Biography of George Van Eps

Guitarist George Van Eps was a prolific contributor to the swing and cool eras. His mother was a pianist and his father a prominent ragtime banjo player. Van Eps taught himself banjo and became a professional at 11. He began playing guitar at 13, and was teaching at 15. He played with Smith Ballew from 1929 to 1931, and spent six months working with his idol, Eddie Lang. Later in the '30s, Van Eps played with Freddy Martin, Benny Goodman and Ray Noble. He was a freelance studio musician in Hollywood in the late '30s and early '40s, designed a seven-string guitar and wrote a text on guitar playing. He reunited with Noble in 1940 and 1941, then worked in his father's recording laboratory. Van Eps went back to the West Coast, where he continued doing various sessions. He participated in the film "Pete Kelly's Blues" and television series of the same name in the mid and late '50s. He played at various festivals in the '60s and '70s, and worked with Peanuts Hucko in 1986. He had three brothers who were also professional musicians. ~ Ron Wynn