Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys turned an old ballad called “Darling Nelly Gray” into the nation sensation “Faded Love.” Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, and Ray Cost each had top-ten singles with it, and many others have taped it. Here, Dix Bruce returns to the tune’s critical roots with a set of variations played on a 1974 S. L. Mossman Flint Hills Special, one of 27 instruments provided in the Acoustic Guitar Auction that starts May 13, 2021.
S. L. Mossman Flint Hills Special Dreadnought
This is number 857 of about 7,500 S. L. Mossman guitars, integrated in 1974, one year before a factory fire ruined Mossman’s stock of Brazilian rosewood. The Flint Hills Unique was the second of 4 models, all dreadnoughts, provided in the original Mossman line-up. It retailed for about $450 when acquired brand-new. It has the effective distinctive Mossman sound and response and represents a special chapter in American lutherie.
