The Steel Guitar Forum

Don Helms, Lloyd Green, Buddy Emmons, John Hughey, Paul Franklin, Pete Drake.

Don Helms, Noel Boggs, Sneaky Pete, Buddy Cage, Buddy Emmons,
Josh Graves, Jerry Byrd.

The first one I remember was Jerry Byrd. After that, Don Helms, then I was completely blown away by a young John Hughey in 71'. Since then it's sort of come in cycles but always goes back to Hughey and Helms. I've listened to and studied the styles of so many different players during the past 35 years. I believe a player nevers stops learning and the cycles I referred to are the sources I still draw from even today. I look at everything from Julian Tharpe to the early players in the islands on the old war movies from the 40's, etc.

Ralph Mooney

I have always equated the steel guitar with Buddy Emmons. Even when I was hooked up with touring jazz bands back in the 60s and rarely played anything remotely resembling country music, I knew who Buddy Emmons was.

In 1970 when I finally met him, I damn near went out that day and bought a steel guitar; and it would have been an Emmons of course.


------------------
(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Les Anderson on 07 November 2006 at 12:07 AM.]</p></FONT>

before I was for Steel guitars, I was against them...

well actually, I didn't even know what they were until Sleepwalk...Westport Ct in 1958,or so... when I was just a sponge mind , wasn't exactly the Steel Guitar capital of the world...

------------------
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="3">------------------
TPrior
TPrior Steel Guitar Homesite
</font></font>
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 07 November 2006 at 01:55 AM.]</p></FONT>

Buddy E was the first to knock my socks off when i got his black album round 1970

only then did i start gettin' interested in the instrument as well as it's players

Rusty Young caught my attention as well as the (unkown to me at the time)steelers i heard on the juke box in truck stops
oh yeah, the steelers who played w: Leon Russel on Hank's back<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 07 November 2006 at 01:54 AM.]</p></FONT>

Gene Shibel and Buddy Emmons.

t.c furlong, don kates, curly chaker, buddy emmons, jimmy day

Got to be Sneaky Pete.

For me it was (and still is) Ralph Mooney. The first time I heard that bright and happy sound of his steel I knew I had to learn the steel guitar. Living in SoCal in those days, Ralph was all over the radio on everyone's records. He was then and still is the only steel player out there who doesn't sound like someone else. He does it his way........JH in Va.

------------------
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

Has to be Weldon Myrick. We listened to nothing but Gospel music when I was growing up, and Weldon played on about 90% of it. Then a little later, Sonny Garrish did a lot of those Gospel sessions. I used to really enjoy Jack Smith's playing with the Happy Goodman Family too. These three guys got me hooked.

Those were the steel players that influenced me most, but Gregg Galbraith was probably my biggest influence on guitar, as he played on most of those old Gospel sessions too. I still really enjoy Greggs playing. There was also a Gospel group called the Gallileans from Ft. Worth that had a guitar player/singer named Paul DeLatorre (SP?)that was fantastic. I will always remember those concerts at the old Tulsa Municipal Auditorium when I was much younger. These guys all made great music, and got me hooked for life.

------------------
Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

Late 40's early 50's ... had to be Little Roy. Then of course "That Sound" when Slowly was released. At the time I didn't know who Little Roy or Bud Isaacs were, of course.

Only saw one comment about the one and only CURLY,he Was the master,I bought his LP More Ways To Play about maybe 30 years ago at a NAMM show in Atlanta,that did it for me.No one has ever,nor ever will get close to him.

Jack Smith.

Bob

The great Jimmy Day! Got to see him live with Ray Price at the Jamboree in Wheeling Wv. One of the best shows I ever witnessed.

..Al Perkins..

Before I knew anything about steel guitar? For me, it wasn't that long ago. I offer this as a young newbie's perspective.

I haven't heard much live steel - especially in my formative years as a rock fan - so my influences came on recordings.

First tastes of steel:
Jimmy Page (especially "That's The Way")
Paul Franklin w/Dire Straits
Pee Wee Charles w/Gordon Lightfoot
Red Rhodes w/James Taylor

More recent:
Don Helms w/Hank Sr.
Lloyd Maines w/Joe Ely

Overall, I have to give the nod to Lloyd Maines. His playing in "Because of the Wind" literally gives me goosebumps. Once I heard it, it was a matter of time before I tried to learn the instrument myself.

Oh, and I've learned names like Emmons, Green and Chalker since I've been on this forum - but the guys above got me here.

<SMALL>Before you knew anything about a steel guitar, who's sound was most impressive to your unprejudicial taste?</SMALL>

Good question, Rick. Before I knew anything about steel, and before I took up the steel, it was three guys although at the time I didn't know who they were.They were Lloyd Green, JayDee Maness, and Tom Brumley.

Sneaky Pete.

Before I played pedal steel, the only four names I knew were Buddy Emmons, Lloyd Green, Paul Franklin and John Hughey. I just knew through press and liner notes that these guys were at the top of their game on the instrument, although I had no clue as to the particular styles of each. Now I do.

Listening to Lloyd with The Byrds really perked my ears, pre-steel. The intro to "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a defining moment in music hisory. Steel player or not, if you know music you can hum this steel intro.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Chris LeDrew on 08 November 2006 at 07:35 PM.]</p></FONT>

For me growing up in Florence,AL(Muscle Shoals area) in late 40's and early 50's the ones I could identify were Roy Wiggins,Jerry Byrd, Don Helms, Don Davis and our local ace,Ted Crabtree.Ted was the one who suckered me into playing that simple little instrument that Bud Isaacs turned in to a monster. I loved a lot of the Western Swing stuff I got to hear ocasionally but had no clue who the steel players were.
bh

I'm with Gene Jones on what caught my ear when I first heard it - was in the cowboy movies. Jimmy Wakley was my favorite singer. Of course I was a kid back then - but that planted the seed in my head about steel geetars.

Toward the end of WWII, I wore out a lot of Victrola needles and my aunts patience playing Roy Acuff's "Pins and Needles" over and over, just for the steel part. I had no idea who it was, still not sure. Cousin Jody or Bashful Brother Oswald? At the same time I yearned to hear any Hawaiian music for the beautiful steel. I played guitar at an early age, but it was almost thirty five years later before I took up steel.

------------------
Howard

Hey to all you " Younguns " !!!
Quite by accident,around '49 or 50,I pulled in what I thought was music straight from Heaven on a $4.00 radio in East Texas.
The show was " Webley Edwards,Hawaii Calls".
At the time,I did not know who the steel player was,but I think it must have been the Grand Master of non pedal,Jerry Byrd.
I was hooked !!!! Phillip.