I Love You Because - Carl Smith - Who Played Steel??

Lynn Stafford · Post by **Lynn Stafford** » 14 Feb 2008 4:49 pm

Does anyone know who played steel on this great recording? Key of C - C6th. I've almost got the intro and solo figured out but it would be great to locate the tab (if it even exists). Anyone have it?

Much thanks,

Lynn

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 14 Feb 2008 5:04 pm

Curly Chalker, C6 tuning. Pretty simple arrangement, actually. Just played correctly.

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 14 Feb 2008 5:05 pm

I believe it was Curly Chalker at about the time Deep Water was recorded. CC

Gary Walker · Post by **Gary Walker** » 17 Feb 2008 11:36 pm

Curly did this session sometime in 1969. Also Smith's "Good Deal Lucille" featured Curly's knocked out C6 work, as only he could do it.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 24 Dec 2008 11:49 am

Gary Walker wrote:Curly did this session sometime in 1969. Also Smith's "Good Deal Lucille" featured Curly's knocked out C6 work, as only he could do it.

I never saw a low C string on Curly's published tunings but it sure sounds like he tuned to low C on this one.

Pat Goodbla · Post by **Pat Goodbla** » 24 Dec 2008 3:37 pm

Lynn....

Got it in my head thanks to Buzz, but extracting it is the challenge. There's a lot of stuff swimming around in there....bursting at the seams. My RAM has always been a little on the low side.

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 24 Dec 2008 4:04 pm

I pretty sure it was Big Jim Murphy. "I love You Because" was off the Carl Smith 25th Anniversary Album. They're were a couple of recent Youtube videos of "Deep Water" and "She Called Me Baby", also from that album.

Murph was shown in both videos playing a ZB. His tone and phrasing were amazing.......very Chalker-esque but a much "blusier" feel......For some reason these videos were pulled off of Youtube.

The Chalker vs. Murph thing has been discusssed before. Check out the link below.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... jim+murphy

Pat Goodbla · Post by **Pat Goodbla** » 24 Dec 2008 4:40 pm

Good call Tony. It was Big Jim. I was looking for those YouTube posts, and couldn't find them either.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 Dec 2008 4:50 pm

so herb is lying...?

i always understood the carl smith 'i love you because' album was curly on everything.

jim sounded very similar on c6...my friend just told me that the egos were always flying between each of them...both claiming to be the best!

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 24 Dec 2008 5:32 pm

Is somebody callin' me a lyin' sumbitch mud dog here?!?!

Hey, who licked the red off YOUR candy cane, huh?

Murph was definitely on the album "Carl Smith and the Tunesmiths," but I'm pretty certain it was Curly on "Love You Because," and "Good Deal Lucille."

However, if someone has the Carl Smith discography and is not just surmising, I'll be willing to sit corrected.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 24 Dec 2008 6:11 pm

Herb Steiner wrote: but I'm pretty certain it was Curly on ... "Good Deal Lucille."

Would Curly have had a low C string back then? Would he tune to low C for one song (scordatura) ?

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 24 Dec 2008 6:43 pm

"scordatura"??

You do and you'll clean it up!!!

Pat Goodbla · Post by **Pat Goodbla** » 24 Dec 2008 7:07 pm

I thought I saw Big Jim on that video. But I could be mistaken.

It's all good.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 24 Dec 2008 7:16 pm

Are we talking about the You-Tube video or the Columbia recording? I'm talking about the Columbia recording. If it's the You-tube video being discussed, yes, it is Big Murph.

Mike Sweeney · Post by **Mike Sweeney** » 24 Dec 2008 7:44 pm

On the album cut of I Love You Because it was Curly, Murph played on Deep Water This much Curly told me. Jim Murphy did some of the 25th Aniversary album as did Curly and I Love You Because And Good Deal Lucille were 2 the Curly did.
Curly's low string was tuned to A and neither lowered or raised it.
Now if you want to call me a liar go ahead, Just ask Johnny Cox how far off base I am then get back to me after he answers you.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 Dec 2008 8:39 pm

well, frankly...do you think you can really trust anything steiner, chalker, murphy or cox has/had to say?? hardee har har....

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 24 Dec 2008 8:48 pm

Mike Sweeney wrote:... Good Deal Lucille were 2 the Curly did.
Curly's low string was tuned to A and neither lowered or raised it.

I was thinking he pulled the D down to open C. What do you think? Do those low C's sound like open strings? They sound too clean and consistent to be played on the A string.

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 24 Dec 2008 9:40 pm

Curly did not change his (A)-10th., and he did Lower his (D)-9th. to (C#) along with Raising his (C)-6th. to (C#). [No (C)'s in sight, open] Curly told me personally that no matter what his copedent was, he would always tune C6-open to A~D~F~A~C~E~G~A~C~E and that he saw no use for an Open (C), when you always either Raise it to (D) or Lower it to (A)! _ _ _ What amazes me even more about Curly's playing is how in the world he played all that Steel Guitar on his “BIG HITS on BIG STEEL” album, using only a D–8-str. Fender 1000!!!!!

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 25 Dec 2008 10:31 am

I'd love to know for sure, who played on which tracks. I'm pretty sure Murph played the majority of the steel & all of the tenor work on that session.

Regardless, the fact that we're having difficulty discerning Murph vs. Curly's playing, underscores the fact that Big Jim's C6th playing is second to none. IMO Murph has been a very underrated,or at least, unrecognized, player.

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 25 Dec 2008 11:27 am

Curly Chalker played Steel on Carl Smith's recording of: “I Love You Because”!

Gary Ball · Post by **Gary Ball** » 25 Dec 2008 1:37 pm

For anybody interested in listening to a near copy of Chalker's version of I Love You Because go to Charles Tilley's site and go to the B's and click on Duane Becker. Duane tried to copy Chalker in the first pass and came about as close as can be done, IMO. He switches between necks and does his own thing from there on. He's playing his (black) 68 Emmons PP through an Evans 200 SE w/Boss RV3. Duane plays all the instruments that you'll hear. Pretty neat.

I engineered the recording in my music room about 4 years ago using Cool Edit.

Shorty Smith · Post by **Shorty Smith** » 25 Dec 2008 1:43 pm

I thought Johnny Siebert done most of Carl Smith's records

Bill Cunningham · Post by **Bill Cunningham** » 25 Dec 2008 4:57 pm

Shorty, Siebert was on many (most, all ??) of Carl's early recordings. The ones being discussed here were done in the early to mid 1970's.

I hear two distinctly different steels on "I Love You Because". I assumed that Curly shared the fills with Johnny. Or is Curly tipping the hat to Johnny Siebert?

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 25 Dec 2008 5:28 pm

Shorty
What Bill said...

Bill
"Because" and "Lucille" were cut in 1968 and first released in 1969. My opinion is that Curls tipped the hat to Siebert, then blasted away the solo with his own style. Siebert's tone was much thinner, as befitting a Fender non-pedal guitar, and I think he'd retired from playing by that time. 'Could be wrong about that last fact, though.

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 26 Dec 2008 11:22 am

Herb: Excuse my oldtimer's but I think I recall reading on this Forum that Johnny had an Emmons, in it's case, under his bed and he had never played it.

Regards, Paul