Spoiler : Rey, Alvino (birth name was Alvin Henry McBurney) Born in Oakland, California 7/1/1908; died 2/24/2004 from complications of pneumonia and congestive heart failure at a rehabilitation center in Draper, Utah. Rey had been living in Sandy, Utah since 1979. Married to Louise King of the King Sisters vocal group (1937-1997 her death). Rey and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when he was a teenager. He began playing the banjo, by 16 he had formed a band, by age 20 Rey was in New York playing banjo in the Phil Spitanly Orchestra. In 1929 he cashed in on a Latin music craze by changing his name to Alvino Rey, Alvino being the Spanish version of Alvin, Rey being Spanish for king.

Spoiler : In 1934 Rey joined Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights in San Francisco where he met Heidt's vocal quartet, the King Sisters. While with Heidt's band, he appeared on radio programs. In 1939 Rey formed his Alvino Rey Orchestra, the King Sisters group joined him. He is best known for his number one 1942 hit, Deep Purple. In 1942, Metronome Magazine All-Star Band poll named Rey the nation's top guitar player. In 1943, Rey broke up his band and joined the US Navy, serving until the end of WWII teaching at a naval electronics school, and briefly conducting an armed forces band.

Spoiler : Electronics competed with Rey's love of music, he built his first radio at age eight, and became one of the youngest licensed ham operators in America. As early as 1927, Rey took the needle mechanism from his mother's Victrola and put it in his banjo to increase the volume. In 1934, Gibson Guitar Company hired Rey to help work on their guitar pickup based on his original idea.

Spoiler : Guitar historian Lynn Wheelwright told the Salt Lake City Desert News in 1999, that Rey "is really the unsung hero of innovating the electric guitar." "He was either the first, or one of the first musicians to play electric guitar on radio." "Alvino owned the second production model electric guitar, and began using it immediately." Wheelwright stated that Rey's contribution to the development of the pedal steel guitar was even more significant.

Spoiler : Rey began tinkering with Hawaiian, or "lap" steel guitars, which were popular with big bands. By adding a pedal or two to the instrument to get shifts in the tuning. Thank tinkering led to research and development work with Gibson that evolved into the pedal steel guitar that is widely used in country music. Gibson sent Rey the first pedal steelguitar the company built. In 1978, Rey became the first inductee of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. The hall is located in St Louis, Missouri, where Rey is enshrined as, "the father of the pedal steel guitar."

Spoiler : Rey appeared in a few movies, usually conducting his orchestra. The movies were, Sing Your Worries Away (1942); Syncopation (1942); Follow the Band (1943); Larceny with Music (1943); Jam Session (1944).

Spoiler : For radio, Rey appeared on shows including Spotlight Bands, and was a guitarist on Gene Autry's Melody Ranch. The Alvino Rey Orchestra provided music for The King Family Show on ABC-TV .