The Steel Guitar Forum

Ron Halldorson, Winnipeg, Canada -- great steel guitarist; guitarist; bassist (Lenny Breau - early years); session player

Tommy Detamore, TX -- great player; sessions

Gary Carpenter - Ft, Worth, TX -- great player; session player -- Rains Steel Guitar

Lou Giroux -- Quebec, Canada -- great tone!

Being from Canada, Ron and Lou were my favorites along with Neil Flanz. Halldorson would be a great jazz steeler for Scotty's next year.

I was wondering if anyone from Mississippi remembers hearing Sheldon Welch. I remember hearing him playing around the Jackson area some years ago. I think he was one of the best I had ever heard around this area. Sure would like to know where he is.

To many here for me to mention. I'll list the ones that come to mind at the moment. We'll start with Mississippi's own Bill Stafford. Add to him, his neighbor down on the coast, Hank Corwin. I do remember, Johnny Hank Lee from years ago also. Bobby Bowman over in Texas, as well as, Don Helms, Cowboy Eddie Long, Mike Johnson, Jimmy Powell from down in Florida, Little Roy Wiggins, Louisiana's own Buck Grantham, Hal Higgins and Danny Harrell. My early influences were and still are Hughey of course, Emmons, Rugg, Myrick & Green. Others I've studied and picked up things from are Jernigan, Tharpe, Mooney, Hamlet and non-pedal great, Jerry Byrd. I got the universal idea from Jeff Newman & Cowboy. I played U-12's for three years but have settled back to the old D-10 standard for now. Another player I like to listen to is JD Maness.

When I started this thread back in Dec,I was more or less thinking of great pickers with very LITTLE name reconition at all,Guys like Don Helms and Little Roy are well known in the steel guitar world.My choice at the beginning of this was Frank Arnett,A monster picker I bet most of you have never heard of[Yes I know some of you know him]but he never got the attention he deserved,Since then another one has come to mind that is a PHENOMENAL player,Richard Comouxe[I'm sure I spelled his name wrong]from Louisiana.He was GREAT years ago when I heard him,Bet he's ten times better now.Who are some of these great unknown pickers you guys would like to acknowledge,lets hear from you.

From around these parts, Gene Fye, who played a period with Hank on the Louisiana Hayride. Here's an archive of an article of the Hank Williams Appreciation Society from 1978 that details some of this. http://www.geocities.com/wwwebmonitor/hankfye.txt

The pic reference there is here: http://internetaction.1afm.com/hankfye.jpg

Gene's a really fine steel player.

Kenny Grohman & Glenn Shankle are two Texas boys who should be better-known.

How about Canada's own Bob Lucier?

He played the Tommy Hunter Show for many years.
Currently he has a couple of CD's out.

A great player with a super sound on his Fulawka.
go to his web page http://www.ambrec.com/boblucier/
click on "If you have Real Audio Click here" and listen to Lonesone 77203
The best playing anywhere and a dynamite sound in the Fulawka!

I agree about Bob Lucier, his "11 favorites" contains some of the best pedal & bar work I've ever heard.

Also, Reuben Gosfield aka Lucky Oceans deserves a lot more recognition. I still miss his inventive playing whenever I listen to my all time favorite band, AATW.

Add to that list a couple of Nordic players who suffer from being born in the wrong part of the world, steelwise: Norway's Egil Skjelnes, and last - but by no means least - Kenth Larsson, who was the pedal steel and lead guitar player for Swedish band Country Road in the seventies and eighties. He had a unique sound and a style that wasn't a copy of anyone elses. Fresh, inventive and very much country. Haven't heard anything by him in a long time, though.

My problem is remembering names, after 55 years freelancing playing both Fiddle and Steel, I was fortunant to work with Steel players mostly west of the Mississippi River, and on to the West Coast
I see 5 in the HOF that I got to share the stage with in their early carrears, ( I can't Spell Either )
Anyhow here is some I will try to remember
In Arkansas after I retired here. Ronnie Neighbors,- Gene Simmons-Randy McKee,
On out West was, Gene Nubey-Leroy Jones-Joe Bob-Bobby Wooten- John Sanborne-Johns Son,Harold Sanborne-My Brother Joe Meeks-Rusty Root- Monroe Delk-Bill Hewlett-and dozens I can remember faces,and their super back up pickin in the background, but the names presently elude me.
I also learned, The Attitude of the Band, is very Contagious to the Audience, A mediocer group working together,friendly with the Audience,not bickering on the stage, beats any group of Super Pickers all batteling to outshine the rest, who are trying to pick to impress musicians, and ignoring the Audience,
YEP, many great Steel players are still out there, who will likely never be recognized, or spotlighted,
seems the norm for Steel Players to be only in the background. selling the band and vocalists.

What the heck,,,I still remember it as a good ride,

HM