Remember John Call or Doug Livingstone?

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 2 Feb 2004 10:21 am

John Call was the steel player from Pure Prarie League and Doug was with Dan Fogleberg's one time back up band, Fool's Gold[I think!]. I used to really like the way both of these little known steel players sounded... no pyrotecnics but pretty nice E9 playing that fit thier respective bands like a glove... just wondering..... bob

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 2 Feb 2004 10:27 am

Actually its Livingston......no "e"

Jim Palenscar · Post by **Jim Palenscar** » 2 Feb 2004 10:30 am

Last thing I heard about John Call is that he was in Ohio (Cincinatti area ?) and Doug Livingston is on this forum under the name of Earnest Bovine and may still be alive

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 2 Feb 2004 1:32 pm

Well there goes that long held secret.

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HagFan

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 2 Feb 2004 1:43 pm

Yeah--now everyone's gonna bug Call in Ohio.

Randy Pettit · Post by **Randy Pettit** » 2 Feb 2004 2:41 pm

Along with Rusty Young, John David Call was one of my main early influences, and the reason I took up PSG.

Post by **Joey Ace** » 2 Feb 2004 4:08 pm

I love Call's intro to "Amie" on PPL's live album. It's one of the first speed pickin licks I learned.

Chuck McGill · Post by **Chuck McGill** » 3 Feb 2004 4:30 am

I had a shobud maverick with 2 knees in 1975
so the band I was in learned about 5 songs
from the first PPL album. John Call, Rusty
Young, Sneaky Pete, Bobby Black and Al Perkins were my heroes

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 3 Feb 2004 5:52 am

Chuck... they were MY heroes too,along with Buddy Cage and Jerry Garcia. Trouble is ,thats still the way I play... West Coast style "hippie" pedal steel guitar.... bob

Chuck McGill · Post by **Chuck McGill** » 3 Feb 2004 6:17 am

Oh yea Bob we opened the night with Hi, Hello
How are you by the NRPS. Thanks for adding
Buddy Cage. He is one of my heroes also.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 3 Feb 2004 7:52 am

Doug Livingston is also a top keyboard player having worked with Jose' Feliciano, Olivia Newton John, and other top flight artists on that instrument. Have a good 'un, JH

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Zayit · Post by **Zayit** » 3 Feb 2004 10:43 am

I love all those country-rock groups too- PPL; NRPS; Poco; Burritos etc.

One clarification: Al Brisco from Toronto 'ghosted' the beautiful E-9 work in Angel, Jazzman & other cuts on the first PPL album. John Call played on the "live" album...

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 3 Feb 2004 1:39 pm

Doug has played steel on somewhere around 8000 demos over the past few decades.[This message was edited by chas smith on 03 February 2004 at 01:39 PM.]

Ricky Littleton · Post by **Ricky Littleton** » 4 Feb 2004 5:22 am

John Call's picking on the live album's "I'll Fix Your Flat Tire Merle" was super!!!

Ricky

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Emmons LeGrande - 8x4
Session 400 Ltd
Dan-Echo, E-Bow, Ibanez Distortion, Boss Comp./Sustain, Ibanez Auto-Wah

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 4 Feb 2004 7:17 am

Ricky, they played that one at my wedding -- over 25 years ago. I guess it was as close as the band could come to a Hag tune. If I recall correctly, I danced with my mother on that one. Sure could have used some of John's steel there that day.

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HagFan

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 4 Feb 2004 8:21 am

Trouble is ,thats still the way I play... West Coast style "hippie" pedal steel guitar

Hey Bob,
WHY?? What´s wrong with West Coast style "hippie" PSG? You oughta be proud to be able to play like that... I for my part was frustrated as long as I had to play the new country crap, but now I´m so happy I have finally found a band where I actually need to play a lot of Buddy Cage and Ralph Mooney licks cause that´s what fits the kind of music we play (oh yeah, Call is one of my favorites too!)

Regards, Joe H.

Chris Forbes · Post by **Chris Forbes** » 4 Feb 2004 8:45 am

John Call is a beast of a picker, he makes me sick.

Greg Vincent · Post by **Greg Vincent** » 4 Feb 2004 9:56 am

Doug Livingston shreds.

Rick McDuffie · Post by **Rick McDuffie** » 4 Feb 2004 10:06 am

Earnest Bovine.

Well, I'll be...

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 4 Feb 2004 1:10 pm

Gotta agree with Joe. That West Coast hippie style was, and still is, "IT" for me. I remember buying Poco's live album, and being knocked over. Yeah, I know, then Garcia, then Toy Caldwell...
But John David Call, Rusty Young, Sneaky Pete...man, those were the days, weren't they??

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 4 Feb 2004 2:32 pm

I LOVE that style.. I feel Tom Brumley was the originator, but like many good techniques probably a bunch of guys started doing it around the same time. I really do play like a combination of all those guys,because that's who I learned from .. not the Nashville guys. I guess it's not a problem to anyone but me. I wanna play like Myrick and Hughey and Jernigan and Green and Emmons and Day and Franklin... you know.... all the "lightweights"!!! ..... right..... bob

tom anderson · Post by **tom anderson** » 4 Feb 2004 3:34 pm

I think we should petition the steel guitar hall of fame to induct all the hippie steel guitarists together (Rusty Young,Sneaky Pete, Jerry Garcia-yes,David Call,Al Perkins,Buddy Cage) These guys were the ones who got a WHOLE GENERATION of steel players to pick up the instrument. Probably no other group in modern times influenced so many steel players.

Doug Earnest · Post by **Doug Earnest** » 4 Feb 2004 5:06 pm

Tom Anderson,
Good observation, I hadn't really thought of it that way. They may be to people my age (45) what Buddy, Jimmy Day, Buddy Charleton, etc. were to the guys that are hitting 60 now. I didn't have a chance to hear what most would call classic country when I was growing up and getting into music so I don't have those sounds embedded in my mind the way I do those of the New Riders, PPL, Marshall Tucker Band, or good ole Waylon. A big Thanks to the "old hippie" steelers, great music!

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 4 Feb 2004 9:22 pm

Thanks Bob, I'm grateful and kinda surprised if you enjoyed the steel playing on the Fools Gold LP. One correction however: the steel was not E9, but rather 12 string C6/F9 universal (MSA).

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 5 Feb 2004 4:39 am

Earnest... Its funny you should say that about your tuning.. I used to also rip off Pete Kleinow's solo's and THEY all sounded like E9 to me too. Just goes to show what a good universal tuning is capable of when the right guy is using it. That MSA had a VERY cool sound to it and if I remember correctly,you did't use much reverb, if any. Anyway, that album was certainly an early influence! I am glad you mentioned it was an MSA because that was my steel of choice for many many years and it served me well for country rock when everyone else was playing Sho Bud or Emmons guitars. Thanks for taking the time to reply... How cool is this?? I get to "talk" to ANOTHER guy that helped me learn to play!!!!! bob