The Steel Guitar Forum

Let's make it easier - who is NOT singing when playing?

Kind Regards, Walter
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

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I sing and play, or at least I call it singing.

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1985 Emmons push-pull,S-10 Marlin,Evans SE200,Hilton pedal

Well I recently joined a band that wanted a singer and someone who could also do harmonies. I said great but I'm a steel player...They said that's nice...we need a singer... I said but I play steel too...Finally they said....OK you can bring your steel....are you gonna sing??? Well I am having a great time learning one more thing to do with my motor skills all at once. I am enjoying it and I get to show off as a steel player which I am not good at and as a singer which I am not shabby at . It's hard to sing with your fingers and lips at the same time...so go ahead and give it a try

Ray Walker

Ralph Kolsiana was singing and playing steel in the early 1930s.

I don't sing & play steel guitar but my good friend Dick Atkinson from Frostburg Maryland plays & sings with his D-10 Shobud & I have a CD to prove that!! He started right out singing when he took up the pedal steel, about 8 years before I did. Prior to that he played keyboards & sang, so I guess if your going to sing & play pedal steel, you need to start right out doing that. Oh, my late Friend Claude Brownell did sing & play using his special longneck steel tuning, no pedal guitar - but he was good!!

Ernie Pollock http://www.hereintown.net/~shobud75/stock.htm

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It does help if youre feeling under-hired.

I've been doing it for sometime now. And I might add, both equally bad. The hardest thing for me to do is keep my vocal sustained note on pitch while doing a "WOOP WOOP" as Jeff Newman used to call it. ( That's the "A" pedal going in a couple times quickly.) My voice wanted to do the same thing. Sounds very bad. Jimmy I'D RATHER BE STEELIN'

In the area I live (Southeast Virgina) we have a couple of good player/singers of note. Larry Sutphin, exceptional pedal steel man is the lead singer in my band (The Legends). Also there's a guy who moved here from Houston, Texas named Rick Mann who's a good singer and steel player. Out in Southern California Billy Mize in his day was one great singer/steeler/song writer. Also James (J.G.) O'Rafferty was about as good a vocalist and steelman as you could find anywhere. The reason I took up steel was I couldn't sing worth a d@mn and no one ever asked the steelman to sing. That's all changed now.........Have a good 'un..JH

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

Hey Lee, I notice your from North Little Rock. I'm about 120 miles down south of ya in Eldorado.
I'm like Walter, I sing a little, but I don't sing and play at the same time.
there are several local players here in Eldo that are good singers and steelers.
Benny Shelton(who I bought my guitar from) can play and sing at the same time.
I'm not sure if Ken Williams sings, but He's an excellent steel player, and his wife is an excellent singer.
also, Ken's Father-in-Law, Charles Lum, plays steel and can sing just like Jim Reeves, and that's no joke.
Do you know Richard Ivy? he lives up that way somewhere I think. He used to be from Eldo, and is another excellent steel player.
and can sing, but if he's like he used to be he won't sing in public.
and there's one more steel player from Camden who plays with a Gospel group and that's Pete Walthal. so we have quite a few steel players around our area.

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TW Sneed