What player's could you ID just hearing them?

Jim West · Post by **Jim West** » 6 Nov 2002 7:46 am

What players could you make a 95% positive ID just hearing them on the radio or on a CD? What player has a style and a tone that makes you say, "I know who that is!"

For me it's -

Buddy Emmons
JayDee Maness
Sneaky Pete

Anybody else have any?

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 6 Nov 2002 7:50 am

John Hughey
Paul Franklin
Dan Tyack
Bruce Bouton

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Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 6 Nov 2002 7:58 am

Big E, Noel Boggs, Joaquin, Speedy, Chalker, Lloyd Green.

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George McLellan · Post by **George McLellan** » 6 Nov 2002 7:59 am

Don Helms
Johnny Siebert
Jerry Byrd
Keyton Roberts

I'd say Al Brisco, but I can't hear as fast as he can play.

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SUAS U' PHIOB
Geo

[This message was edited by George Mc Lellan on 06 November 2002 at 08:00 AM.]

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 6 Nov 2002 8:11 am

Most of the well-known from the "old days":
Joaquin Murphey, Noel Boggs, Alvino Rey, Jerry Byrd, Speedy West, Herb Remington, Leon McAuliff, Roy Wiggins, Pete Kirby.
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Edited to add Curley Chalker
and Don Helms.[This message was edited by Roy Ayres on 06 November 2002 at 08:13 AM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 6 Nov 2002 8:25 am

I'd have to add early Brumley, and early Lloyd Green, and early Buddy Charleton to those already mentioned. In the past 15 years, it's gotten harder to recognize players...as their sound is a lot more uniform, or homogenous than it used to be. This isn't the fault of the players, but more the fault of the producers. Live, they're still recognizable, but on their CD backup work...forget it.

DJ Sillito · Post by **DJ Sillito** » 6 Nov 2002 8:40 am

1. Paul Franklin - probably a style that alot of us try to emulate because he is on so many great recordings with alot of artists.
2. Bruce Bouton - especially noticeble for his fast pickin' style on Ricky Skaggs recordings
3. Jay Dee Maness - A style that is recognizeable especially from his days with Desert Rose Band.
4. Others who I recognize may be because they are guilty by association (so to speak)
- Michael Johnson on Paisley's recordings
- Jeff Peterson on Clint's recordings (great dobro also by Jeff)

These are just a few that stand out for me.

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Joe Miraglia · Post by **Joe Miraglia** » 6 Nov 2002 9:24 am

Jim--That would be me! You didn't say it had to sound good. If you were to hear me play with my style and tone you would definitely say "I know who that is!" All kidding aside, the style and tone is like a fingerprint with some of them being more promenent than others. I would add Pete Drake to the list. Joe

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 6 Nov 2002 9:37 am

Dan Dugmore. Very distinctive. He uses an original big body Sho-Bud Pro-II. Its very recognizable along with his style.

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 6 Nov 2002 10:10 am

Ralph Mooney and Buddy Cage!

Kenny Davis · Post by **Kenny Davis** » 6 Nov 2002 11:19 am

Lloyd Green
Buddy Emmons
Pete Drake
Hal Rugg
Weldon Myrick
Ralph Mooney
Jim Vest
Kayton Roberts

Rick Garrett · Post by **Rick Garrett** » 6 Nov 2002 12:14 pm

Bobby Garrett
Lloyd Green
Buddy Emmons

Those are the 3 I'd choose.

Rick Garrett

Hap Young · Post by **Hap Young** » 7 Nov 2002 7:23 am

How about Bud Isaacs
Loyd
Buddy
Hal
Curley
Herby

Ian Finlay · Post by **Ian Finlay** » 7 Nov 2002 9:02 am

I'm amazed nobody's mentioned Vance Terry yet!

Ian

Bob Helms · Post by **Bob Helms** » 7 Nov 2002 9:13 am

I like most all steel pickers.. But I was influenced in my younger days by Tom Brumley and a little later by Norm Hamlet. Bob H.

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Jason Stillwell · Post by **Jason Stillwell** » 7 Nov 2002 10:42 am

I remember when I first started learning on steel thinking, "I can tell guitar players apart, but steel players all sound alike to me." Well, eight years later my ears have developed a little. I was scanning the dial last Sunday night and stopped on a great steel break. "Weldon Myrick!" Sure enough when the singer came back on it was Reba McEntar

singing Invitation to the Blues. That was the first time I've been able to recognize Weldon, thanks to my newly-purchased Connie Smith CD. I can usually (I stress usually) tell if it's Emmons, Jimmy Day, Mooney (that's kind of a given), Hughey, Franklin, Tom Brumley, sometimes Bruce Bouton, Lloyd Green.

JB Arnold · Post by **JB Arnold** » 8 Nov 2002 8:13 am

I haven't been around long enough to recognize the legends-but I would know Buddy Cage, Garcia, Moon, an probably Bobby Black, just from hearing them.

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Henry · Post by **Henry** » 8 Nov 2002 10:11 am

BUDDY EMMONS (from another planet)
the REST with RESPECT
,,,,,,are steelplayers.
(with there CHARM & IMPERFECTION

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 8 Nov 2002 11:03 am

From days in the past....I could accurately identify a major portion of the then current name-players; S.West; Joaquin M; N.Boggs; R.Wiggens; Don Helms; Remington, McAuliff; and of course Jerry Byrd.
Today about the only ones I can grab are Lloyd Green; John Hughey; sometimes Hall Rugg. All the rest out there, playing in the same tuning, playing most of the same licks..........sound all the same to me.
Oh well...so much for "personal identity".

Mac Lloyd · Post by **Mac Lloyd** » 8 Nov 2002 11:07 am

Tom Brumley
Donnie Herron
L.Green
Buddy

And of course…Johan Jansen

Eddie Malray · Post by **Eddie Malray** » 8 Nov 2002 12:24 pm

I can always tell if it's Emmons, Green or Hughey. Most of all Hughey

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 8 Nov 2002 1:00 pm

I used to be able to recognize all of them but now I'm down to just one.....ME !

I know all those mistakes and funny moves no one else would think of doing........

Regards, Paul

compuserve · Post by **compuserve** » 8 Nov 2002 1:21 pm

LG
PF
JH
HW
BE
AND ME.

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 9 Nov 2002 4:50 pm

The steel playing styles that are easiest to ID (for me) are:

Buddy Emmons
Paul Franklin
Lloyd Green
Pete Drake

However, I can testify that these guys are so widely imitated that when the player emulating the style is sufficiently good, I can't tell the difference, especially with Buddy and Paul. I have heard Buddy play together with Randy Reinhart, and with my eyes closed I could not tell the difference. There are a bunch of players who have recorded tracks that would fool me in the 'Emmons style', including Koos Biel and Neil Flanz.
25 years ago Paul was absolutely unmistakeable, but today there are a number of players active in the recording biz who are good enough to fool Paul Sr. (and probably good enough for Paul Jr. to check his studio logs). Hell, I have recorded stuff for Muzak on songs that Paul originally played on that you would swear were the real thing.
In terms of the big name recording steel players, the one guy who I can always tell is Jerry Bird. Another who is pretty distinctive to me was Pete Drake. Even when players like Paul Franklin and Dan Dougmore cop his style you can always tell the difference. Dan Dougmore is pretty distinctive amoung the new crop. But I can't always tell if it's him.
Sneaky Pete has always been an incredibly distinctive voice, and very little copied. JD is also very distinctive, but I heard more that a couple JD clones when I worked in LA, so I couldn't guarentee a track from him.
There are a bunch of Nashville players who have distinctive styles who have been mentioned. But for me most of those guys are so versatile that it's hard to pin down. For example, Hal Rugg's playing on those Loretta Lynn records is so distinctive. But when I worked with Hal and Weldon on the Opry, for 95% of the time you really couldn't tell who was playing (if one was playing for a song that the other had played the session for, he would totally cop the others feel). Bruce Bouton is another example. Bruce has a number of 'signature' recordings, and a recognizable personal style, but on many of his recordings he echos the styles of Buddy,Sonny, Paul, Pete (Drake) or whatever is most appropriate for the song (I've been surprised more than a few times).

I can always tell it's me on recordings where I do my thing, but that's because my style is so warped...

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Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 9 Nov 2002 6:07 pm

I recognized Jay Dee Manness when he played for the Desert Rose Band in the eighties and early nineties. I also recognized Paul Franklin and John Hughey. I'd heard John play on Vince Gill's recordings after "When I Call Your Name" and "Never Knew Lonely". I read a lot of the names of the musicians on the tapes or records. I heard Bruce Bouton play with Ricky Skaggs in the 80's. Brett Day, Emmons S-10