19 Facts About Stefan Grossman

Stefan Grossman was born on April 16,1945 and is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records.

Stefan Grossman is known for his instructional videos and Vestapol line of videos and DVDs.

Stefan Grossman began playing acoustic guitar at the age of nine, when his father bought him an archtop-style acoustic guitar made by Harmony.

Stefan Grossman took guitar lessons for several years from Rev Gary Davis, whom he later described as "one of the greatest exponents of fingerstyle blues and gospel guitar playing" and "an incredible genius as a teacher".

Stefan Grossman spent countless hours learning and documenting Davis's music, recording much of it on a tape recorder, and developing a form of tablature to take down his teacher's instructions.

Subsequently, Stefan Grossman spent about three months with The Fugs and a further four months with a band called Chicago Loop.

Stefan Grossman played on Pat Kilroy's Light of Day album released in 1966.

In 1967, Stefan Grossman travelled to Europe, as a first step on a planned journey to India which was not completed.

Stefan Grossman traveled widely in Europe and eventually settled in Italy, where he lived for seven years.

Stefan Grossman saw a niche in the market for solo acoustic guitar records which were accompanied by a tablature book to allow the buyer to try playing the arrangements and, with his friend Ed Denson taking care of the US side of business, founded Kicking Mule Records.

Stefan Grossman released his own original and instructional albums on KM, the latter including seminal works such as Fingerpicking Guitar Techniques, How To Play Ragtime Guitar and Famous Ragtime Guitar Solos which had a major influence on acoustic guitarists in Europe, the UK and the US.

In 1971, Stefan Grossman composed and played the soundtrack to Swedish director Bo Widerberg's bio-pic Joe Hill.

Stefan Grossman began to acquire concert footage of the old blues and country artists who had been rediscovered in the 1960s and had often made TV appearances; this was the basis of Vestapol Videos, which edited and reissued this footage.

Much of the music which Stefan Grossman recorded on vinyl during his years in Europe has been reissued on CD, as have many of the Kicking Mule albums, including a 2008 reissue of the original How To Play Blues Guitar LP from 1967, including outtakes and later recordings from subsequent editions of the album.

Stefan Grossman resumed touring in 2006, since and has appeared in Europe and Japan as well as the US.

Stefan Grossman is a frequent visitor to England and conducts well-attended guitar workshops as well as giving concerts.

Stefan Grossman's principal acoustic guitar was a 1930 Martin OM-45 which he later sold.

Stefan Grossman uses Franklin guitars, made by Nick Kukich, since the 1970s and a custom Martin HJ-38 since 2008.

Stefan Grossman owns numerous guitars from different builders, including John Greven, Tony Klassen and Ed Foley.