The Steel Guitar Forum

"If I make it thru December"..I'll only have 5 more months till my 80th. Don't wear glasses, still have 2 of my own teeth,still have a sound mind (although there are some who will dissagree),lived long enough to see 17 grand-children and so far,26 great grand,& 2 great-great. I say WOW! 55 years of playing country and gospel music so far, and I wanna play till I have to say bye,bye. Praise God!

Just turned 55. Started playing pedal steel two years ago and loving it!

66 today.
I'm vintage 12th Nov, 1945.

I've oftentimes wondered as a youth what it feels like to be eighty years of age. I no longer have to wonder. June 13, 1931 - Be forewarned how quickly the years slip away. My steel is still one of the most enjoyable things associated with my lifestyle.

Well, me and my new liver will be 70 in a couple of months, but if you average it out, I'm still in my 50's. My hair is still brown and I have less gray hair
than my #1 son. So far, so good.

I just turned 77 Monday. Don't feel a bit over 30 except for some days.

I'm 54 & still on the road. No plans of slowing down as long as someone still wants me to play.

Larry Farrell wrote:I just turned 77...

..another Valentines Day baby. Have you noticed how many people were born in the second week of November ?
It's nine months after St. Valentine's Day.

Well, as Waylon Himself once observed,

"Honey, I know that I got a few years on you
(spoken) But you couldn't tell by lookin'."

I'm 67 1/2 and STILL trying to figure out this marvellous machine!! Pre-occupied with playing English rugby and photography - have had numerous photos & articles published in the P. S. G. Newsletter.

73, still workin every day as a news videographer, for CBS, and pickin, not grinnin maybe 1 nite a week.

Jim R. Harrison wrote:I'm 67½ ... occupied with playing English Rugby...

If you can play Rugby at 67½ you're not doing too badly.
I used to play Rugby regularly during the 50s and 60s, but at 66 I think it would finish me off nowadays.
Like you, I can still enjoy photography, though. My dad had a photographic business and I was brought up on it.

Alan, thank you for your compliment. I SHOULD explain that I play in an Over Forty (years) league. Also, old guys like me (over 60), are not subject to being tackled; however, we are allowed to tackle others. Two weeks ago, I tackled an opponent who was only 36 (underage)!! I treat my playing rugby as part of my diabetic maintenance program.

Just turned 65, and still working bars & dance halls.

I am 78 and still look forward to playing about four or five times a month. Love the swing genre.

71 and still tryingto perfect Blue Jade. Can't play for long periods of time but still looking for that
missing chord. Try to split about evenly time spent
on PSG and electric guitar. Lot of Diabetic complications but still fighting the battle. Remember
hearing Barry Blackwood in San Jose in 1977 and he is
a very tasteful player. Heradf him and Pete Grant in
the same night and admired Pete's speed, but i like the tasteful style myself. We older guys will keep drivin' on until the groundhogs start delivering our mail. Best to all of you guys regardless of age.
John Hopper

I turned 75 yesterday 11/27/11 and I have been playing since 1989 and still have a ways to go.I don't know the words for a lot of the songs but I do know how they sound.If a singer is singing a song I can sing along with them word for word.
Sam White

75 I play in a cowboy church band every Tues. evening and a few jams and Kansas Old Time Pickers & Fiddlers

55 - been playing pedal steel for three years now.

Looks like I'm part of the majority for a change here. I turned 63 last month.

The poll to date for the lowest age group is........


15-24.  1%  [ 6 ]
Total Votes : 357


In 40 or 50 years, there will be no one left.

We are a dying art maybe?

To add to this, why haven't our children grown up listening to country and wanting to learn to play steel, like we did.?

Just this week, my eldest daughter, who lives in her own house, contacted me and said she is really getting into country music. She wants all my records, CDs and says she went and saw a country band at the weekend. Then said she wants to save to come to Dallas and Fortworth with me next time I go... I can see a shobud pro 1 getting a new home soon.

60 years old. How are you doing with the Carter, Patrick?

I'm 24 although I feel a little older. I've been playing steel around 9 years and been making a living doing it for around the last 6. There aren't a lot of guys around my age playing steel, but several of the ones that do are awesome players. Austin Stewart, Eddy Dunlap, etc...

Packing a lighter load at 63. When does geezer status start? And, where did the time go? And, the reflexes? Hair? Teeth?

I have been itching to learn how to play steel for the past several years. Luckily I have been blessed with the fact that I am unemployed so I should have plenty of time to learn. I am only 24 and thus a 1%, but I have noticed a huge upswing in the popularity of the crap they call "country music" nowadays. With any luck some new folks will be exposed to the more traditional side of things and come to appreciate the steel and its players.