On This Day: Marshall Crenshaw Is Born in 1953

Original editorial illustration of Marshall Crenshaw based on his documented 2013 appearance. Visual reference: Marshall Crenshaw, photographed by David Lee, CC BY 2.0. Pose, setting and lighting changed. This is not a photograph or reconstruction of that performance. No endorsement implied.

A November 11 birthday is a good reason to return to the guitars and full-take rhythm playing behind Field Day.

Marshall Crenshaw was born on November 11, 1953. His self-titled debut includes “Someday, Someway”, but the guitar story stretches well beyond that familiar single. For this birthday, his own account of making Field Day offers a useful listening route.

A riff that arrived early

In a retrospective Vintage Guitar interview on his official website, Crenshaw recalls writing “Whenever You’re on My Mind” with Bill Teeley in 1979. The guitar parts were already taking shape years before their appearance on his second album.

The guitars behind Field Day

Crenshaw identifies a Stratocaster through a Vox AC30 as the main combination. He also recalls an Epiphone Coronet with a P90 and a 1955 Gretsch Jet Firebird, with a Boss analog delay between guitar and amplifier. The interview does not name an exact Boss model or put one guitar on every song.

Just as revealing is his approach to rhythm playing: he aimed to record the principal part in a complete pass, starting over when he made a mistake. Listen to the performance as a whole, then return to the details of the guitar arrangement.

A shared birthday

Crenshaw shares November 11 with Dave Alvin, who was born in 1955. In his 2013 Popdose interview, Crenshaw mentioned their shared birthday while discussing plans to tour together.

Revisit Field Day today. Which Crenshaw guitar part would you put first on a birthday playlist?

Sources: Marshall Crenshaw’s 2013 Popdose interview; his Vintage Guitar interview; official discography.