The Steel Guitar Forum

Mitch: I didn't see an email on your post, so I will post it here.
I would pay you for a copy of that pic of Johnny playing the steel. Let me know.

Mac

Johnny Paycheck was a bass player and steel player. He had played steel with George Jones and he'd been a harmony singer with Ray Price. Both Johnny Paycheck and Willie Nelson had worked with Ray Price.

Brett

Mac:

All I have is what I posted.

Right click it and copy it to your hard drive.

The original picture was posted on this forum maybe 2 or 3 years ago. Can't recall who posted it, but he would be the owner of the picture itself.

Here is another pic of Johnny explaining the facts of life to Wynn in front of the Palomino maybe 30 years ago. Wynn seems to have heard it all before:




Here is the contents of Herb Steiner's post from 2008 about Paycheck sitting in on steel:

Back in 1977, I was playing the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas with Alvin Crow and the Pleasant Valley Boys. Johnny Paycheck was hanging out that night, and we were reminiscing about the clubs and bands in LA back in the 60's. He was quite intoxicated, by the way.

Well, Junior Knight was the bandleader for the house band, and he played an S-12 MSA in Bb6 tuning in those days. But Junior is so great, he could make that 6th tuning sound like the most commercial Lloyd Green E9 you ever heard.

Paycheck heard him playing, and what with being "in his cups" and thinking it was an E9 tuning, wanted to sit in on the guitar. "I believe I'll set in on that boy's guitar." I encouraged him, in fact... even though I knew Junior's tuning. ( my bad).

Junior of course let Paycheck sit in but without telling him the tuning, and bless his heart, JP did make it through a couple choruses but with the most incredible look of "what am I doing here" on his face you ever saw.

I was wrong about when and where but here is the Buck picture.

Mitch: The pic of Johnny and Wynn sure shocked me. Johnny being Johnny. However, with Wynn he looked like he had a little weight on him. The last time I talked to Wynn I was laughing with him about his height and needed to eat more. That was in Ft. Worth. Both did their thing in their own way. Wynn Stewart was a very powerful singer and could lay a song on the mic that went deep and strong. I have always felt that these two never recieved the ratings that they deserved. They were and still are high on my list. Like in the top three.
Thanks for the pic.
Mac

Mitch: That pic has to be more then 30 ago. Looks more like in the late 60s. I met when in 1969 and he wasn't heavy then. I never got to see him before he passed. If that pic was around 1979 or 80 he sure did gain weight. I talked to him many times on the phone during that period and he never mentioned weight gain. We always laughed about that and I would tell him he needed to grow up. I'm six one and he would jokingly tell me if I wanted to talk to him bend over because he wasn't going to stand on his tippy toes.

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum15/HTML/012914.html

Here's a link to the original thread that the Buck Owens and Johnny Paycheck comes from.

I played a Midnight Jamboree at the E.T.Record Shop back in February of 59. Danny Mack who was our band leader and also a DJ won the Mr JD USA contest and part of the deal was a guest shot on WSM.
Ernest was gone and Justin was filling in. I was playing a Multi-kord and before I got to set it up , a young guy said I was welcome to play his steel. He was backing Justin and played a Double neck I\Rick that Shot had put two pedals on. He was LLoyd Green. We did our thing and they introduced a youmg fellow who sang a great song About a Mountain Top. His name was Donny Young. I mentioned this to Darrel McCall a few of years ago at St Louis.He said he was there that night and remembered that song. Later I bought one of Darrels CD and the s0ng was on there. I never ask him about his relationship with Paycheck. I have heard that they came from Ohio together to Nashville.

On this Mountaintop - great song.

Back in 1958, I got a call from Donnie Young asking me if he could borrow my 57 Sho-Bud to play behind George Jones at the then famous "Flame Cafe" here in Minneapolis, Donnie was with Jones as his steel player, Shot Jackson had told him that I had one of the very first D-8 Sho-Buds, I did let Donnie use my guitar, but I brought it home with me every nite, Donnie said his Sho-Bud? had not arrived yet, He knew some good licks & was adequate as a player. I never heard of Donnie owning a Sho-Bud, but lets assume he did? I see in the above picture, Donnie playing a Fender 400 with Buck Owens, I'm curious as to the year that was, Due to the fact that I played several shows with Buck and Wynn Stewart in 59-60 while living in Tucson, AZ. with my 57 Sho-Bud! Fond Memories! au

Al I may know you from years ago. I have played with Wynn at the Maverick Club on Speedway in Tucson several times. What a place. I loved Tucson at that time.

Al I may know you from years ago. I have played with Wynn at the Maverick Club on Speedway in Tucson several times. What a place. I loved Tucson at that time.

Al I may know you from years ago. I have played with Wynn at the Maverick Club on Speedway in Tucson several times. What a place. I loved Tucson at that time.

Al:

That picture of Buck and Paycheck is from July 1961.

Mac:

I saw Wynn only once: at the Maverick Club in Tucson, somewhere between April 1973 and December 1973.

Would you have been in the band during that appearance?? Who was on steel with Wynn at the Maverick? Pretty sure it wasn't Mooney. Maybe Jimmie Collins? Probably neither of those guys.

I saw several people there over the 9 months I was in Tucson--Doug Kershaw, Anthony Armstrong Jones, and I think Penny DeHaven. In fact Penny may have been on the same bill as Wynn?

Mac & Mitch: The only club names I can think of in Tucson that I played were Manny's which was on a corner, on either 6th ave, or Stone?, Manny's blew up a few years later from an apparent gas leak, Wynn Stewart & Dale Noe hung out there, I also played two other clubs, I can't remember the one downtown I worked a few times with Buck & Wynn, was one called the "Buggy Whip"? Buck did not have a band at the time & would use me and also the KGUN ch9 TV band that I was with when we had a Sat nite TV show & then played the Tucson Gardens from 9pm till 4am every Sat, That band featured Cece White & Frankie Gill, & later became the "Jimmy Johnson & The Arizona Playboys" when Jimmy took over the band, You mentioned Penny DeHaven, I didn't meet her until 69 when I was living in Nashville & backed her at a package show in St.Louis when I was with Connie Smith,I think you guys were at least a year or two after I left Tucson in the spring of 60, Those were great days for steel guitar, It seemed like every week there was a new record with great steel by Mooney, Emmons, or Day! Thanks for the replies guys, & my Best to You! Al Udeen

Al:

Does this singer sound familiar to you? This is an Arizona band from circa 1955-57, with Al Casey on guitar.

How About Me, Pretty Baby

My only guess would be, Smokey Stover? I played a remote radio show with him at a new subdivision promoting new houses at a place called "Rita Manor Terrace" in Tucson, I have a reel to reel tape of that, au

Has to be Jimmy Johnson of Muscle Shoals fame. One of the first to really pound out Southern Rock in this manner IMHO. He did a song called Brown Sugar that just blew me away.


phred

Craig A Davidson wrote:I was wrong about when and where but here is the Buck picture.

Great to see an early picture of Bonnie Owens (nee Campbell)

I hope I'm not drifting too far off subject, but now that Bonnie Owens name has come up, here's a little tid-bit, About 15 years ago, my sons band, "The Naked Cowboys" opened for Merle Haggard at the Medina ballroom here in Mn. I stopped there on my way to a gig, to meet Norm Hamlet during their soundcheck, I saw Bonnie Owens & said I'd like to test her memory, I asked if she remembered appearing at the Tucson Gardens with Buck Owens in 59, She said, Yes, That was my first show ever, I was almost in shock when she said that, I said, I was the steel player on that show, & she said she remembered me, Buck was also with his, then present wife, & I asked Bonnie what her name was, She thought for a minute & said Phyllis, to which I also remembered, More great memories! au

Al:

You had mentioned Jimmy Johnson's band in Tucson, so I thought maybe you would recognize him.

Fred: The Muscle Shoals Jimmy Johnson was born in 1943 and had no Arizona connection as far as I know.

Here is the label shot. This is a 1956 recording.

Hey Al, you mention Smokey Stover. I used to play with a bass man named Bobby Stover who said his dad's name was Smokey Stover and was a musician. Bobby would be in his late 50's by now but passed away about 20 years ago. Can you or any others shed any further light on Smokey? I feel compelled to research a bit for my old bass buddy.

Walter:

Your bass player may be talking about this country musician and DJ. This Smokey Stover made quite a few records, mostly in the 50s. He spent most of his career in Texas and passed away in 2005.

http://www.crb.org/hof/hofinductees/200 ... over.shtml

http://www.tcmradio.com/news/November/Nov16.htm

I suspect all the Smokey Stover's took their nickname from the popular comic strip that dates back to the 1930s.

There was another Smokey Stover who had a dixieland jazz band in the 1950s and 1960s.

Wait a minute--let me be sure I've got this right--Buck played (non-pedal) steel at one time???

Sure looks like it from the picture!

Thanks Mitch,

I think your picture is super! Well, like they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Several years back I played music in a band with a cousin of Johnny Paycheck's. From what I have been told he could play steel but was just an average steel player. If you could sing like him, why would you want to play steel.

Last, I also helped front a show with a band one time for Johnny Paycheck. Let me say that it was a real trip and I could write a page or two on that night's happenings.

Terry Wood