Chet Atkins' steel player(s)?

Jonathan Slyker · From: Montclair, New Jersey, USA

Thanks to Pandora Radio (I'm not a compensated endorser) I've been able to start catching up on about 50 years of guitar music, including Chester. I'd heard a bunch of his stuff before but never had heard steel guitar on the records (perhaps cause I wasn't playing steel till recently). Anybody know who plays steel for him (could be more than 1 person)? I guess I could go for the discography but the ones on the net are not always so complete about personnel on each cut. Also, I haven't bothered to go on you tube to see if anything under Chet comes up with steel, but I certainly will soon. BTW, the steel that I've heard on CA records is fantastic.
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MCI D-10 (Curly Chalker's last guitar) Curly's C6th on front neck; Johnny Cox’s E13th on back with E9th pedals.
Widgren custom-built 12 string keyless lap.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Bud Isaacs played on a couple of early Chet albums, early and mid 1950s.
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Jonathan Slyker · From: Montclair, New Jersey, USA

Don't you have any work to do? Just kidding, SGF is the best. Where else can you get satisfaction in 6 minutes for free? (don't answer that) Thank you, sir.
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MCI D-10 (Curly Chalker's last guitar) Curly's C6th on front neck; Johnny Cox’s E13th on back with E9th pedals.
Widgren custom-built 12 string keyless lap.

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Chet Atkins was not an endorser of steel guitar. I read an interview with him, where he said, that he took it out of "country". I can verify that, because I have a source. It's in a book by N. Dawidoff.
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S.M. Johnson · From: Oregon, USA

Chet used JERRY BYRD on a number of his records, both singles and albums. You should recall, that these Nashville types formed, disbanded and reformed various groups on a continuous basis.........making it most difficult for 'us types' to keep up and accurately informed.
The Country All Stars on RCA, was a prime example of Chet Atkins with JERRY BYRD. I'm not a steel player but I've got a pretty good ear.

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Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Sorry, I was refering to him as a producer.
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Tracy Sheehan · From: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

I often wonder if it might help for so many steel players stop trying to sound like some other steel player or worry about what some other musician thinks.
When some one copies another they are only a poor retread. And IMHO if one has to depend on an electronic tuner they should only play as a hobby if they don't have the ear for music. I think one is born with an ear for music.
But it can be a catch 22.I was just looking at a picture of a female (singer?) who got started on American idol and her face looks like a cat just surprised by a large dog but i don't think a cat has that many teeth. In other words she appears to be screaming, not singing. But that is what seems to sell now days. My opinion

Theresa Galbraith · From: Goodlettsville,Tn. USA

Paul Franklin on Chet's & Mark Knopler's "Poor Boy Blues"!

Jonathan Slyker · From: Montclair, New Jersey, USA

The plot thickens. I'm barely a steel player, and only recently learned that the man was on most of the later Hank Williams studio recordings. Again, you guys are almost as good as crack. Has anyone ever thought of having a "steel guitar trivia" contest (other than the little quizzes in the back of the ISGC convention)? I should not have used the word trivia, because anything related to steel guitar is obviously not "trivial." How about Steel Guitar Jeopardy?

Anyhow what I really liked about the CA steel stuff is that it was quite different in feel to mainstream "nashville" country, primarily in the acoustic instruments. It's somewhere in the middle of Hawaian, Django, and Hank (which is, of course, mostly acoustic). Very simple and clean, clean, clean.
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MCI D-10 (Curly Chalker's last guitar) Curly's C6th on front neck; Johnny Cox’s E13th on back with E9th pedals.
Widgren custom-built 12 string keyless lap.

Bo Legg · Posted 15 Apr 2011 12:35 pm

Can you imagine Chet on PSG? He looked and talked more like a Steel Player than a guitar player. I think he would have been right up there with Paul and Buddy.
On one hand I could understand his attitude about that hokey twang country but on the other hand I couldn't because he was as country as a cow pie sandwich.

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Ted Lowe Jr · From: Tennessee, USA

One of my Favorite albums by the Late Great Guitar Master was Superpickers, which features Weldon Myrick. An Awesome Album, my favorite song from that one is called "just Another rag", An Atkins & Jerry Reed composition.

Any steel players have any stories about working with Chet Atkins, live or in the studio? I would love to hear some stories.

Jonathan Slyker · From: Montclair, New Jersey, USA

I know almost nothing about CA personally, not being well read in history/personality area of music. But when I studied (not steel) a short while with the late Jethro Burns, who made a living doing "cornball" hokey humor, I never once heard him play a bluegrass or country tune by choice. He lived off of Ellington, Django, Benny, and all that swing, swing, swing. I just know, for myself, I, IV, and V chords are even sweeter with more black keys. But the basics just sell better. Interesting that Chet worked with Hank when Fred Rose was firing every electric guitar player who did anything else but a few fills. So Chet helped create the chunk-a-chunka guitar strum, but meanwhile, he was (getting to be?) one of the finest virtuosos! Kind of ironic!?
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MCI D-10 (Curly Chalker's last guitar) Curly's C6th on front neck; Johnny Cox’s E13th on back with E9th pedals.
Widgren custom-built 12 string keyless lap.

Tracy Sheehan · From: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

Tracy,Agree with you a hundred percent,Think I know who you are talking about,Of course there are several that fits. Like an ad I saw in a music store on their wall awhile back.A band was wanting a screamer [NOT A SINGER] for their band.Guess that's the sign of the times.There IS a LOT MORE screaming today than singing.Used to have singers with BEAUTIFUL voices and STEEL GUITARS on almost every country record. A few I remember Eddy Arnold,David Houstin,Faron,Marty Robbins,etc,These guys sang on KEY,and sang songs that actually had a melody to it[have'nt heard one of those in a looooong time.[Most] of this crapola today in mostly monotone chanting,getting TOO close to rap. Maybe this cross between country and rap really SHOULD be named CRAP. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.
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Jonathan Slyker · From: Montclair, New Jersey, USA

Boy, who knew a curious question about a wonderful musician could start such a groundswell of passion?
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MCI D-10 (Curly Chalker's last guitar) Curly's C6th on front neck; Johnny Cox’s E13th on back with E9th pedals.
Widgren custom-built 12 string keyless lap.

Theresa Galbraith · From: Goodlettsville,Tn. USA

Jonathan,
Topic drift happens alot around here.
Chet is missed and he used steel guitar players.

Roual Ranes · From: Atlanta, Texas, USA

Johathan,
Check out the "Session With Chet" album..........I think it is now on CD.

Bill Cunningham · From: Atlanta, Ga. USA

Mostly Weldon from the 1960's forward I think. Because of the RCA connection, just my guess. Someone already mentioned the Superpickers LP. Another one is Hometown Guitar.
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Bill Duncan · From: Lenoir, North Carolina, USA

Chet was a genius, and every thing he did was near perfection, recording or picking. No one in my opinion has ever achieved a sound as beautiful in recordings as Chet did. I'm not talking just about his guitar recordings, but his RCA artists. Which is why I suppose RCA got him.

I'm sure he tried to get the best pickers available when he did sessions. He used Pete Drake quite a bit, and Weldon as well.

Had Chet taken up the pedal steel he would have been an icon to pedal steel pickers. He and Buddy are my two favorite people. I heard Jerry Reed say several times that when he wanted to hear how a song he, (Jerry Reed) wrote should sound, he got Chet to play it.

I've said many times that Buddy Emmons has a touch and tone much like Chet's.
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