Guitar Shorty : Santa Monica

Guitar Shorty, aka David Kearney, was born in Houston, Texas but raised in Kissimee, Florida. As a young boy he would sneak into his uncle’s room and try to play his guitar. He was so small his hands didn’t fit around it’s neck, so he would lean it against the wall and play it like a stand up bass. When other kids were in high school, Shorty was a student by day and a working musician by night. One evening when he went to work the marquis read, “The Walter Johnson Band featuring Guitar Shorty"; the name he would go by from then on was born. Right out of high school at the age of 16 Shorty joined Ray Charles and his band for a year. At the age of 17 he recorded a single under the direction of Willie Dixon on the Cobra label. When Shorty was lured away…