uppty steel players

Willie Sims · Post by **Willie Sims** » 15 Mar 2014 12:08 pm

There have been a few posts a bout Roy Wiggins lately on the forum. I am wondering if any of you better steel players have began to think it's too corny to play a few Roy Wiggins trills. I know some steel players who don't even like to play steel guitar rag, because they think it makes them look like they are beginners. It's a shame some feel that way, most people don't care how fast you can play. They like to hear steel guitar music. They can identify with. Just my opinion.
Willie SIMS

Robert Parent · Post by **Robert Parent** » 15 Mar 2014 1:12 pm

I for one get requests for Steel Guitar Rag at least once every time I play out. I always look at it as the customer is paying for me to play, I for one will play what they want if at all possible.

Robert

Fish · Post by **Fish** » 15 Mar 2014 1:28 pm

I was fortunate enough to play a show about a year ago with Buddy Miller and LeeAnn Womack doing all duets during the AMA convention here in Nashville, and we opened AND closed the set with Steel Guitar Rag. After the opening version, we went straight into "You're Still On My Mind," the old George Jones/Gram Parsons classic, and the crowd went bonkers.

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 15 Mar 2014 11:04 pm

I used to do take offs on LRW when our band was doing a country Golden Oldies show. I studied LRW's techniques & sound for many hours at a time and have to admit, that the over use of the trills was not my thing. It is fine when doing bridges or breaks behind a vocalist, but not on solos. Maybe short trills once or twice during a piece but not five or six times in every song.

As for trying to impress people by playing fast; that has always been a turn off in my books. There are very few steelers who can play fast and stick to the melody. Most just grab a handful of chords and pick them as fast as they can. Listen to David Hartley's Orange Blossom Special on YouTube. That's speed picking with never getting away from the melody.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 16 Mar 2014 6:44 am

Guys, people here are constantly complaining that the steel is dying, and that no young people are taking it up, and then we play old songs and old styles that don't appeal to young people.

Think about it.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 16 Mar 2014 7:23 am

I suppose this classifies me as uppity, but the only version of SGR I ever liked was by the Texas Troubadours. Never had any interest in playing it or hearing it other than that. $:\$

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 16 Mar 2014 7:32 am

Barry Blackwood wrote:I suppose this classifies me as uppity, but the only version of SGR I ever liked was by the Texas Troubadours. Never had any interest in playing it or hearing it other than that. $:\$

FREEBIRD!

I think the appropriate response these days is "Oh yeah - great burritos."

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 16 Mar 2014 7:55 am

I'm fortunate to be working in a traditional country band with mostly older (Florida Retirees) audience. I frequently get requests for SGR. I find many that know very little about country music or the steel guitar will ask for SGR or Sleepwalk.

Being a Little Roy Wiggins fan (and former employee) I still throw in the "ting a ling" now and then, along with some other licks he had.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 16 Mar 2014 7:59 am

People only ask for SGR because it's the only steel guitar tune they know the name of.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 16 Mar 2014 8:02 am

FREEBIRD!

I think the appropriate response these days is "Oh yeah - great burritos."

Completely lost me, Les. I'm 70 now, have never been a rocker and have been reluctantly hacking my way through the SGR since the late 50's.

Ray Harrison · Post by **Ray Harrison** » 16 Mar 2014 9:20 am

Whatever happened to making a song yours?
Arrange SGR the way you want to play it. make it fun for yourself but leave it recognizable for the customers. They make it possible for us to play in public.
I got so tired of Pass Me By, that I started singing it to the tune of "Blind Man in the Bleachers".
Find new things to do to satisfy both yourself and the crowd who pays you.

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 16 Mar 2014 9:31 am

Willie Sims wrote:I know some steel players who don't even like to play steel guitar rag, because they think it makes them look like they are beginners.

A shame they're so misguided. Leon McAuliffe doesn't sound like a beginner to me. Never mind speed picking and fancy pedalling - it's touch and phrasing that count - what's known as style. I'm going to start learning it. Is there a "right" key?

Dean Rimmer · Post by **Dean Rimmer** » 16 Mar 2014 9:38 am

some steel players think s g r is somehow below them some banjo players think the same about foggy mtn breakdown same with some fiddle players and orange blossom special some Spanish singers and guantanamira same deal.....if you look up all the people that have recorded these songs you will find some pretty good players and singers.... just sayin

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 16 Mar 2014 10:09 am

.....if you look up all the people that have recorded these songs you will find some pretty good players and singers.... just sayin

True, Dean, but they are not necessarily doing it because they love the song, but because the song is already well known and they are trying to scrape a little more money off of it..

Dean Rimmer · Post by **Dean Rimmer** » 16 Mar 2014 10:19 am

maybe so.....but i dont think it makes them look beginners.....i thought thats what we were talkin about....maybe i just missed the point......sorry if i did

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 16 Mar 2014 10:23 am

Ian Rae wrote:Is there a "right" key?

You can't go wrong by learning it in "E." That way, the guitar player should be able to follow along.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 16 Mar 2014 10:48 am

A little bit "off topic" I know. I was in a location, where we opened for a singer/ guitar player, who always stated that he once played with Freddie King. Before the show, since I am a big fan of the Blues Man, I asked politely where and when, he gave me a very rude reply. Then during his set, (he tuned his guitar two steps down to compensate for his meagre singing capabilities), he played the "Steel Guitar Rag". I could have killed him!

Jack Ritter · Post by **Jack Ritter** » 16 Mar 2014 11:13 am

Our band closes with SGR unless we get an early request for it, and lotsa times we do, as well as PHR. I still like playing them both. People still like to scoot a boot to them! Jack

Clyde Mattocks · Post by **Clyde Mattocks** » 16 Mar 2014 11:24 am

I like to quote the licks of the guys who laid the bricks. Little Roy, Don Helms, Johnny Seibert, even Pete Drake's old commercial C6th style. These guys don't need to be forgotten. If someone wants to play his own stuff and never play an oldie lick, that's fine too. As far as Steel Guitar Rag, to me it's just another request and I'll try to play it.

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 16 Mar 2014 12:05 pm

Joachim Kettner wrote:A little bit "off topic" I know. I was in a location, where we opened for a singer/ guitar player, who always stated that he once played with Freddie King. Before the show, since I am a big fan of the Blues Man, I asked politely where and when, he gave me a very rude reply. Then during his set, (he tuned his guitar two steps down to compensate for his meagre singing capabilities), he played the "Steel Guitar Rag". I could have killed him!

There are a lot of us who feel that way about a lot of guitar players.

John Cadeau · Post by **John Cadeau** » 16 Mar 2014 12:28 pm

Our band ends every show with steel guitar rag. We get a lot of applause after it's done. The audience like it.

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 16 Mar 2014 1:53 pm

I kinda like a very simple version (nothing to it)
click here

Jerry Berger · Post by **Jerry Berger** » 16 Mar 2014 2:06 pm

Bo Legg said:

I kinda like a very simple version (nothing to it)

Willie Sims · Post by **Willie Sims** » 16 Mar 2014 2:07 pm

Thanks fellows for your replies about my topic. It is good to know there are still some steel players who still recognize the older fellows like me and some of you and like Roy Wiggins would be now if he was still alive. I was acquainted with Roy back in the early 50s, when we were the opening acts for Eddie Arnold when he was just beginning to be a notable Singer. That's how I got to know Roy, I did copy some of his playing style. Out of necessity, because we had a Eddie Arnold imitator that sounded as good as Eddie. He was the father of one of Nashville upcoming steel players. His name is Eddie Dunlap, you may have heard of him. Again, thanks for your response. Willie SIMS.

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 16 Mar 2014 2:29 pm

Barry Blackwood wrote:
FREEBIRD!

I think the appropriate response these days is "Oh yeah - great burritos."
Completely lost me, Les. I'm 70 now, have never been a rocker and have been reluctantly hacking my way through the SGR since the late 50's.

Well, you know what they say about "assume"

Freebird is one Klassik Rawk equivalent of SGR. It's a Skynrd song. Can run about ... 15 minutes, ending in a ... double or triple lead. Some smart-alec will "request" it just about every gig - usually in jest.

There is no steel guitar in Freebird, but there is however *slide* guitar - bottleneck on a Spanish form-factor instrument.

It is a great song, but the bearings were wore out on it 20 years ago. It's approaching it's 40th anniversary this coming November... if you saw "Forrest Gump", it's the song they used while Jenny was teetering on the edge....

And "Freebird's World Burritos" is a food place that makes REALLY GOOD burritos. So to turn away the inevitable request...

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