I got the very sad news last night that my friend Jerry Case passed away from complications of the cancer he’d been fighting.
Jerry was my neighbor, but I only recently got to know him. When I heard that there was an actual member of Bob Wills’s Texas Playboys living in the area, I didn’t think it was possible, especially since I thought I knew all of the area’s “legendary” musicians. But it was true, Jerry was a veteran of the last touring version of the Texas Playboys that Bob Wills played with, circa 1966–67. Jerry also had a long career in Texas playing Chet Atkins and Merle Travis thumb-style guitar as a child phenomenon, backing up lots of rockabilly acts on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas in the late 1950s, playing with other Texas honky-tonk legends like “Little” Joe Carson, and eventually becoming a wildly talented jazz guitarist who played with many of the Western swing and jazz bands in Texas before moving to Los Angeles several decades ago.
Jerry was a great guy, and once we made our introductions, we became fast friends, talking about music, guitars, and cars until we were blue in the face. I wanted him to teach me how to play jazz guitar, but he was such an advanced player there wasn’t much I could do except shoot some great phone videos of his awesome technique. He was a great chord-melody style player, and he played seven-string guitar like one of his heroes, George Van Eps, but in his own cool Texas country-influenced jazz style.
A few months ago, Jerry came over to my house, and we shot this video that detailed much of his very interesting life. I know he was very happy that we put this together. At the time, he told me that he had been diagnosed with cancer, but he thought it was a mild case and he hoped to beat it. He texted me a few more times over the last few months, sadly letting me know that his condition was getting worse, and although I had hoped he would recover enough to play and hang out again, his wife Maxine texted me last night to let me know that Jerry had lost his battle with cancer, and passed away yesterday evening.
You can’t say how these things in life are supposed to happen. I really regret not finding Jerry years ago (imagine my embarrassment when I realized a genuine Texas Playboy was living less than two miles from my house—and I didn’t KNOW?). But at the same time, I am so grateful for the little bit of time that I got to spend with him. He was a genuinely good dude, a kind heart and a gentle soul, and had incredible musical ideas and decades of experience and creativity that just spilled out of his mind. I am so glad I got to know him, and it was an honor to become his friend.
This year sucks. I am really tired of writing obituaries for my elder musician friends.
If you have the time, check out the interview and life story that I did with Jerry just a few months ago. It’s long, but I found his personal journey to be really interesting and I bet you will too.
My heart goes out to Jerry’s wife Maxine, his brother Johnny Case, and the rest of his family and friends. Condolences to all of them who were close to Jerry. May his memory be a blessing.
