Hank Davidson: the man who inspired Robert Pollard to pick up the guitar
Robert Pollard, the leader of indie legends Guided by Voices, is one of the most fascinating musicians in rock music. In addition to being a pioneer of his genre, Pollard is one of the most prolific artists of all time, with thousands of songs registered to his name with BMI.
Covering many bases in his time, including lo-fi and psychedelia, Pollard’s output is nothing short of remarkable, particularly considering the high consistency level he’s maintained throughout most of his career. In addition to his extensive CV, Pollard is also a compelling character, which he always displays in interviews.
When speaking to Magnet in 1996 for an enlightening discussion, the Guided by Voices leader was asked the moment to describe when he realised he might “have a shot with music”. Pollard claimed he wasn’t blessed with much musical talent when growing up, apart from singing.
However, after hanging out with a group of guitar-playing “weirdoes” from the Dayton, Ohio, suburb of Northridge, he was “inspired” by the musician Hank Davidson to pick up the guitar, a significant turning point for him. Davidson made such an impact on Pollard that the song ‘Hank’s Little Fingers’ from Guided by Voices’ 1987 debut album, Devil Between My Toes, is about him.
“Growing up, I didn’t really have any musical talent. I could always sing, but that’s it,” Pollard told Magnet. “So I started hanging around with all these weirdoes from Northridge who could play guitar. And I would just watch them, ‘Wow, I’ve got to learn how to do that.’ That song ‘Hank’s Little Fingers’ (on Devil Between My Toes) – Hank (Davidson) is the guy that inspired me to play the guitar. He had a deformed hand with these little bitty fingers.”
Asked when this was, the Guided by Voices leader said: “Around ’75. I was either a senior in high school or a freshman in college. I had bought an acoustic guitar with my graduation money. And Hank inspired me to play it. I don’t think Hank knows about Guided By Voices—he’s this reclusive guy with long hair and long fingernails. I asked a friend of mine, ‘Should I tell Hank that he’s responsible for all of our success?’ He said, ‘No.’ ‘Well, should I tell him about the song ‘Hank’s Little Fingers’?’ He said, ‘No, Hank would not be happy with that.’ So Hank still doesn’t know.”
Elsewhere in the discussion, Pollard was reminded that he went to high school with the Grammy-winning country star Frank J. Myers. He was asked if the people of Northridge consider the country musician “more successful” than him. In his response, the frontman demonstrated that distinctive personality that has made Guided by Voices such an intriguing act for the best part of 40 years.
He replied: “Yeah. To them, he’s the shit. I’m still minor league. He lives in Nashville in a mansion, so people think he’s made it. I tell people, ‘More people know about me than Frankie Meyers,’ but they don’t believe me. What’s ironic is that he was my back-up quarterback in high school. Now most people think he surpassed me with music. But he can’t write songs like I can, so I’m still ahead of him.”
Listen to ‘Hank’s Little Fingers’ below.
