Country Music Ain't Country without a Steel Guitar.Not True

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 7 Aug 2015 1:29 pm

Guitars & Cadillaces, Dwight " that guy " Yoakam. you don't hear Jay Dee Maness on Steel Guitar?

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 13 Aug 2015 6:25 am

Bobby Lee wrote:Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Sorry Bobby but you're not the "Bobby Lee" that Leo was referring to. This one played piano and a little fiddle and used to play at the Imperial Inn afterhours club in Santa Fe Springs, Ca. as well as many other clubs. He left LA and went to Nashville and worked with Tom T. Hall as Leo mentioned but his last high profile gig that I remember was with Jean Shepard. I saw him on the Opry a few times with her. He and I used to keep in touch by email but he did pass away a few years ago. When in Nashville he didn't go by "Bobby Lee", it was "Robert L. Crigger"......JH in Va.

Dustin Rhodes · Post by **Dustin Rhodes** » 13 Aug 2015 11:01 am

LJ Eiffert wrote:Guitars & Cadillaces, Dwight " that guy " Yoakam. you don't hear Jay Dee Maness on Steel Guitar?

The song didn't. Neither did Honky Tonk Man.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 13 Aug 2015 11:19 am

But Jay Dee Maness played on the album. He's on "South Of Cinncinnati" and "It Won't Hurt"

Dustin Rhodes · Post by **Dustin Rhodes** » 13 Aug 2015 11:30 am

Joachim Kettner wrote:But Jay Dee Maness played on the album. He's on "South Of Cinncinnati" and "It Won't Hurt"

I know that. Doesn't change my point that there are some fine country songs out there with no steel.

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 16 Aug 2015 11:08 am

Okay Dustin Rhodes Let's make this point. How many Professional Amateur Musicians are on this forum and are on records?

Rich Upright · Post by **Rich Upright** » 17 Aug 2015 4:29 am

How many times have you heard a great country song, only to be disappointed that there was no steel in it?

How many times have you sat down to a pancake breakfast to find you were out of syrup?

Ever bite into a jelly donut, only to find they forgot to put jelly in it?

Ever order a BLT only to find they forgot the bacon?

It's the same thing. It might be a good song, but without steel, it JUST DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT. Something is missing, & that something is the #1 element that makes it COUNTRY!

Perfect example. When I practice, I look for songs on YouTube that don't have any steel so I can play along. One of my favorites is Skip Ewing's "I Don't Have Far To Fall" Great song, but sounds SO much better when I am playing steel fills, so I can only imagine how much better it would sound with someone like Paul Franklin playing steel to it?

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 17 Aug 2015 4:38 am

Why Paul Franklin? What's wrong with your self Rich or for that matter,anybody.The point is you still don't need a steel guitar on a song to make it Traditional Country Music or any kind of Country you want to call it.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 17 Aug 2015 5:39 am

Talk about being disappointed with lack of steel? A couple of years ago I was in Nashville and went to E.T's Record Shop looking for some Warner Mack recordings. I found a CD which was sort of a greatest hits package and took it home. When I put it in the CD player hoping to hear Lloyd Green on "The Bridge Washed Out" and maybe "Drifting Apart" I found that they were either newer recordings or remixed and the steel parts had been replaced with either piano or strings. I haven't played the CD since..........JH in Va.

Dustin Rhodes · Post by **Dustin Rhodes** » 17 Aug 2015 10:31 am

Maybe it comes from steel just being one of the handful of instruments I play but a good song is a good song with or without steel. Steel has a place in some songs but I'm an "instrumentation for the sake of the song" not "song for the sake of instrumentation" type guy.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 17 Aug 2015 10:45 am

Good point Dustin!

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 22 Aug 2015 3:20 pm

I love playing the steel guitar and I love the instrument itself. In the nineties, a lot of my favorite country bands didn't use steel-bands like Little Texas, Blackhawk, and Diamond Rio, but they're all great bands, even without steel. Little Texas actually did feature steel on one of their singles in the early nineties called "I'd Rather Miss You", which was on their first record called "First Time For Everything"-Sonny Garrish played steel on "I'd Rather Miss You", and then Little Texas had a song on their third record called "Kick A Little" called Your Days Are Numbered" and it featured steel, then on Blackhawk's fourth record, "The Sky's The Limit" before guitarist Van Stephenson died, Paul Franklin played steel on a few of the songs.

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 22 Aug 2015 5:53 pm

I was listening to country radio today and heard some steel, but it was pretty much used to say "this is country music".

Graham · Post by **Graham** » 23 Aug 2015 4:01 am

There was an artist who made quite a name for himself in country music and only used steel on 1 lp (mainline) out of the 91 he recorded: His name was JOHNNY CASH!!

That one lp was 1960's "Now There Was A Song" and the steel player was Don Helms.

Guess his other 90 records weren't country!!

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 23 Aug 2015 8:21 am

There's steel on one track of "Mystery Of Life". The credits say it's Lloyd Green.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgaJEd1Km2A
It's very badly recorded, I think.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 24 Aug 2015 1:28 am

LJ Eiffert wrote:Well,Sorry to say Tony Prior,but, a keyboard was on Buck Owens Record of " Together Again ". It was called a PIANO. Maybe Tom's Steel Guitar took the lead,but,a keyboard took the notes and put them in place.

uhmm..well I'm not arguing the point but I will argue that if Together Again is played today "on a bandstand" without a Steel Guitar , something will be amiss . It doesn't mean it's not a good country song but it does mean it's a good country song missing the primary ingredient which made it a great country song !

admin · Post by **b0b** » 24 Aug 2015 8:11 am

Here's Ray Charles doing "Together Again". No steel guitar. Doesn't sound country to me.

https://youtu.be/0qKHM_oHJMg

But it's not too different from Chet Atkins' "Countrypolitan" sound that came out of Nashville in the '60s. $:\$

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 24 Aug 2015 8:20 am

Tony Prior, I have always said Traditional Country Music is the life because of the Steel Guitar. The Intro speaks for it self.But, again you can do a Traditional Country Song with out a steel Guitar.So,we agree,Point taken.

I Two Eye

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 25 Aug 2015 11:50 am

Without steel it's just a song. Period...

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 25 Aug 2015 2:22 pm

Without steel it's just a song without steel...

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 27 Aug 2015 6:07 am

Thaat's right Barry and that ain't Country...

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 27 Aug 2015 8:36 am

Okay Tom Quinn, Can you brake it down in your words to what makes a Country song Country with the instruments? In what order?

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 27 Aug 2015 9:35 am

Martin D-28, Fender Telecaster, Fender Precision Bass, Ludwig drums, Emmons Push-Pull, Session 400 amp. Easy...

Graham · Post by **Graham** » 27 Aug 2015 1:07 pm

There were many country songs recorded using a Sho-Bud before an Emmons push/pull came along and many many more after!

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 27 Aug 2015 4:45 pm

And they still sound okay despite the missing Emmons... ;- )