Steel Player "Teach Your Children Well"

[Joey Ace]

Eleven (Yes ELEVEN!) years ago I tabbed TYC for my friend Graham's new tab site.

It's still there. I'm often pleasantly surprised when I get a note of thanks from a new player, who was attracted to PSG because of that song.

Thank You Jerry!

http://users.interlinks.net/rebel/steel/1970.html

[Chris Tweed]

@Joachim: thanks for the correction, my mistake. I still like it (and the others too). I thought the style was very different.

Chris

[Joe Yednasty]

This is where my favorite two topics meet - Pedal Steel Guitar and Jerry Garcia. I've been doing a lot of personal research on these subjects throughout the years and I've come up with this:

The one thing that made Jerry such a great musician was his superb ability to create and produce melodies.

He took the same instruments that many others were using and he got totally new sounds out of it. He was an amazingly great electric guitar player who played a gig every night of the year with one band or another. Just imagine what Jerry would have sounded like if he was able to devote as much time to Pedal Steel as he did with the Electric/Acoustic Guitar...

Jerry is my favorite guitar player but not even close to being my favorite steel guitar player. With that said, I think he would have been the hands-down best Steel guitarist if he had the time to reach his full potential.

[Jerry Overstreet]

I don't know much about Garcia, but I saw him as a musician who used his tools to best express himself or contribute what was needed for the music, whether it be guitar, steel or whatever.

Although he did quite a bit of recording with other artists of the day, I doubt he was a steel guitar nerd or that he had any idea multitudes of people would be inspired to take up pedal steel guitar as a result of hearing that TYC intro.

I know that when I heard it, my head snapped around and I cranked up the volume. I was driving home from work when I first heard it. Remember it like it was yesterday. I was familiar with steel guitar, but this sounded like something new to me or at least in another context. It's just one of several examples from around that era that gave me impetus to actually go buy a pedal steel and learn how to play it.

Some guys I play with do it regularly....I got to play it New Years Eve.

[Bob Carlucci]

I think JG's "Discography" was posted in a prior JG Thread.

Just for the PSG ALONE, he outdoes MANY SGHOFers...

Just to keep things in perspective.

His total discography would melt about 90 percent of the people "we" tend to worship in this little corner of cyberwhatever....

Loved the musicality, playing, taste, and feel of every steel recording I ever heard of his.

Still do.

You can't let go, and you can't hold on....



EJL

Eric has stated my thoughts exactly... I learrned more from Garcia than I did from most of the "big boys" of steel guitar...
It was every bit as musically viable, and a hell of lot easier for a guy of my modest ability level to understand... Doubt I would have played pedal steel without Jerry....

"You can't go back and you can't stand still, if the thunder don't get you then the lightening will" bob

[Jerry Hayes]

I think Clyde Mattocks said it best about someone's inability to play creating something that's actually got a little difficulty in trying to actually get it right! Garcia wasn't a terribly great steel player but when you think about it could you ever imagine that song with different steel work on it. I don't care who you name, if that song had been recorded with Emmons, Jernigan, Green, or any of the "biggies" on steel I don't think it would have had the impact that it did. I agree that he was probably trying to sound like Ralph Mooney as all of us in California did at one time or another.

I wonder what he'd have become if he'd actually gave steel more than just a passing glance. Another rock guitarist with a lot of stature was Dan Dugmore who did time with Linda Ronstadt and others on lead guitar who more or less abandoned guitar and became one of the busiest session players around on pedal steel. Who can forget his first "big" session of steel "Blue Bayou" by Linda R. I think if Jerry had kept at it, he might have become a very formidible player.....JH in Va.

[Colm Chomicky]

David Mason thanks for the link to the 1970 Filmore East NRPS.

Sort of a time machine going back to early NRPS with Garcia on Steel. I am listening to it as I am reading threads on the Forum. Jerry has some nice licks even though he is reported to claim that he is just dabbler on steel. Actually, the less polished playfulness of his playing compared to say a highly polished player are in some ways refreshing and give hope to struggling players like me.

What was I doing on Sept 20 1970 and not at Filmore East? I was still in High School and had not yet heard of NPRS and barely knew of steel guitar.

Together Again is playing right now at about 58:40 ! Really pretty. A bunch of hippies open minded enough embrace the real country music we so treasure! Gateway for sure.

[Richard Nelson]

A few years ago I hired out a steel to Daniel Lanois who was in Ireland working on a U2 album.I had to go up to the old Windmill studio to change over the pedals for him. Dallas Schoo who was and still is Edge's guitar tech was chatting to me while I was working away and told me he was working as a tech on the very session when Jerry Garcia put down the track . He told me it took the whole day to record the steel . They nearly gave up at one stage but took a break and Jerry came through in the end .It's a fantastic piece of music and one of the reasons I started playing so isn't it great to know everyone has struggled with the instrument at some stage .

[Dan Tyack]

I love all the steel on Workingman's Dead. Great tone and ideas.

[Joachim Kettner]

Another good one he played on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W3cjy7L ... playnext=2