"If you don't make any mistakes, there won't be any." -George Barnes

Thank God Dad's perfectionism only applied to his (and everyone else's) music! His other favorite quote was the last line of Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot", in which Jack Lemmon, dressed as a woman, reveals his true sex to the amorous Joe E. Brown; and Joe E. cheerfully shrugs, "Nobody's perfect." Dad quoted that often, acknowledging his understanding of human nature.

Dad's classic admonition against flubs still floats among studio players in New York and Chicago (of whom there are fewer than in my father's heyday). Time is still money in their world -- you can't be late for the gig, you must be tuned up and ready to go on the downbeat, and you have to be able to read fast and have the facility to replicate whatever sound is asked of you. Now.

I've been writing on and off about life in that world for the past four years (started as a screenplay, has morphed into a book). Soon (as soon as a few other projects get off the ground) I'll focus entirely on the story, a child's eye view of growing up in the New York City music scene of the 60's and 70's.

In the meantime, Mom and I have decided to sell Dad's Guild Acousti-Lectric guitar (the guitar he designed in the early 60's and the only instrument he played until his death) via a lovely San Diego couple, Richard and Annetta Glick, who own and operate Fine Guitar Consultants and who have had custody of the guitar for a little over a year. A new push is afoot to find the right home for the Acousti-Lectric. Paul Simon wanted to buy it the year after Dad died; we weren't ready to sell. Larry Coryell, who played it in a jam with Joe Beck at NAMM earlier this year, wants to record with it. It's an incredible instrument with a rich background. Take a look at the list of rock 'n' roll records on which this guitar appears (www.fineguitarconsultants/guildgb.htm) and you'll get an idea of George Barnes' place in music history. But wait: there's so much more...

...and someday, I promise, you'll read all about it. But it has to be perfect.