Hi there. I recently acquired a Zager and I really like it. I probably never would’ve discovered it without the particular circumstance in which I got it. I’d like to share the story with you in appreciation of your fine guitars.

I’ve been writing songs for many years. I’ve given up a few times over the frustration of life and the lack of finding commercial success. This story reflects a new experience with music.

A few years ago I found out that an old friend was ill. He wasn’t a close friend, more like a friend of a friend, but someone I knew well enough and always enjoyed his company. He was someone who was always busy with projects and was rarely seen running wild around town like I was.

In 1985 in Lubbock, Texas, on weekends, we were usually hanging out with friends, looking for girls (unsuccessfully), and racing up and down the local cruise, driving and riding in hot rod cars and pickup trucks. My friend, Chuck was usually home tinkering in his shop, working on whatever car project he had going. On occasion, he would take something out for a test run. For a while he had a 1966 Chevy pickup he tinkered on. He found an old can of paint and temporarily colored his truck John Deere Yellow. He made me realize back then that even a dumb ol’ teenager could do some amazing work. He was inspiring.

When I heard he was sick a few years ago, with complications from Diabetes, I thought I’d write a funny little song about him as a gift to lift his spirits.

At the time, I just happened to be visiting Lubbock often, helping out and eventually moving my elderly Mom closer to me in Austin. I’d seen Chuck a few months before and he was recovering from a broken hip. He was having a hard time but getting around okay and still making everyone laugh. It was hard to tell just how sick he was and I honestly couldn’t fully conceive it anyway. I had the chance to show him my first draft of the song lyrics about a year later, around Thanksgiving 2022. The song was called, “Banana Truck Chuck”.

By then he was completely blind in one eye and had been on a steady routine of Dialysis every night for a few years. He’d been injecting Insulin even longer. He was exhausted and weak, but somehow was still in good spirits and made it out to a friend’s house. We talked about the song, which I only had a little guitar riff at that point, and he made some observations about my memories of the old days and told some characteristically funny stories. He also told me about his guitar and told me it was made by the guy that had the hit song, ‘In The Year 2525’.

I got back to Austin and worked on music when I could. I was aware that I might be pressed for time, but I didn’t want to force it. Amazingly, it just came together quickly on it’s own. Soon I recorded it and released it worldwide, all the while hoping his health would allow him to hear it.

For me, it was strange to do all this. I didn’t know if it was appropriate. I didn’t know if he or his family or our friends would appreciate or understand it. His family didn’t know me at all. I was full of doubt and insecurities. I wasn’t getting any feedback so I naturally assumed it wasn’t going over well.

I finally summoned the courage and called Chuck on the phone after a couple weeks. It was the first time I’d ever really talked to him one on one and he seemed amused with the song. We actually got into some deep conversation about his illness and his struggle. He was optimistic and funny and just living one day at a time. I felt like we were now close friends, after so many years. It was a good talk.

I’d vaguely remembered what he said about his guitar but forgot the name of it. I wanted to look it up so he told me again. I found it online and thought, cool, and that was it. I didn’t dig very deep since I was not in the market for another guitar. I just bought a basic model Martin for recording. I had to save money for a very long time. And I do like it. I have an old Takamine that doesn’t record well and a very old Fender that fret buzzes. I usually used the Fender anyway with White Bronze strings for recording.

I thought I should make a music video for the song, so I bought a 1/24 scale model 1966 Chevy pickup toy and painted it John Deere Yellow. I even made it a remote control.

I had another trip planned to Lubbock and thought I would take some extra time and shoot video footage around our old stomping grounds. Each visit, Chuck was in a deeper decline. He was unable to get around without his wife’s help and mostly stayed on the couch in front of a mountain of boxes of Dialysis fluid. Chuck’s eyesight was failing even more so I decided to give him the little truck when I was done since he probably wasn’t going to be able to actually see the video. I dropped it off and visited again late one Saturday night. He was looking very pale and his strength was drained as he asked his wife to get out his guitar. I played it for a while and he really enjoyed it. He was making up lyrics and smiling and laughing. It was a very good time. I told him it was a really nice guitar. Better than any of mine.

He called me a few weeks later. He was saying goodbye to friends and family. He had gone completely blind and lost his desire to live. It was not a sudden decision. He thanked me for the song and we had another deep conversation about life and illness and death. Even laughed a little more. He confided more in me than most, I presume. It was another good talk. Obviously, it would be our last conversation. I was happy to describe my ideas for the music video. It was almost like he could see it. He died from Kidney failure two days later after stopping Dialysis.

Before I attended his funeral (and nervously played his song – and edited a few inappropriate words), I got to meet his family. Almost everyone mentioned how much Chuck liked the song and how he told everyone he saw to listen to it. Friends, family, and neighbors. I was very surprised. I had no idea that he liked it that much. They all said it made him very happy and they appreciated that I could give him that. It made them happy to see Chuck happy in his final three months.

The last few years, I’ve been struggling with the meaning of why I want to play music. I’m frustrated and tired of not getting anywhere and I don’t have the resources to make success happen. The time, money, or energy. It sometimes feels futile, vain, and self centered, especially on social media. And sometimes I feel like someone might think I’m exploiting and using other people’s lives as inspiration for my own profit.

But, writing this song for Chuck and seeing the happiness it brought him made me realize something profound.It’s not my music. It doesn’t belong to me. Just because I create it from thoughts and memories (and somewhere else I can’t explain), it isn’t just for me. Success doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t even have to be a good song to be a good thing.

That probably sounds stupid and simple, but it’s taken me a lifetime (and some deaths) to understand. A few years before Chuck died, another friend died of Cancer. A very close friend, and I had a song for him too, but I was too caught up in my own head to properly share it with him. This time, with Chuck, I hadn’t realized all that yet, but I knew I didn’t want to regret not sharing something again.

I was told at his funeral, in return, Chuck wanted me to have his Zager guitar. The one I played that Saturday night and brought him a little happiness.

I don’t know how he discovered Zager, but I do know he was very particular about quality and craftsmanship. I’m honored to play his guitar and will always remember the lessons I’ve learned through his life and his death.

He gave me so much more than I gave him. A profound clarity that music is much more than just notes and words, and it belongs to no one, but everyone.

All these thoughts and feelings are housed in a Zager guitar that you built and was signed in 2012. I’ve modified the pick guard and painted it John Deere Yellow. I really appreciate the quality of this guitar. It was enjoyable to play from the very first strum. Chuck picked a nice guitar.

The video is not available yet, but you can find multiple links to the song here:https://songwhip.com/thebigsid/banana-truck-chuck

Thanks for creating a wonderful instrument. It’s now meaningfully bonded in life and in death.

Sincerely, Sidney Stephens www.theBigSid.biz