The Steel Guitar Forum

Hearing John Heinrich play "Danny Boy" at a cheesy motel lounge in Lexington, KY in 1975 (or thereabouts). He was awesome. Still is.

Pedal Steel~Sneaky Pete,Lloyd Green,Al Perkins,Dan Dugmore & Burke Carroll.

Lap/Dobro~Jerry Douglas,Doug Cox&Cindy Cashdollar.

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Purple Fessenden SD-10 4X5

At first,Jerry Garcia.......'Cause of Teach your Children by CSN&Y...( I was a Rocker back then) But then I started listening to Nashville players......To actuallly learn how to play Hal Rugg was my favorite, and Buddy, of course!.

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Jory Simmons

When I first got interested in steel around 1980 I was very green on who was who so it never made much difference until one Saturday afternoon.

There was a weekly program on in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area called the Shootin Newton hour where I saw Junior Knight and Gary Carpenter playing with Dewey Groom from the Longhorn Ballroom. I was hooked on how to learn to play steel after that.



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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

Hi Dean Neely, yes, Billy Bob Turner was a great player. He was on some of Jim Reeves' early independent recordings. One that comes to mind is a song called "Chicken Hearted". Those days in the late 40's were certainly the good old days with Billy Bob, Bobby Garrett, Al Petty, Curtis Kirk, Gene Wortham, Jimmy Biggars, Rudy Gaddis,Red Perryman, and most of us' first teacher, Raleigh Sigler. I sure enjoyed working all the clubs in Kilgore, Longview, and Gladewater. We were all too young to be in the club's, but we got by. See you down the road, Jody.

Floyd Walstrip in Joplin Missouri in 1950, gave me lessons for three years on the lap steel, Oahu school of music.
Jim Sentlinger

I always loved the sound of a PSG but when I heard Doug Jernigan play Four and My Funny Valentine on Diggin' Doug I started thinking more about playing one. Then I had the opportunity to hear Julian Tharpe play at the Demon's Den in the summer of 1974 and I bought a Sho Bud just before Christmas that year.

The playing on Hank Snow,George Morgan songs early on and the topper after I got a steelguitar was the Buck Owens songs.Together again really did it for me..Then their was Mearle Haggard with Norm playing so great.I was sold on this beautiful instrument..Been loving every minute of it since.RS

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Steeling with Franklin's

In my earliest memories from the 60ís I remember steel guitar on Hank Snows recordings, Porter Wagoners and so on. U know all the names of the players in this era. Living in Sweden it was not so much country music on the radio. When I heard the steel guitar i was sold! This was my sound and just wanted to learn to play this instrument! 1974 I bought my first PSG!! My strongest influense here in Sweden was Mr. Janne Lindgren. He helped me a lot to understand the secrets of the steel! Still I have some secrets to disclose:-) Or should I say a lot!!!!!
Uffe
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GFI S-10

Clyde Mattox from Kinston N.C.One of the
finest pedal steel players in the land.

My Dad, Bill Spaeth. Back in 1968 he got me started on a 6 string lap steel and I've never looked back!I must also credit all the greats along the way, Lloyd Green, Jimmy Day, Buddy Emmons, Herb Remington, and so many, many more!

Lucky Oceans and Asleep At The Wheel

A local steeler named Johnny Bondz had a music store in South Glens Falls , Ny.
He sold SHO~BUDS and used to play on a local TV show. the "Pete Williams Show"
I was just facinated by him playing that steel and although it would be quite a few years before I owned one, he really turned me on to the steel.and allways put up with a million questions from us kids bugging him at his store, although he was very kind to us. As I understand , he moved to Florida and is a member of one of the steel clubs there.......Thanks Johnny.

In 1964 I was 14 and was working lights at the high school for a Nashville package tour that came through town. I didn't even know what country music was back then. The bill featured Johnny Cash, Stonewall Jackson and a few others I can't remember. The backup band blew me away though. I think they were the String Masters or String Dusters and all had matching orange sparkle Fender gear. The sound of the steel really got me and haunted me for years. I wanted to do that. I found Leonard Zinn at his store in Chambersburg PA and started lap steel lessons. My wife still thinks it was the orange sparkle guitars that hooked me. Dunno...

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Carter D-10, 8+5

Jerry Byrd and Don Helms with Hank Williams, and the radio shows in the UK with Felix, Roland and Earnest.
The players were Harry Brooker, Sammy Mitchel, Roland Peachey and Billy Bell.
but also not to forget my mentor Bill Cox.

BBC Introduction


Ten Tiny Toes

My Happiness


Sophisticated Hula <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by basilh on 18 September 2006 at 02:27 AM.]</p></FONT>

Big Jim Murphy, Paul Franklin, Buddy Emmons, Leon McAuliffe, Cindi Cashdollar, Jerry Douglas amongst others...and all the folks that laughed at me and told me that a trumpet player isn't going to able to learn steel after playing horn for 30 years - gave me all the more reason!<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Mark Trzepacz on 18 September 2006 at 08:19 AM.]</p></FONT>

I guess hearing the steel a lot of different places and loving its sound did it... but the first thing that comes to mind is Kim Deschamps's pedal & dobro playing on the Cowboy Junkies "The Trinity Sessions". It's pretty understated for the most part, but it sounds great. And definitely Don Helms's stuff on old Patsy Cline recordings. And Paul Niehaus's work with Lambchop, Paul Burch, and others.

I definitely I knew I loved that sound before I actually knew anything about what created it. I had a lot of these albums way before I knew anything about the pedal steel guitar. I can't remember the exact moment where everything "clicked".

Originally, I posted this response on Hank Pel's thread, but I feel it should be here, too:

I remember, very clearly, my initial inspirations. The ones that prompted me to buy my first steel (a Gibson Electraharp, 8-string/6-pedal). They were:
Jerry Garcia: solo on Candyman and solo on Last Lonely Eagle.

Rusty Young: performance of the song Grand Junction from the live "Deliverin'" album.

Once I had my first steel my inspirations also included:

Butch Butler: His advice to dump the Electraharp and "get a modern steel" saved me months of wasted time plunkin' on a dinosaur. Also inspiring was Butch's album: "Steelin' For Jesus". What great tone Butch got from his Sho~Bud. Thanks, Butch!

Jimi Hendrix: (I tried to copy what he did on a Strat with my Electrharp HAH! )

Buddy Cage: All of his playing on NRPS albums

Buddy Emmons: The "white" or "Rainbow" album was a watershed event for me.

And last, and certainly the most inspirational, my steel teacher: Paul Carestia. He was the first steel player I had the opportunity to watch up close, during lessons and at the club dates he played. I was very fortunate, because Paul is a excellent player. To be able to receive tutelage from such a musician was, indeed, a rare experience. Paul's patience with my learning process really helped develop my confidence. What a great teacher and truly good person he was/is. Thanks again, Paul, for opening the door to this wonderful instrument.

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

The steel guitar of 50's, 60's country music intriqued me as a kid, but back then I didn't know a Buddy Emmons from a Lloyd Green. But it must of been some of their music I heard back then even though I did not know who they were.

When I started taking lessons about 2 years ago, it was the instructional ability of Steve Lamb, the awesome sound that Gary Carpenter could get out of his steel guitar, the soulful sound that Bill Simmons was able to make on his steel, and of course the great picking of Corky Owens that has inspired/motivated me to not only play, but continue to play steel guitar.

well it was about two and half years ago i was looking at psg's on the net. i came across a site that had all the mfgs listed and i clicked on the first one. i don't remember what one i was but it had about 15 sample songs each one lasting 60 sec. well the very first song i heard was amazing grace. at that point in time i said to my self i have to learn this insturment. so i bought a carter starter and bruce boutons instructional tape and some tab sheets. now i don't profess to be a steel player but i have learned a few of the gospel songs and do fair at them. my idea was maybe someone would come to church to hear this thing they call a psg. well last dec i was in chicago for a family christmas dinner and they all wanted to hear me play. well i told them what church i was playing in the next am and if they wanted to hear me play be there. the next morning my nephew and his wife and daughter was in church. sence then they have started attending regularly. so it does work. sence then i have played in several churches and spoke from the word of god. played at a fund raiser here in town last easter time and last month played at the state fair for the missouri baptist convention. i have a few credits to my name but not very big at this time and i don't want to get big but just play for the lord. thanks doc.

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zum SD10 peavy session 400 peavy XR600G
if its not a zum steel it isn't real
just trying to steel for the Lord>

In 1961, Nashville studio owner, Gene Breeden was manager of White's Music in Visalia, Ca. He played a new LP called "Travis" with Curly Chalker doing the most incredible C6 playing I'd ever heard. I then started turning my attention from the guitar to steel and the honeymoon hasn't stopped yet.