Gene O'neal--------Remembered

Dave Robbins · Post by **Dave Robbins** » 31 Aug 2001 11:12 pm

As much as Gene loved to talk about steel guitar, he loved "playing C6" even more. He would take any opportunity to use that bottom neck. When he went to work on the 'Opry for Stonewall Jackson he would play everything he could get away with on the "C neck". One night Gene told me that old 'Wall had gotton on to him for playing C neck during their Opry spots. He was told he had to start playing back on the "money-neck" (E9 neck) again. So the next time they went out on stage to play Gene leaned over on his way to the stage and said "Watch this!" When they got out their on stage Gene played EVERYTHING HE HAD BEEN PLAYING ON C6 EXACTLY THE SAME, NOTE FOR NOTE, EXCEPT HE PLAYED IT ON THE E9! He played the same licks, fills and all. Still sounded just like C6! After they finished their Opry spot and Gene was on the way back off stage he past me and again leaned over to me and said "That'll teach him! He ain't gonna tell me what to play!"
Gene was just as proficient on one neck as the other and at times it was hard to tell which neck he was on. He had a ball foolin' ol' 'Wall doin' that. He did that everytime after that and he'd always look over at me with that mischevious grin of his and chuckle just knowin' he'd got away with it!
It was a blast watching gene play C6 licks on the E9 and E9 licks on the C6. He could kick off a country shuffle on C6 just as easily as anyone else could do it on the E9 neck, and most of the time he preferred to!

Dave

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 1 Sep 2001 5:48 am

Having been overseas while all this was going on, I never got to meet Gene or know him. Anything I ever had of him was only what I had heard. Now all of you are telling a powerful story here and I'm simply lovin' it !! Thanks Bobbe for starting the thread and to all you folks who were fortunate enough to have known him

Best Regards, Paul

Dave Robbins · Post by **Dave Robbins** » 1 Sep 2001 6:44 am

Oh yeah, I remember another episode with Gene. I used to always keep a guitar set up in the dinning room (of all places, geez!) where I could get to it quickly. One morning bright and early, my wife came upstairs to our bedroom and awakened me from a deep sleep (I had been playing a club late the night before) and she said "Honey, you need to get up, there's someone down stairs playing your guitar!" I jumped up, threw on a house coat and stumbled down the stairs and into the dinning room to find Gene deeply engrossed playing my guitar! "Good morning Gene! What brings you over this way?" He just sat there with that same ol' grin and said he was on his way home from playing handball at the gym when a lick came to him and I was the closest place to get to a guitar! My wife told me later that she had just got up and was reading the paper when she heard a knock at the door. She said she opened it to find Gene standing there anxiously. He just said "I got to see Dave's guitar a minute!" (he was not known for many words) and just came on in where he helped himself to my guitar and started jammin' away! This was so typical of Gene. By the way, I learned some really cool stuff that day that I still can't pull off even to this day!

Dave

Peter Dollard · Post by **Peter Dollard** » 1 Sep 2001 7:19 am

I loved the tone Gene got on the"Pridesman" record. What drove me nuts though was the version of "Last Date" where the standard guitar roadhogged the whole verse leaving Gene with one little sliver of a solo on the chorus but how sweet it was!!!Pete.

BDBassett · Post by **BDBassett** » 1 Sep 2001 6:10 pm

In 1976 I worked with a singer named Pat Roberts who's uncle was (at that time) a very influential concert promoter so we were lucky enough to get backstage at a lot of very cool concerts. We were playing in a club in Regina Sask. at the same time Charlie was doing a concert in town. We all hung around while the Pridesmen set up and sound checked. But we had to get back to the club for our own gig before the show started.
At about 11:00 that night, in troops the whole enterage, Charlie Pride, Dave & Sugar, Gary Stewart and most of the Pridesmen including Gene O'Neal.
It wasn't long before they took over the place and we had to give up the stage, all of us but me...Gene insisted that he set up next to me and we both play...twin steels with Gene O'Neal, imagine that.
Dave & Sugar did a few tunes, Gary Stewart just sat in the background and played piano on everything but when Charlie Pride jumped up, the place went wild. Lucky for me I had the presence of mind to flip on the tape recorder and capture the whole thing.
I few years ago I borrowed a reel to reel machine so I could listen again. It was fantastic. Gene played every trick in the book and I, well I dug in and gamely tried to keep up. A night I will always cherish.
BD

Buddy Buddy · Post by **Buddy Buddy** » 1 Sep 2001 9:01 pm

Damn right, he is missed! He jammed over at my house, many times. I went to his funeral.
It's a shame that he went, instead of some of the phonies, that have accumulated, around here.

"Little" Buddy.

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 2 Sep 2001 5:17 am

Now I promised myself that I would never do this but I've got to. After such a decent thread and contributions by what can only be called professionals and on Steel Guitar Weekend itself, do we really need a rude and impolite comment such as Phonies ?? This is neither the place nor the time to flame some supposed enemies. I'm sure bob has other places for such trivia and complaints as anyone may have. I hate it when someone else's dog leaves a mess in my yard. Spoils my whole day but have you ever noticed; the owner couldn't care less !!

Paul

Dave Robbins · Post by **Dave Robbins** » 2 Sep 2001 6:35 am

Yeah, I'm not sure who the accusation of "phonie" is aimed at. People who "actually play steel" or those who just like to get on the forum just to run their mouth!

If ya don't have something productive to say, don't say anything. And if you accuse someone of something, be sure you can back it up!

Love ya and miss ya, Gene.
Dave

Bill Sharpe · Post by **Bill Sharpe** » 2 Sep 2001 10:25 am

AMEN, Dave!

PS. That was a funny story about Gene stopping by your house to try the new lick

------------------
B#

[This message was edited by Bill Sharpe on 02 September 2001 at 11:27 AM.][This message was edited by Bill Sharpe on 02 September 2001 at 11:29 AM.]

Jerry Horner · Post by **Jerry Horner** » 2 Sep 2001 11:03 am

I worked twin steels with Gene on a little band when we were very young . Even then he was very, very good and I was very, very bad. However Gene never made me feel lesser than himself. I lost contact with Gene many years ago and I never seen him again after that. I learned much from him and still miss him to this day.

Jerry

Buddy Buddy · Post by **Buddy Buddy** » 2 Sep 2001 7:48 pm

The phonies, like Gaylord, the present governor, ex=Nashville mayor, all of those who have tried their best, to ruin country music. But, i'm giving them fair warning, I'm moving back to Nashville, and give them a run for their money.
"Little" Buddy.

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 3 Sep 2001 8:57 pm

This post has some wonderful memories of this wonderfully crazy steelguitar guy and I'm going to print this out , keep a copy and send a copy to the powers that be at the "Hall of Fame". Just because he isn't here in everyones face like the other nominees doesn't mean he shouldn't have a chance to be there! He'll be just as famous as me, John Hughy,Buddy Emmons or anyone in 100 years.( Hey Mommy Zork,Whats that funny thing in the new Bible they talk about,you know,An instrument of 20 strings,8 pedals and 5 knees?). Who knows how we'll stack up in the "Brand new testament".Carter may be as big as Genral Motors,which in a hundred years may be as small as JCH is today! Want to wait a year for a new Chevy? Mike Weirach may still be waiting for both! Anyway, my crystal ball is getting dim so all I can do is print out your memories and hope someone else cares the way all you great guys do.
And Gene isn't the only one to remember, we are getting more to remember every day,do you want to be forgotten? These guys in steel guitar history are as important to me as anyone else in history. Yep, Buddy Emmons means more to me than George Washington. He touched my mind a lot harder than ole Geo. did. (But I know Buddy better.)Lets not forget ANY steel player, we're special,to us anyway. We need a bigger hall of fame, or "Hall of Rememberance" anyway. Thanks all you big hearted great people.
Steel forever!