The Steel Guitar Forum

I am so sad we have lost another great and an inspiring person such as Mr. Hughey. He was one of my motivators on steel guitar as his style was so unique.
My condolences to his wife and entire family.
With much respect,
Carlos Polidura

HOW AWFUL!!! My condolences to the family!!

Drew

I have a CD of John's Gospel Instrumental. I have treasured it since the first time I heard it. Now, it's PRICELESS! Rest in Peace, Dear Friend

Indeed a blue Monday for the steel guitar world. We have lost an amazing pair of hands and probably the biggest heart in the steel comunity. My prayers to Miss Jean for her loss. Mr. John (I always called him that out of respect and admiration) seemed to have time chat steel and life in general the few times I was lucky enough to speak with him. He will be sorely missed.
Billy

I'm so sorry to hear this.

i'm not ready for this...........who's going to give me goose bumps now?
absolutely one of my main favorite inspirations!
i'm very sorry to hear this.

John was such a fabulous steel guitar player. He'll certainly be missed by all of us. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

john hughey was a legend. john hughey made conway with his crying steel. we will miss you john. god bless your family. thank you for the great music that you gave us.

He was a Class Act in every way. Always the same anywhere he was at. Dont know anyone that didnt think he was a Special guy. I believe i will see him again.

John Hughey's obituary from the Nashville Tennessean:

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... ERTAINMENT

While I had the pleasure of seeing John Hughey at various conventions, I only once had the privilege to speak with him and was immediately overwhelmed to discover his generosity and simple approach to a person he had not know before.
We had brought a prototype instrument with us and he immediately offered to come up to my room and try it. We just wanted to have some feed back, not looking for endorsements or anything at that time. Anyway, John Hughey spent about an hour or more with us and our little creation and never even looked on his watch and gave us a very honest opinion.
I will always remember him for that and his music of course.
... J-D.

i first herd john at a jeff newman "june jam with
also, jimmy day what a treat for me john took my breath away what a player what tone, . he will be surely missed R.I.P john
paul wade
mundelein,ill

I can't believe it! I will certainly be praying for his family and friends. So sorry to hear of this. Hang in there guys, we're losing a lot of precious friends.

I never had the privilege of hearing him play live but have admired him and all he has done for the steel guitar community. He will be dearly missed by all. My prayers go out to all of his family.

Pete

This is so heartbreaking! All I could dream of when starting to play was to sound like Mr. Hughey. His sound will always be sweet magic. My prayers also go out to his family.

I met Mr. H just a few years ago, he was a most unassuming and friendly gentleman. That was the day I first heard him play live and although I had heard his recorded work many times, I never realized who he was. No one loved the steel more than Mr. H, you could hear it in his playing. We are going to miss him. Adios John.

I was so sorry and surprised when I got the phone call about John. He was just a great guy, loved the steel guitar and had done so much for it. He treated everyone the same...and with respect.

I had many great talks with John. I'll never forget our talks.

He was and is a true legend.

Rest in peace, John Hughey

Dave

I was able to get to talk to John and Jean over the years at the steel shows,this man was a great human being,always had time for everyone. He will be missed by everyone, but will live on with the sound that he leaves behind. My prays go out to Jean and family.
Dean Batye
Concord,Ca
NTSGA
SWSGA

What a shock! Since the loss of JERRY BYRD and the host of others during the past several years, there likely will not be any real veterans left within another couple of years.

John was truly an artist, not just a player! It was a shear joy to hear him play.

A terrible loss..........

One thing John did do in the last few years is record several new CD's. Because of this, his music will live on for a long time. Some of the other great steel players that are still with us need to do the same. Especially Lloyd Green and Buddy Emmons, and there are many others. How else are the younger players going to know how the pioneers of this instrument sounded. It doesn't cost much to put out a really good project nowadays.

He will definitely be missed.

I never met the man, but I heard him everytime the steel player would stretch that high note and make that steel whine.

You do not replace players like John, you just pray that you can do him honor whenever you put the picks on.

A great talent has gone to wait for the rest of us.

I am so sad to hear this. To me, Mr Hughey was THE player that caught my attention rather it was with Conway or Vince. I have heard so many nice things about him over the years by many of you on this forum that I feel like I knew him although I never had the honor.

You, the friends of Mr. Hugheys', are his legacy.

Thank you Mr. H for all the great music but more importantly, the great humanity.

I was in Nashville earlier this month for the ResoSummit, and bought one of John's CD's at Ernest Tubb's Record Store, and the new Time Jumpers double CD, as well. So, I've been listening to John's playing extensively for the past two weeks. When I hear him play at the Station Inn two summers ago, he made an indelible impression on me.

I considered staying in Nashville an extra day to hear the Time Jumpers on Monday night, November 12, but decided to get on the road instead. I guess, if he indeed played that night, that it would have been his final gig.

This is very sad news, indeed...

Gary,
East Snook, TX

One thing is for certain, he went down swinging. He was still playing at the top of his game to the very end. IMO, absolutely the best at bar shiver, and at playing up high in the far reaches of the neck. He played with so much feeling, amazing. As I've mentioned here before, though we all drool over his E9 playing, his C6 playing with the Time Jumpers was unbelievable also. RIP

Joe

Mr. Hughey was a great man and friend. I just did the Oprah show this morning with the Flatts, and Vince & Amy were there. Vince and I talked for a few minutes and laughed about some of our favorite memories of John. I sat down and played through "Look At Us", and realized for the zillionth time, what a genius he was. He was a pioneer on the instrument, a hero, a friend, and I will miss him.

-t