James Burton on Pedal Steel with Ricky Nelson

Andy DePaule · Post by **Andy DePaule** » 11 Oct 2022 1:33 pm

James Burton on Pedal Steel with Ricky Nelson.
Someone posted this on Facebook this morning.
Thought I'd pass it on.

Rick McNamara · Post by **Rick McNamara** » 11 Oct 2022 2:28 pm

Hey Andy,

Ricky Nelson looks young enough to still be doing the TV show with his family. I think I have YouTube of James Burton doing songs with Ralph Mooney. A sad day when Ricky and most of the band died.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 11 Oct 2022 7:11 pm

Very cool picture. Nice old Rickenbacker steel.

Brooks Montgomery · Post by **Brooks Montgomery** » 11 Oct 2022 7:33 pm

Are all three guitars Rickenbackers?
Ricky with three Rickys?

Garry Vanderlinde · Post by **Garry Vanderlinde** » 11 Oct 2022 8:09 pm

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 11 Oct 2022 9:36 pm

"most of the band died"

All of the band died...

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 12 Oct 2022 5:12 am

Did Burton actually play steel guitar? I thought I read that these were just promo pics for Rickenbacker ads when these pics first started appearing on FB. Notice both James and Ricky at the same steel with the same background.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 12 Oct 2022 6:00 am

Richard Sinkler wrote:Did Burton actually play steel guitar? I thought I read that these were just promo pics for Rickenbacker ads when these pics first started appearing on FB. Notice both James and Ricky at the same steel with the same background.

That's my thought - just promo ads

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 12 Oct 2022 6:46 am

Could be James plays a little. Maybe someone on one of the Telecaster forums knows.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 12 Oct 2022 7:41 am

A promo, definitely.

James Burton dabbled in steel but was an effective resonator player. He can be heard to good effect on Rick Nelson's two mid-'60s albums: 'Bright Lights & Country Music' and 'Country Fever'.

The band that perished in the tragic NYE air crash were his later road band which included the excellent Bobby Neal on guitar. This was the group that succeeded the Stone Canyon Band.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 12 Oct 2022 11:23 am

Looks like Ricky had an endorsement agreement with Rickenbacker. All of the gear in the photo at the top is Rickenbacker, including the amps.

Here's another shot from the photo session:

Ron Pruter · Post by **Ron Pruter** » 12 Oct 2022 11:59 am

At least Randy Miesner and Tom Brumley were spared in the crash, having left the band previously:-)

J R Rose · Post by **J R Rose** » 12 Oct 2022 5:29 pm

Roger, I knew Bobby Neal quite well. He worked at Ben Jacks Guitar Store in Ft.Smith, Ark. I lived 30 miles West of there then and as now. He work as a sales person, guitar teacher and an all around store guy. Very nice young man and easy to talk to. Was so far ahead of me I could not understand. But he and Ben work the area in a band called Jerry Jay & The Jay Walkers or something like that. I have an album of them that is very cool. I saw them several times in concert and Bobby was an awesome picker. So sad he left us so soon. J.R. Rose

Andy DePaule · Post by **Andy DePaule** » 13 Oct 2022 9:42 am

Garry Vanderlinde wrote:

For sure a promotional photo and from this it looks like the were trading off instruments for the photo shoot.
Back then it was common for instrument companies to help sponsor big known names & bands by having them all use that companies instruments.
Remember The Ventures all had Mosrite guitars and The Glenn Campbell hour all had Ovation's.

I sponsored my brother with one of my hand made electrics with his name on the bridge in pearl when he played guitar in the Charlie Musselwhite band, but it did me no good because he never took it to gigs! He said he didn't want it to get damaged...

In the 60's I played a Pre-CBS Fender Jazz Bass, but I had to get my girlfriend to sponsor me because I didn't have the $140.00 it cost at the pawn shop!

Andy DePaule · Post by **Andy DePaule** » 13 Oct 2022 9:49 am

Rick McNamara wrote:Hey Andy,

Ricky Nelson looks young enough to still be doing the TV show with his family. I think I have YouTube of James Burton doing songs with Ralph Mooney. A sad day when Ricky and most of the band died.

Yes I remember when I was a teen I'd watch the Ozzie & Harriet show every week just to see Ricky play for the swooning girls.
Indeed it was a very sad day when he was lost with his entire band and the crew in the plane crash.

The same way we lost Otis Redding and his band just before his first big hit got to #1 in the carts. It was Sitin On The Dock Of The Bay.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 13 Oct 2022 10:11 am

Of course, promo shots. But James played Dobro on sessions quite a bit, and it wouldn't surprise me if he played some electric steel. And yeah, we lost a lot when we lost Rick Nelson and his band. Man, being constantly on the road can be dangerous, there are obviously a lot of examples.

Andy DePaule wrote: I sponsored my brother with one of my hand made electrics with his name on the bridge in pearl when he played guitar in the Charlie Musselwhite band, but it did me no good because he never took it to gigs! He said he didn't want it to get damaged...

Nice guitar! Yeah, I can see why he'd not want to damage it. But they are made to be played.

In the 60's I played a Pre-CBS Fender Jazz Bass, but I had to get my girlfriend to sponsor me because I didn't have the $140.00 it cost at the pawn shop!

Cool bass. Is that you? Nice pompadour. On the bass 'sponsorship' - reminds me of the old joke, "Q: What do you call a musician who breaks up with his girlfriend? A: Homeless."

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 13 Oct 2022 10:44 am

Dave,
He maybe would have been safer on the road, they died in an airplane crash.
Erv

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 13 Oct 2022 11:16 am

Probably in that case, Erv. Hindsight is 20/20. But there have been lots of musicians lost in vehicle crashes too. One list here - https://rateyourmusic.com/list/musicman ... r_crashes/

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 13 Oct 2022 11:18 am

Dave,
Yes, of course.
Erv

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 13 Oct 2022 11:31 am

These are the two albums by Rick Nelson that feature James on Dobro and, of course, guitar.

Released in 1966 and 1967, they coincided with my dawning interest in country music.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 13 Oct 2022 11:44 am

Burton definitely played some basic pedal steel, and periodically played it on stage early-on with Ricky. It came up in an employee/endorsee bs'ing session in the Fender NAMM rom around 2001

I saw James on guitar twice live - once with Ricky Nelson at Knott's; and the other an insane gig at Magic Mountain where my bluegrass band played two afternoon sets; then the REAL show started in the evening with the Flying Burrito Brothers (Sneaky on Steel, Gene Parsons on drums, Skip Battin on Bass, Gib Gilbeau on fiddle & rhythm guitar and Joel Scott Hill fronting the group and playing lead guitar - one of my all-time favorite lineups)...

Then EmmyLou Harris and The Hot Band came on - with Burton AND Bob Warford trading lead guitar parts. She always turned the Hot Band loose (usually either James, Bob, Albert Lee or Frank Reckard on lead guitar) and Hank DeVito on steel.

It was a HOT day, the stage was outdoors, I felt like hammered buffalo droppings after playing - but you couldn't have dragged me off my chair in the sound booth with a bulldozer! I just wish I'd taped it! Both bands were really "ON"...

Rick McNamara · Post by **Rick McNamara** » 13 Oct 2022 3:05 pm

Hey Andy,

To clarify my point on “most of the band”, my thought was concerning Tom Brumley not being on board.

I had the good fortune of talking with Tom, Maurice Anderson and Herb Remington when my family and I had the table next to them for breakfast at Scotty’s PSG Convention Hotel in 1981.

I was not trying to minimize the loss of life that day, just relating it to someone I had met who played PSG for Ricky.

Rick

Andy DePaule · Post by **Andy DePaule** » 14 Oct 2022 4:52 pm

Well Dave truth is this is me with the great hair doo. Some of that hair ain't no longer where it was then, but now it comes outta my ears instead!

"Cool bass. Is that you? Nice pompadour. On the bass 'sponsorship' - reminds me of the old joke, "Q: What do you call a musician who breaks up with his girlfriend? A: Homeless."

As for the joke, Yes she's long gone, but I got to keep the bass.

Andy DePaule · Post by **Andy DePaule** » 14 Oct 2022 4:54 pm

Rick McNamara wrote:Hey Andy,

To clarify my point on “most of the band”, my thought was concerning Tom Brumley not being on board.

I had the good fortune of talking with Tom, Maurice Anderson and Herb Remington when my family and I had the table next to them for breakfast at Scotty’s PSG Convention Hotel in 1981.

I was not trying to minimize the loss of life that day, just relating it to someone I had met who played PSG for Ricky.

Rick

I think Tom Brumley left the band before that happened?

Rick McNamara · Post by **Rick McNamara** » 14 Oct 2022 5:56 pm

Hey Andy,

Last music I had heard of Ricky’s was “Garden Party” with Tom Brumley on
PSG. It wasn’t until I read about the crash did I learn that Tom Brumley was not onboard. I didn’t know he had already left the band and headed home.

Rick

The Steel Guitar Forum

James Burton on Pedal Steel with Ricky Nelson

James Burton on Pedal Steel with Ricky Nelson

James Burton PSG with young Ricky Nelson

Trading off?

Re: James Burton PSG with young Ricky Nelson

Re: Trading off?

Burton PSG with Ricky Nelson

Well Dave truth is

Re: Burton PSG with Ricky Nelson

James Burton PSG and Ricky Nelson