NMM 6190.  Electric lap steel guitar by Semie Moseley, Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, 1984. Ex coll.: Barbara Mandrell.  Board of Trustees, 1998. In 1984, Barbara Mandrell was in a car crash that left her severely injured. Moseley, Mandrell’s close friend, devised a creative get-well gift; an electric lap-steel guitar built as a functional crutch and finished in a bright blue metallic lacquer. When Moseley delivered the instrument, he fitted the instrument to her height in Mandrell’s husband’s basement workshop. On the back, Moseley dedicated it to her with an inscription, Barbara! With God / You Will Make it / Jesus Loves You / and I Love You / Semie 1984. Not only was she touched by the gift, but she also wrote that "It plays great, too!" Click on image above to see an enlargement of Barbara Mandrell's letter that documents the story of her crutch guitar. Semie Moseley poses with Ken Dudney (Barbara Mandrell's husband) in Dudney's basement workshop where Moseley customized the length of the guitar to fit the 5'2"musician. Fretboard and Engraved Dedication Plaque Details of the Tuners, Power Controls, and Pickup The power controls are located at the side of the crutch.  The pickup casing is labelled: M [in a circle] mosrite® / OF CALIFORNIA. Literature:  Darcy Kuronen, Dangerous Curves:  The Art of The Guitar (Boston:  Museum of Fine Arts, 2000), pp. 194, 223. Return to Semie Moseley (Mosrite) Guitar Checklist National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD 57069 ©National Music Museum, 2005 Most recent update: October 23, 2007 You are the 23,719th visitor to this page since April 11, 2005 The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page