Pee Wee King ? for Roy Ayres

nick allen · Post by **nick allen** » 16 Jul 2003 11:44 pm

Listening to the massive compilation set of pre-1950 country music which I have referred to here before, I was struck by a particular steel solo - and when I checked, lo and behold, it was PeeWee King, "Ten Gallon Boogie" - recorded, according to the notes, in 1947. Would that have been you, Roy? If so, great solo and great sound. (Great solo and great sound even if it wasn't you, actually!)
Thanks
Nick

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 17 Jul 2003 5:34 am

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 17 Jul 2003 6:56 am

Nick:

If it was truly recorded in 1947 it would have been me, as I joined Pee Wee in late 1946. I remember the song but I don't actually remember the session. If it was recorded before 1946 it would have been Don Davis. If it was recorded while I was in Korea during 1951-52 it would have been Bobby Koefer. I could listen to the steel chorus and tell you who it was. (If the steel work was outstanding, it would have been Koefer; if it was almost as good as Koefer, it would have been Don; if it was just so-so, then it was me.)

Roy

RON PRESTON · Post by **RON PRESTON** » 17 Jul 2003 12:22 pm

ROY, Oh, ROY,
Come on now, How Modest we are today.
Mercy, "Louisville" Man, I've HEARD your playing on recordings in the past.
You DESERVE the compiments, Take um my Friend.

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 17 Jul 2003 4:47 pm

Hi Ron. Haven't heard from you for awhile. Thanks for the compliment -- I'm not being modest -- just realistic. But thanks anyway.

nick allen · Post by **nick allen** » 17 Jul 2003 10:33 pm

Well, Roy - I'm fairly sure the recording is earlier than 1951... I guess I'm just going to have to defer to your superior knowledge and greater experience, and accept that it's just a "so-so" solo - despite what my ears tell me

(I'm afraid I have no way of sending you a sound clip so you could confirm it)
Thanks again.
Nick

David Reeves · Post by **David Reeves** » 18 Jul 2003 1:16 am

What humility Roy,
You are truly one of the great steelers and most people here know that.
You are humble, complimentary to so many others, a gentleman. Roy, you are a true 'cowboy' at heart.
-----------------------------
'Stump' Reeves

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 18 Jul 2003 7:18 am

Thanks, guys -- but, seriously now, each of us in his own heart knows exactly how good he is. True, some are overly modest – but some are braggarts. I could (but won’t) tell you of a couple of steel men back in the 40’s who would tell you in a New-York minute how great they were. To me, that just destroyed any good impression they had ever made on me with their playing. One of them is still talked about today on this forum as being such a “legend” but I still can’t make myself appreciate his talent; that superior attitude has just spoiled his image forever in my eyes. On the other hand, I can (and will) tell you of a few of the true “greats” who displayed an amazing amount of humility regarding their playing: I’m referring to Alvino, Joaquin, Noel and Bobby K. The way I feel is that, if you display a modest attitude, your fans will think more highly of you and your detractors will have trouble criticizing you because you never said you were good in the first place. As I said in the opening sentence of this post, we all know how good we really are; If you think you are hot stuff, keep it to yourself. If you are really that good, others will see it without your having to tell them. Then, when you get a compliment you will know it is a true compliment – not just something the other guy said to boost your already over-inflated ego.

Carl West · Post by **Carl West** » 18 Jul 2003 9:42 am

Roy,
You rascall. I didn't realize you worked with PeeWee King. I use to listen to him wishing I could learn steel. And you hit the nail on the head about the braggers. Guess I remember a few myself.

Carl West

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 18 Jul 2003 10:59 am

Roy,
You're dead right about those greats you named. Anybody that plays great doesn't have to tell anybody. All they have to do is sit down and play and all will know and they'll be recognized for what they are. Unfortunately humility isn't taught with music lessons.

Dave Grothusen · Post by **Dave Grothusen** » 19 Jul 2003 6:13 am

Roy,
Are you any relation to Eddie Ayres? He is(or was) a fiddle player. I worked with him while he was at Ft Riley, Ks. Claimed to have played with Pee Wee. Are your related?
Thanks

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 19 Jul 2003 7:29 am

Dave:

Don't know the gentleman. He may have played with Pee Wee at one time or another, but I don't recall ever having heard his name before. The only relative I had that was a professional musician was my brother, Robert Vearl Ayres, now deceased. He played steel for awhile back in the 40's or 50's with Hank Snow and at another time with Little Jimmy Dickens. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Roy Ayres on 19 July 2003 at 08:30 AM.]</p></FONT>

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 19 Jul 2003 5:37 pm

Roy, how about elaborating on your brother and his career. Were you competetive musically with each other growing up, or have a band? Thanx

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 20 Jul 2003 4:19 am

Ron:

Thanks for asking.

Sometime ago I posted a tribute to Vearl. You will find it at the following link.
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum14/HTML/001225.html

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 20 Jul 2003 3:53 pm

DOH! Many thanx for giving me the rebound on that one Roy. Your mention of Idaho Slim's style being similar to your brother's is certainly impressive, we could use more of that today. What tuning/s did Vearle favor during his playing career? Any more artists/tunes to look for featuring him? That was a great remembrance of your brother and I really appreciate your letting us share it.

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 20 Jul 2003 4:45 pm

Ron:

Vearl had a 3-neck Fender with A6 (Noel Boggs version, E on top) on one neck, C6 (Joaquin Murphey version, E on top) on another neck. These were the same non-pedal tunings I used. I have no idea what he had on the third neck. I don't know of any other place you might find his work. I don't think he ever did a professional recording session; it's a real shame that I don't have a sample of his playing. After leaving Louisville he quit music as a profession and started deiving a semi. I guess truck driving is like playing music; it "gets in your blood." He loved driving that big rig so much he never really wanted to get back into music.