David Schnaufer's journey from the Gulf Coast of Texas where he was born through his time when he “made it” to and in Nashville forms the setting for much of Pluck. It is in Nashville that David's fame grew as the world's greatest dulcimer musician of his time.
In 1991, in an appearance on the television program, Nashville Now, host Charlie Chase asked him, “Who taught you to play the dulcimer?”
Like Buddy Guy, the internationally acclaimed bluesman, David rarely if ever spoke in public about the work he did to fulfill his dream. In every interview in which he was asked, he’d talk about the others who either inspired him (starting with The Rolling Stones) and/or who directly helped him along the way: the musicians, songwriters and friends whom he met throughout his life like Bob Force, Bonnie Carol, Leo Kretzner, Vince Farsetta, Cyndi Lauper; the Chieftains, the Russell family of West Virginia, and countless other musicians. He would credit his brother Eric, his father, and, later, even his students for their contributions to his considerable talent. Throughout his life he publicly acknowledged that he stood on the shoulders of others, that his success was the result of shared effort by many people he met on his life’s journey, and even many whom he had not met but who came before him. Many of his friends followed his example and helped tell David’s story for Pluck.
When Charlies Chase asked him, “Who taught you to play the dulcimer?” David answered, “Just about everybody.”
I like that about him. Very much.
Scene from David talking with Charlie Chase about the dulcimer in 1991. Courtesy of the
Country Music Hall of Fame.