The Steel Guitar Forum

Junior, thanks for that input. Wynn Stewart was a mega country talent. I'm sorry that it took me so long to discover him. He was an innovator, a definite pivotal figure in the west coast movement. I can tell by his writing and the people he associated with. A very interesting individual.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Wynn but I always saw him as a very humble and genuinely nice person. He
sure gave those of us who liked his music alot of joy.

Dan

Lots of good stuff on Wynn here http://www.wynnstewart.com/ His daughter, Wren. runs this website and does a fine job of it.

In the liner with the CD "Wynn Stewart-California Country, The Best of the Challenge Masters" the legendary Ralph Mooney said (paraphrase) Wynn was the greatest singer he ever heard. That's a huge endorsement considering Mooney backed Buck, Merle, and Waylon.

Wynn should've been a lock for the CM Hall of Fame long ago IMO. He was a pioneer of the California Country sound that for my money is still the best on record. Perhaps some day he will be roundly recognized for how great he was.

Influence should be a factor in deciding who goes in the CMHOF, not the number of #1 hits. That said, Wynn should be a "sure thing" for induction. But, when you consider the number of people in the CMHOF who never had even one #1 hit, it makes a person start considering the "influence of politics". I don't mean to contribute to disrailing this thread, as it pertains to Wynn Stewart's various steel players. I think it's safe to say that regardless what era we are talking about, all his steel players were influenced by Mr. Moon!

I want to say Leo LeBlanc did some Wynn Stewart sessions too.

Merle said Wynn Stewart was his tudor and he got stage wisdom from him. He calls him "the great Wynn Stewart"
and does "It's such a Pretty World Today" in honor of Wynn. It can be seen on youtube.

Dan

I can add a little something that I found interesting of Wynn. I met him in Texas and wound up doing some fun session work in a studio after a show I did with Al Brumley (Tom's brother). First, he was a very nice guy and as funny as anyone I've ever met. He gave Al some advice about singing and told Al never to sing perfectly on a recording. He said if you sing perfectly, it isn't interesting enough and to make sure that you we're a little off in spots. Wynn wasn't kidding. That was how good of a singer he really was.

I'm glad to see the responses here. I think that this man received the short end of the stick in some ways as sometimes happens in the entertainment business. He had a short period of success, but his influence amongst others remained for many years. I would have like to know him. Buck Owens certainly had alot of respect for him. Merle Haggard also.

I played steel for Wynn in '68 and '69. Junior Knight played bass, and he and I would switch out for a few tunes each show. Some fun.

When Junior's Father passed away, he had to go home to take care of family business and we couldn't find a quick replacement so I went on bass and Ralph Mooney came on the road with us on steel. I've got a few stories but I won't tell them in public.

Wynn was one of the "greatest".... "Above and Beyond the Call of Love"

Cal, thank you. Any relevant info you could tell me would be much appreciated. Mooney and Brumley are my major influences. I just saw see much in Wynn Stewart the more that I find out about him. He is one person who i would have like to have seen perform. He had country music in his heart.

I'm sure anyone who's worked in country bands from the '70's back will have similar experiences to tell,
but here in No. Cal. if you did a gig with the guys
who had been playing in house bands or locally going
back to the '50's (and earlier), you could generally
count "Playboy," "Does He Love You (Like I Do)," and
"Above and Beyond" as being part of a regular night.
I guess "Above and Beyond" was more associated with
Buck, but often the singers would try to sound more
like Wynn when doing that song in a club situation.
Just a little stroll backwards in time to further
illustrate Wynn's impact...

Joe

Kevin, you asked about Jimmie Collins. I met Jimmie in 1967 in Southern Calif. Jimmie was a great guy and player. He played a Fender 2000 and had an A Maj. tuning on the bottom neck. Played nice big Jazz chords on the old standards. He also played a flat top across his lap like Thumbs. Sounded like Django
Reinhardt. He worked with Freddie Hart,Bill Anderson,and turned Buck down after Tom left. Moved to Idaho in 1967 and I lost track of him. Heard through a friend of his that he passed on some time ago. ( Our loss ).

Dean [/b]

One of my favorite topics. I can only echo what others have said about Wynn. One of the very best voices in country music, without a doubt. Mooney's steel playing on those old Wynn Stewart tunes is Grade A Prime. Mooney's intro and turnaround (and other playing) on "If Tomorrow Could Be Yesterday" is quite beautiful. Playboy, Loversville, and Big, Big Love are great too. Listening to these old tunes is a primer on West Coast Steel playing, for sure. The records with Jimmy Collins had some nice playing on them too. I don't guess I've heard the records with Lloyd Green on them, but I'd love to do so.

Ken

I'm fairly certain that Jimmy Collins was with Wynn until very early in '68, and played at the Brite Torch through part of '68 into 1969, then their drummer left (Helen 'Peaches' Price, ex-Strangers) and the band folded around that time. Then Jimmy split, 1969 was a bad year for the west coast, Rose Maddox, Earl Ball, Barbara Mandrell, Phil Baugh, Dale Bennett, and a whole bunch of others left the west.

Cal, I thought you might have been the guy who played with the Texan based Tourists, so you were at the Ritz Starlite Club with Guy Nelson when Wynn came a'knockin?

I have a little info on Jimmy Collins.He played at the Ramada Inn in Cortez in the 80's & '90's I used to set in with them and he always made me play his Fender, it was tuned to some kind of a D tuning.I don't think anybody could play that thing but him , Jimmy told me he played on "Pretty World". Jimmy was kind of a gizmo gear-lose all kind of gadgets most of them he built.He hauled around a sheet of 3/4" plywood with marks on it that he would set his steel on he told me it was so his steel and seat and amp would always be in the same place . I have actually seen him get out a tape measure and measure to make sure things were "in the right place" Jimmie was living in Farmington N.M. when he died in probably the late 90's.

Thanks Carl, interesting stuff.
I was very briefly in touch with Jimmie's son, lasted for about two emails. In that excahnge he hipped me to a Dick Curless album that the Collins-era Tourists recorded with him.

By the way the guys in the band he was playing in when he lived around here used to call his steel "the starship enterprise". Does anyone have a picture of it? It was very interesting to say the least.
Carl

Jason....I was one of thr fortunate ones in the "Starlight" band that became the first official band called the "Tourists" . We were Wynn's first official touring band.

Cal, good to hear from you, thanks for joining this topic once more.

I don't want to come out as a know it all, but a small point on the Tourists' origion.

The Texas based Tourists were Wynn's second touring band, the original Tourists that went on the road with him in 1966-1968 were; Jimmy Collins, Bobby Wayne, Dave Allen, and Dennis Hromek.
He hired them straight from Freddie Hart's band, they'd been (barely) working as the Heart Beats behind Freddie and were desperate for road work.

I've seen a 1966 promo pic of the band behind Freddie, and an early '68 shot of the group onstage with Wynn (probably taken in late '67) and they still had the same uniforms they bought while with Freddie, basic dark nudie type suits with love hearts embroidered on them.

Dennis told me that they had to haul all the gear in a trailer behind them, which became a trademark for Wynn's roadband, ie: they never worked up to a bus.

Wynn Stewart had been in bands or lead bands since the early 50s, but until the Tourists in 1966, he did not take them on the road, they were essentially club house bands.
Peaches Price who played with Wynn from 1960 to 1964 told me that during her time with Wynn, they only travelled to play one showcase gig, the rest of the time they were based at clubs.

By the time Wynn moved to Texas, he seriously needed a new band to work the southwest and rest of the states, to build on the chart action he had through '67-69. I suspect he must have found going back to pick-up bands a tough prospect. I think the Ritz Starlite Club houseband with Cal, et. offered Wynn an extraordinary chance to hit the road running.

If you read the guestbook at the tribute site to Wynn hosted by his daughter Wren, (linked earlier on this topic I think) you'll notice that a lot of folks leaving messages saw the band in the late 60s. I see this as when Wynn hit the road harder than ever in his life, one of his biggest failings was that he was often unable to tour his hit records properly, and before he formed any version of the Tourists or moved to Texas, this was especially true.

I think they also did some work with the Buck Owens roadshow, I know second Texas based Tourists with Jody Payne, Hap Arnold, Jim Pierce and Mooney ended up on Buck's roadshow through the winter of '69.

Cal, did you guys do any Buck Owens shows.. ?

I think its interesting to read from the folks who were there in the earlier times, when the great artists would shake your hand, or let you buy them a drink. I met Wynn st a club here in town in the early 70's, and though he didn't take my offer on a drink, he visited for a while. When I told him I was a mechanic, he offered me a job driving the bus, I told him I also was a drummer and he took his offer back. Said he had a policy about that, lost too many bus drivers. He is certainly one of the greats.

Upon my arrival to the Phoenix Metro area in 1975, Wynn Stewart was in the development stages of opening a night club called "Wynn's Country World" in north Scottsdale Arizona.
I was fortunate enough to land the steel guitar players seat in that house band. Having the opportunity to play behind this very interesting man was both a pleasure and an episode of my life I will never forget.
Playing with and enjoying some of my old friends was a hoot. Dale Noe (Guitar and Vocals) Benny Thompson (Drums & Vocals) Kenny Mcclulla (Bass and Great Volcals) and myself on steel guitar, and an occasional Jim Bean, strange type of fellow, on guitar and vocals, maybe! but a good time was had by all to say the least.
Wynn was actually on hand to perform a lot of the time. For sure on the weekends and we did do some Vegas spots, the Sahara Hotel for one that I recall.
Needless to say, playing for Wynn Stewart was a great time in my life.
I don't recall real clear how it all ended. One day we all came to work and the door was locked, we all did get our gear out without a problem though.
Ah.... the good ole days.

Jason...we did quite a few of the O-Mac dates with Buck, Merle, Rose, Freddie, etc.

Fred...what ever happened to Dale Noe? He was playing guitar in the band with us. Great songwriter!!

Songwriter Dale Noe Passes December 31,1927 - November 4, 2004


Dale E. Noe, of Mesa, Arizona, celebrated songwriter and musician, peacefully passed away on Thursday, November 4th, 2004, in Phoenix, Arizona.

He was 76 years old. He was born on December 31st, 1927, in New Boston, Ohio to Howard Fisher Noe, and Elizabeth Josephine (Farra) Noe.
Dale was the writer of many great country songs. Among his more successful songs, "It’s Such A Pretty World Today" became the song of the year in 1967.
Originally recorded by Wynn Stewart, the song went on to be recorded by over 200 major artists throughout the music industry. It was nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award, and is still being performed and recorded today. A lifetime member of The Academy Of Country Music, Dale was not only the
recipient of numerous awards for his writing, but was named "Number One Guitarist In America, in 1958. Other songs penned by Dale include: "After The Storm," recorded by Stewart, as well as Marty Robbins, Roy Clark, and many others. "Let The Whole World Sing It With Me" was another hit for Dale,
sung by Wynn Stewart. Dale also had the distinction of writing more songs for country music legend, Jim Reeves, than any other single writer. Those
immortal songs are: "Missing You," "Missing Angel," and "Angels Don’t Lie."

Dale was a gentle man who would help anyone in need. He loved life. And had an unique ability to see beauty in things that most people might miss.
Although his friends number in the thousands all across America, Dale was mostly well known around the Valley, having played in a number of popular
bands, and show venues, as well as leading his own groups, since 1946. He will be deeply missed by his many fans and friends.

A veteran of the second world war, Dale was a survivor of a kamikaze attack aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Kitkun Bay, in the Pacific. He, and the
other surviving shipmates, re-boarded the crippled ship, making enough repairs to bring her home For this, Dale was the recipient of several medals, including the Bronze Star..

Mr. Noe is survived by his daughter, Ramona, 15 nieces, and 9 nephews.
A military graveside service, with honors, will be held at National Memorial Cemetery Of Arizona, 23029 N. Cave Creek, Phoenix, AZ at 12:30PM on Monday,
the 15th of November.
=============================

Regarding Wynn's Country World in north Scottsdale, there was ever so briefly another guitarst with Dale Noe, a fellow name Jim Scott who was tight with Benny Thompson and Buddy Long.

He told me that his replacement was Jim Bean and that his real name is Jim Thornsbury, a Kentucky boy who not only picked lead, played banjo and sang.