50's/60's Rock N Roll on Steel

Jeremy DeHart · Post by **Jeremy DeHart** » 22 Oct 2019 6:12 am

So in my opinion there are but a few examples of instrumental Rock N' Roll with Steel guitar starting with Santo and Johnny naturally. I wanted to list out some that I have found here in hopes that someone can turn me on to other examples. (I'm only including one track per band etc)Here we go:

Santo and Johnny - All Night Diner - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fxTpl3v6Yg

The Goldtones - Strike - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXyL0S44QhI&

Ivan Ward and the Swingsters - The Clique - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR0cF2QfQzc&

I know there have to be more examples than this! Or was it that Santo and Johnny just had the whole market wrapped up? Seems impossible to me.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 22 Oct 2019 7:13 am

Bill Haley and the Comets started out with a steel guitar in the band.
I don't know if they did any instrumentals, though.
Erv

Glenn Wilde · Post by **Glenn Wilde** » 22 Oct 2019 9:08 am

Erv Niehaus wrote:Bill Haley and the Comets started out with a steel guitar in the band.
I don't know if they did any instrumentals, though.
Erv

That's just who came to my mind. I love the atomic steel fills on Thirteen Women.

Landon Jarrel · Post by **Landon Jarrel** » 22 Oct 2019 9:14 am

Billy Williamson was Bill Haley's steel player from around 1948 till 1962.

He did this instrumental: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2scVXrV4YA

On the material the band recorded on Essex Records in the early 50s, first as Bill Haley and the Saddlemen and then Bill Haley with Haley's Comets, Billy has a noticable Speedy West influence with Doo-Ahh effects left and right. He used C6 for certain and I think E13 on the other neck of his Gibsons, but I am not sure.

Here's a song from 1960 where Billy takes a solo, which was rare for him after 1954. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGi6RyqK2pk

The reason Bill kept the steel in the band for so long is that it added the element of a horn section to the sound. One of Billy's trademark effects was to do single-note bar slams and shivers.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 22 Oct 2019 9:58 am

If you consider Louis Jordan rock 'n' roll, there's a smattering of rudimentary steel in a few of his recordings, such as Barnyard Boogie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_4rhB4hmFw

Jeremy DeHart · Post by **Jeremy DeHart** » 22 Oct 2019 10:21 am

Excellent! Didn't realize Bill Haley had steel for that long. And Louis Jordan sounds awesome!

K Maul · Post by **K Maul** » 22 Oct 2019 10:35 am

Brenda Lee had more than one hot tune with steel guitar!
https://youtu.be/D7ADmyIOf0I

K Maul · Post by **K Maul** » 22 Oct 2019 10:41 am

Jimmy Dickens 1958. Harold Bradley and Buddy Emmons rocked it.
https://youtu.be/vD4babegA7U

Kris Youngsteadt · Post by **Kris Youngsteadt** » 22 Oct 2019 12:46 pm

This is newer but super cool.

Pink Floyd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFDExXbxMf8

Nic Neufeld · Post by **Nic Neufeld** » 22 Oct 2019 12:54 pm

Steve Howe with Yes was my intro to the instrument. Vastly different style of how I ended up playing steel guitar (eventually) though!

Santo and Johnny are some of my favorites outside of Hawaiian...I love their cover of the doowop tune "A Thousand Miles Away", very Sleep Walk influenced but you can't really blame them when they've got a winning formula...

Jeff Mead · Post by **Jeff Mead** » 23 Oct 2019 1:03 am

Kris Youngsteadt wrote:This is newer but super cool.

Pink Floyd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFDExXbxMf8

Nice looking Rickenbacker in this clip.

Jeremy DeHart · Post by **Jeremy DeHart** » 23 Oct 2019 5:51 am

Found this VERY interesting! Ray Conniff's Rocker pseudonym:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt6bzWvZjZg

Second half is definitely a true Steel Guitar instro rocker!

Jeremy DeHart · Post by **Jeremy DeHart** » 23 Oct 2019 7:23 am

Pretty Similar to Steel Guitar Rag but that beat is real gone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nNUfR3ZQzA

Jeremy DeHart · Post by **Jeremy DeHart** » 23 Oct 2019 7:53 am

Here it is! The Motherload!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrX60Aw ... 2L&index=1

Some of this includes Rockabilly that's pretty darn country, but you can definitely see the beginnings of Rock at least. Here are some Standouts:

Carl Smith - Go Boy Go - https://youtu.be/zjErH4h5Ls8
Look at that Steel!

Bob Burton - Tired of Rockin - https://youtu.be/4rngvDqWehA
The Roy McCoy! Sounds like a bad ass E13 tuning!

Jimmy Newman - Bop-A-Hula - https://youtu.be/TGp6Gzg_jRc
This is real RockNRoll with steel IMO