Entertainer Shoji Tabuchi 7/12 | 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans

Asian American Profiles

KING OF BRANSON

PAGE 7 OF 12

     "I traveled every state of the union," Tabuchi recalls of his years with Houston between 1970 and 1975. During those six years he appeared with every top country musician, including Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark, Dolly Parton and Crystal Gayle. He and MaryJo moved to Shreveport, then to neighboring Bossier City.

     Working as Houston's opening act gave Tabuchi the valuable opportunity to establish his musical identity and lay the foundation for his later success.

     "I was unique," says Tabuchi. "I was completely different from anyone else because I had classical training. Some bluegrass old-time fiddlers will say that that's not fiddling. I admit I'm not [an] old-time fiddler. I'm not trying to be [an] old-time fiddler. Old-time fiddling is a totally different art. I don't take it lightly, neither. The bowing is different. [For a] classically trained artist to do old-time fiddling is very very awkward on the bowing. Since then I learned some old-time fiddling things, but still I'm not by far expert in old-time fiddling."

     Tabuchi is firm in his belief that classical training is the best possible training even for those aspiring to become country fiddlers.

     "Positioning the finger and getting the clear sound," he says. "Even in the rock and roll field and country field or bluegrass field, there's a bunch of trained violinists."

     Opening Houston's show also gave Tabuchi the chance to develop his showmanship.

     "That's when I learned the art of communicating with [an] audience," says Tabuchi. He also forced himself to add singing to his act. "Vocals are pure necessity. You can't just play violin to [an] audience." Tabuchi admits that even now he finds it difficult to sing, in part because of his accent.

     In 1974 MaryJo gave birth to a son they named Shoji John Tabuchi. By then Tabuchi was making $500 a day and was well able to buy a house and provide for his family. The problem was, his success as an opening act kept him on the road most of the year.

     His years with Houston made Tabuchi a familiar name in Nashville circles, and he was becoming dissatisfied with his role as an opening act. "I saw I had to do something to advance myself," he explains.

     In 1975 he left David Houston's show to strike out and make a name for himself as a headliner. The reputation he had developed allowed him to keep busy, going from Texas and Oklahoma dance halls to night clubs for concerts.

     "I wasn't making great money but I always had a good working date, number of dates. You actually worry, you know, when you go on your own, [about] where you're going to work." Without the money to put together his own band, he played with pick-up and house bands. His race, says Tabuchi, was never a handicap. "If you have two musicians who play the same, who would you remember?" He does admit to having occasionally experienced hostility from members of the bands he was thrown together with. "I learned how to communicate with musicians," he says stoically.

     The constand separation proved fatal to the marriage. He refuses to offer anything more specific than, "We grew apart." Pressed for details, he insists, "People say 'grew apart'." Officially the marriage lasted 18 years, but divorce not being finalized until 1986, but by 1976, scarcely two years after John's birth, Tabuchi was separated from MaryJo though his nominal home remained with her. He was the one who wanted the separation, but he denies having dated other women during that time. MaryJo, who has not remarried, lives today in Bosier City, Louisianna with Tabuchi's 18-year-old son.

     "She's a fine lady," Tabuchi says with some feeling. "She's a good mother, she's swell human being and there's no problem there."

     Tabuchi speaks with his son by phone every other week. "He's a good kid. He's taking care of his mother very well. They get along real well."

CONTINUED BELOW

     In 1980 he was returning from a concert engagement in Illinois when he was offered a six-month gig as a headliner at the Starlite Theater in Branson. It didn't take Tabuchi long to see the benefits of putting down roots in a town where the fans came to see him instead of the other way around. During his first few months in Branson, he became reacquainted with Mike Ito, the banjo-player he had met in Nashville in 1968. Ito was playing with a Branson act called the Bald Knobbers. He introduced Tabuchi to a beautiful blonde who for several years had been coming to Branson for the shows. "She went to Silver Dollar City, she went to [the] Presley [family theater], she actually went to every show," says Tabuchi to convey the degree of Dorothy's enthusiasm for country music shows. The Bald Knobbers had been one of her favorites. "She used to come with family, she used to come with friends."

     "She was with people," recalls Tabuchi of his first meeting with Dorothy. "I thought she was a gorgeous lady, gorgeous and sophisticated, but that was it. [I would have] liked to get to know her but didn't even have a chance to talk to her. I looked up and she was gone. Then I didn't think about [her]. We didn't see each other for six or seven months."

     According to Tabuchi, Dorothy, who had been married to a wealthy farmer, was already divorced with an infant daughter named Christina. He believes she was attracted to him but was already involved in another relationship.

     The next time he saw her was in Dallas at a show called the Grapevine Opry. Dorothy had come to see the show, not knowing that Tabuchi was a guest performer. After the show he spotted her in the audience while giving out autographs. Each remembered the other. After a brief conversation they again went their separate ways. PAGE 8

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