I can't take my eyes of his guitar. It's a Gibson L-5 model customized to Gobel's own specifications -- a thinline body, shorter-scale 24-3/4" neck, cutaway and cherry-red finish [a first for the company]. Formally designated an L-5CT and informally considered a stealth-signature "George Gobel" model, only 44 of them were made from 1958-1962. To invert one of Gobel's most famous ad-libs, it's a tuxedo in a world full of brown shoes -- although I wouldn't be surprised to discover that the L-5CT feels as comfortable as a pair of old brown shoes.