RIP Darick Campbell - Sacred Steel legend

[Andy Volk]

So sad to hear this news! What a loss to his family and to the world of steel guitar. He was a very nice man and an incredible, awe-inspiring steeler whose groove and feel were the envy of thousands. RIP.

From Bob Stone:

Campbell Brothers lap-steel guitarist Darick Campbell passed away early this morning following a prolonged illness.
Darick was a soulful and inventive musician. I'll never forget his music. As he played this jaw-dropping version of "End of My Journey" at Mirror Image Studio in 1997 in Gainesville for the Campbell Brothers' first Arhoolie album, I was goose bumps all over. Many more great recordings and performances followed.
Darick was known for playing very expressive original musical lines. "I don't know how he comes up with that stuff," his pedal-steel playing brother, Chuck, would say. "I can't do it."
Darick will be missed by many, but his recorded legacy lives on.
Rest in peace Darick. Judy and I send our love to the family.
"End of My Journey": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpVjrCjRPNs
His classic rendering of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU2VU1HqMNA

[K Maul]

Yes a very good guy and great player. I lived near Rochester and met his brother Chuck back in 1980 where I learned about this style of playing. I saw them play several times. So sorry to hear about this.

[Mike Neer]

Deepest condolences to the Campbell family.

[HowardR]

I am deeply saddened to learn of Darick's passing......

A little story of when I first met Darick and his brothers.....in 1999 a brand new Christmas festival was going to take place in NYC....it was called Winter's Eve and took place at Lincoln Center with a tree lighting ceremony and music...there was music at the tree lighting with a choir and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra lead by Wynton Marsalis.....there was also music by various bands and artists playing at the local nearby stores such as Eddie Bauer, Tower Records, Bed Bath and Beyond etc.....

I had been a member of The Steel Guitar Forum for a couple of years and had recently heard of Sacred Steel....it was a "new" thing.....and I saw that The Campbell Brothers were going to be playing at Tower Records as part of this new fest.....so, I left from work and headed uptown for the festivities......after the tree lighting, the choir, the jazz orchestra (and it was all glorious) I went over to Tower Records.....

The Campbell Bros had set up in a space on the floor (there was no platform) and played the first of two short sets....there wasn't more than 40 people total, after all, it was a new festival that wasn't heavily marketed and The Campbell Bros and Sacred Steel were not really known in this area....but it was a nice intimate concert where you could get up real close.....

After their first set they were just hanging around speaking with people, answering questions, and speaking about their history of playing Sacred Steel.....I wandered over and was examining Darick's guitar.....back then he played an 8 string Fender Deluxe (Stringmaster)....now I had come from a dobro background mostly and played a little on 6 string lap steel.....and I was an ok basic player, nothing more.....Darick saw me checking out his guitar (I would say that nobody in the crowd knew what a steel guitar was especially since Darick and Chuck were explainging to people what they were) and called out "You can try it, just put the bar on the strings and slide it"....Darick had left the pwer on, faced the guitar to the audience and left his bar on it so that people could try it if they wanted to.....I never played an 8 string at that time so I slowly strummed the open strings to hear what kind of tuning it was....it was a fairly familiar major tuning but there was 1 string in the middle that sounded odd to me, but I figured that if (or when) I hit it, I could just slide up until it sounded right.....so I took a deep breath and ripped off a pretty groovy hot blues lick.....well, all of The Campbell Brothers looked up very surprised and Chuck blurted out "he knows what he's doing".....actually that was just about my entire repertoire.....then they were asking me who I played with and where I gigged and I explained that I was just a hobbyist and bedroom player.....but they were so gracious, personable, and fun and we became friends....I had seen them a few times at various venues over the years and it was always wonderful to connect with them and catch up....

RIP Darick, it was a pleasure and honor to know you....my condolences and sympathy to the entire family......

PS......After my little performance I asked Darick what tuning he had on the Fender, and he told me E6.....so it was that 6th note that was not familiar to me but as I said, it was just a slight ascending slide to give me that dominant 7th which kept me within context......I don't know if Darick used the E6 going forward because usually, Sacred Steel tunings are dom 7th based.....regardless of whether he did or didn't, he made his steel sing beautifully......Darick will always be remembered....

[Jim Fogle]

My condolences to Darick's family. Great story HowardR. I'm sure the family will enjoy it if they have the opportunity to read it.

[Jeff Repp]

I met the Campbell Brothers at the Centrum Country Blues Workshop in Port Townsend, WA way back in 2004. All 4 brothers were there (including their mom! very sweet family). I was fortunate to spend a week learning steel guitar and especially how to incorporate sacred steel into whatever genre we were pursuing. What a great week. Their live show at the festival had hundreds of folks on their feet and waving their hands. I reconnected a few years later when they played the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland. RIP Darick.

Here’s a link to the article from the Atlanta news:

https://www.wxxinews.org/post/darick-ca ... thers-dies

Here are a couple of photos of Darick playing my Smith fiberglass resonator (since sold). Thats Dan Tyack at the pedal steel in the first photo. Chuck is playing a Ron Phillips hollow neck resonator in the second photo with their nephew Carlton in the back at the Fender steel.

[Godfrey Arthur]

Godspeed Darick.

Sacred tones from a sweet soul!

[Daniel Dickie]

RIP Darick
There are very few steelers around with his great tone and musical sensibility. I never saw him in concert but I would have loved to. Saw Robert Randolph twice which was amazing. From what I've seen of Darick on YouTube he is great too.
Pity to lose him so young as well

[Stu Schulman]

My Condolences to Darick's family and friends.