For many musicians, life’s journey is accompanied by a constant friend: the guitar. Maybe it’s a little battered and road-worn. It has seen as many bar rooms and campfires as its owner. Whether displayed and played consistently, or tucked away for a season, that guitar comes to represent a musician’s creative path.
For KC Craine, his guitar is his means to “leave a legacy of music and guitar” for his children and the next generation. He is an author, producer and a teacher whose masterful instrumental guitar compositions have been used in film and television.
But it wasn’t always that way. Beginning as a folk singer, Craine hustled his way through the 1980s San Francisco music scene, sharing the stage with Huey Lewis, Jefferson Starship and Eddie Money. However, what he calls “an ill-fated record deal” led him to leave music behind entirely. Almost.
“I sold all of my gear,” Craine says. “All except one old 1966 Martin D-28 that was my first good guitar. I got married, started a family, and that guitar stayed tucked away under the bed for years until one day I brought it out and started playing at night for the kids. I’d make up songs to soothe them to sleep. That started a second wind for me, where I found a place for guitar and music in my life again.”
Craine’s personal journey echoes through the song “Daddy’s Old Guitar” as he imagines a son finding the guitar his father played for him at night and rediscovering a love of music. The melodic, dreamy tones of Craine’s guitar performance create a sense of nostalgia and longing. The listener can imagine how a childhood filled with music makes the guitar a source of comfort and self-expression. And, after all, it has worked: Both of Craine’s kids now play the guitar.
