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“Baby, It’s The Guitar Man”

Some kids will do anything to get out of music lessons. But 10-year-old Jeff Brown just wanted a choice. He was given two weeks to learn to play the guitar or it was dreaded piano lessons for him. After his 14 days were up, he played his mother, Rosemary Brown, a song. His love affair with the guitar was born.

The oldest son of Pentecostal evangelists in Redkey, Ind., Brown’s family traveled a lot. Attending more than 40 schools throughout his childhood, he was part of a trio with his mother, a guitar player, and his brother, singing at churches and revivals around the country while his father preached. Jeff’s maternal grandfather, Isaac White, had been a fiddle player, and it seemed that music ran through the family’s veins.

At 15, Jeff left home and joined a band, the first of many. To support himself, he worked odd jobs at first with his father, then at General Motors’ Guide Corp. in Anderson, Ind. Thirty-two years later, he is a Local 2406 member at GM’s Service and Parts Operations (SPO) facility in Memphis, Tenn. But guitars are still the main chord running through his life.

Raised by conservative parents whose roots were in the Depression era, Jeff was dubious of the stock market and banks. In the 1980s he sold his stock in the company and bought guitars with the money. Once he had so many guitars he had to rent an apartment just to house them. Since then he’s narrowed his collection to around 60. They line the walls and rest in cradles on the floor of his music room, the place where he goes to relax, listen to music and pick tunes.

Each one of his instruments has a story. He has a 1960s 12-string Vox that he rescued from a garbage can, a rare 1935 R-18, and a 1920s Gibson. Close to his heart is a 1968 red and mahogany Goya Rangemaster in mint condition, which was played in his first band.

Along with a few mandolins, he also has a tenor ukulele he found covered in paint which he lovingly restored. Although Jeff has many guitars he would never part with for any amount of money, for 25 years he has given away guitars as presents to family and friends. He recently gave one worth more than $300 to his friend and co-worker Dennis Boyette when he turned 50. To the people in his life, those gifts come straight from his heart.

Musician finds harmony in his union, too

For a man who has such a generous spirit, it would seem natural he is a supporter of unions and what they do for working people. But that, like his guitar collection, was something that would take time to develop.

When he was 21 and new to unions and their philosophy, Brown was ambivalent about his support. As he matured and saw with his own eyes what unions stood for, he came to realize that his values and union values were in harmony with each other. It was during this time that he sold his GM stock. It seemed hypocritical to him to profit from plant closures and layoffs of his brothers and sisters “while the UAW fought for the preservation of those same jobs.”

“I truly believe the UAW has made it possible for thousands of American workers, like me, to own a part of the American dream, and for that I am truly thankful,” he says today.

He is a man who believes strongly in solidarity and that union members should give back to their fellow man. These are also gifts that come straight from his heart.