Acclaimed Edgewood blues guitarist Pavone 'touched by the divine'
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By Rege Behe
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Everyone who knew Glenn Pavone talks about not only how he could play guitar, but how he treated people.
"When somebody dies, everybody gets on TV and says he was the nicest guy," said Ron Esser, owner of Moondog's in Blawnox, where Mr. Pavone frequently performed with his band, the Cyclones. "But with Glenn Pavone, he was the nicest guy I've ever met in my life."
Mr. Pavone, 52, of Edgewood, died Monday, Aug. 9, 2010, after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Nancy.
Generally acknowledged as the best guitarist in Western Pennsylvania, Mr. Pavone, who grew up in Alexandria, Va., came to Pittsburgh in 1982 to play with Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band. Price remembers Mr. Pavone's talent as unlike that of his peers.
"There are guys who have a tremendous work ethic and work hard to get as good as they can," Price said. "Glenn worked really hard, but he had a natural gift. He was touched by the divine or something."
Esser remembers fielding a call from Mark Wenner of the Nighthawks, a nationally touring blues band from Washington, D.C., asking if he'd help recruit Mr. Pavone for the group.
Mr. Pavone told Esser he preferred being at home.
"Glenn could have been a megastar," Esser said. "There was never any debate he was the best guitarist in the area. But as a human being, there was no one better."
Outside of his family and music, Mr. Pavone's other love was golf. Rick Phillips of Lower Burrell recalls Mr. Pavone frequenting the golf shop where Phillips worked in Murrysville.
They eventually struck up a friendship, and Mr. Pavone would occasionally play private parties at Phillips' home, where Phillips would warn guests not to be in the pool while the guitarist played lest Mr. Pavone's playing electrified them.
Phillips rarely missed a chance to see Mr. Pavone perform.
"He could make a guitar do things that I never heard before," Phillips said. "He was one with the guitar, just a real natural."
When Mr. Pavone performed with other musicians from the area in July at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank's largest annual event, it was obvious he wasn't feeling well.
"But he had guts," Esser said. "How many people after suffering for so long would go up in front of people and play? It was like he was doing it for (the audience) and the food bank. And Norman (Nardini, a longtime friend and musical colleague) more or less made it into a tribute for him."
Mr. Pavone played in Price's band for eight years before forming the Cyclones. In November, he took the stage with Price's band for the last time in Johnstown. Price said Mr. Pavone just "plugged in and played" as if the 20 years since he had left the band had never happened.
"He was very humble," Price said. "He didn't play because he wanted to be out in front of people. He played because it was a natural part of who he was."
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Burket-Truby Funeral Home, 421 Allegheny Ave., Oakmont. A funeral will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday in Riverside Community Church, 401 Allegheny Ave., Oakmont.
And so castles made of sand melts into the sea, eventually.........
