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Topic: Kitty Wells / It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels |
billchav
From:
Houston, TX USA
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Posted 8 Aug 2010 6:07 am |
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Who played steel and tuning used. The album also included Amigo's Guitar, & I Can't Stop Loving You.
I have some old recordings that sounds like Shot Jackson and others sounding like Jimmy Day. I would like to know the names of the old timers used by Kitty and Johnny in the early years.
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"Keepin' the steelin' going strong"
www.billchaviers.com
Steel Guitar Tabs |
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Dean Upson
From:
Connecticut, USA
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Posted 8 Aug 2010 6:49 am
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George Edwards 
_________________
Pettingill Teardrop 6 String Lap steel, Clinesmith Koa Reso, Clinesmith Myrtlewood Reso,
Tut Taylor Virginian Reso |
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Eddie Cunningham
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 8 Aug 2010 10:34 am Kitty Wells with the Johnny & Jack Shows
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| I'm pretty sure it was Shot Jackson on all the Kitty Wells records. Shot played Dobro with Johnny & Jack and played an old Fender steel with his add-on pedals with Kitty on the older records!! They all toured as one show . Eddie "C" |
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Dean Upson
From:
Connecticut, USA
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Ric Nelson
From:
Silver Spring, Maryland
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Posted 2 Sep 2010 9:19 pm
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When Kitty recorded "I Can't Stop Loving You", Shot Jackson was alrady out of the band and Harold Morrsion played steel on the session. I don't recall what tuning Morrison used.
On her sessions, beginning in 1949, Shot played several different steels over time. The early recordings with her were with his 7-string Rickenbacher model B-7 lap steel, (tuned to E) Then he played a double neck Rickenbacher (not sure what the tuning was) and then his Fender D-8 tuned to E9th/C6th, which is on the majority of Kitty's sessions with Shot.
On her second session with Red Foley, in 1954, they did it in Springfield, MO without Shot and the rest of the regular band. They used Red Foley's band with Bud Isaacs on the pedal steel, a first for Kitty. It was not a reflection on the regular band, just a cost cutting measure by Paul Cohen, the producer.
Shot started playing a Fender pedal steel in 1955, as he put it "out of necessity" on "Dust On The Bible" and a re-record of "How Far Is Heaven", and played it until he left the group. When he went with Roy Acuff in 1957, he was back to playing a Fender D-8 with no pedals and even at times, his love, the dobro.
In early 1957 when Shot left Kitty/Johnny and Jack, Harold Morrison took his place. I think "Amigo's Guitar" was recorded even after that and I don't know who played steel, if there is one on it. In 1958, Bob Foster replaced Morrison. Shot, Morrison and Foster all had distinct styles.
Sometime after that, George Edwards was with her for several years. He maintained that one should play the steel parts just as they sound on the recording since he felt that they were part of the song and the "Kitty Wells sound"; I agree.
On a very early session, Ray "Duck " Atkins, who was with Johnny and Jack at the time, played dobro on "How Far Is Heaven", "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" and a couple other songs on that session. But on the other sessions, from her first, it was Shot on the steel until 1957.
Shot tuned his Dobro when playing with Johnny and Jack (all part of the same show most of the time) to E.
Shot died in 1991. Had he lived, he would have been 90 years of age this Saturday, September 4th.
Like many others, I sure still miss him.
Kitty tuned 91 last week.
Well, I guess a bunch of us are all on the "Twilight side of the mountain" nowadays.
Ric Nelson
Last edited by Ric Nelson on 8 Sep 2010 4:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Clyde Mattocks
From:
Kinston, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2010 5:57 am
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Thanks Ric, good information and filled in some gaps.
Also on "Amigo's Guitar", Paul Yandell played electric guitar, using a high G third string.
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LeGrande II, Nash. 112, Fender Twin Tone Master, Session 400, Harlow Dobro, R.Q.Jones Dobro |
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Ric Nelson
From:
Silver Spring, Maryland
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Posted 4 Sep 2010 6:29 am
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I might add that I lost track of Johnny and Kitty after about 1959 or so and I suspect that a lot of steelers played with them. When I caught up with them again in the 1980s, George Edwards was with them.
Ric |
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billchav
From:
Houston, TX USA
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Posted 5 Sep 2010 5:55 pm Kitty Wells
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Thanks to all of you that replied to the post.
All helped confirm the information I had and fill in the gaps I was looking for, especially the time line.
_________________
"Keepin' the steelin' going strong"
www.billchaviers.com
Steel Guitar Tabs |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 7 Sep 2010 10:55 pm
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Also, in 1959/1960, Johnny Sibert (of Carl Smith fame) played steel with Kitty and Johnny & Jack. He is playing a Fender 1000 on "Heartbreak USA".
Chris Scruggs |
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Ben Rubright
From:
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2010 2:01 am
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Ric:
The session in 1954 with Red Foley....could it have been Springfield, MO and not Springfield, IL? Red certainly did his Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, MO. |
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Ric Nelson
From:
Silver Spring, Maryland
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Posted 8 Sep 2010 4:05 am
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Yes, it was MO not IL, my mistake. Thanks for the correction.
Ric |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 8 Sep 2010 7:55 am
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I remember a time in the late sixties at a point when Buddy Emmons came back to ShoBud for a spell. Buddy and Shot had recorded an LP recording together. They came to California to promote the steels and did a show at Blackie Taylor's Music Store when it was in Hawaiian Gardens. Dave Musgrave was also with them and it was the first time I'd heard of him. Anyway, at one point someone asked Shot about the Kitty Wells recordings and he did say that he was the player on "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"......In later years when they had the syndicated TV show I believe Russ Hicks played steel for them and maybe Odell Martin on lead guitar..........JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Ben Rubright
From:
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2010 11:17 am
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| Below is a link to a YouTube of Red's band to which Ric referred.....not too bad....Bud Isaacs, Tommy Jackson, Grady Martin, Bob Moore....... |
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Ben Rubright
From:
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
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