The Steel Guitar Forum

Heres a good question...

What was the first song (or short list of songs) that you heard that made you want to pick up the steel guitar...

I'll go first

Richard Buckner - lil' wallet picture w/ Eric Heywood on the steel

Conway Twitty - linda on my mind w/ John Hughey

Whiskeytown - excuse me if i break my own heart tonight not sure who the steeler was on that one...

JD Mahaffey wrote:[snip]
Whiskeytown - excuse me if i break my own heart tonight not sure who the steeler was on that one...

Greg Leisz. And a fine job he did at that...

For me it was likely Jim Reeves' "Bottle take effect"
with, likely, Pete Drake playing some very soft chimes in the background.
Also, Tom Brumley with Buck had something to do with it.

Albequerque-by Neil Young, Ben Keith on steel

Lay Lady Lay,Bob Dylan..Pete Drake.

Not so much songs as entire albums:

Sol Hoopii - the first collection, I think it was
Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant - Stratosphere Boogie
Daniel Lanois - Belladona, just beautiful stuff

Back in the early days of the Hootenanny Revolution, I heard 5-string banjo , and thought it was pretty cool. I went to the record store and came home with albums by Buck Trent and Flatt and Scruggs. I heard this amazing sound I'd never heard before! Someone sliding! Josh. Then started watchin' the Saturday morning country shows. But I was playing rock by then, but I still loved the sound of dobro and pedal steel. Then "Sweetheart of The Rodeo" came out. I was a goner!

Nick Manoloff and Bob Sandy...and my Dad.

My Dad was a country DJ on WCMS in Norfolk, VA. I never noticed anything on the radio but his voice... even though his theme song was "Steel Guitar Rag." Then, one day, he played a song called "Pop a Top..." When he got home, I said, "Daddy, I want to make that sound on that record you played today."

My boss at Lively Arts Music told me to "see if you can figure out if that "thing" is in tune" pointing to a Fender 400 he had taken in trade that morning.
It made a sound that changed the rest of my life!
JE:-)>

There's so many, it's hard to say. For me, it was a few of the songs Vince Gill recorded with the great John Hughey on steel, and any song featuring guys like Paul Franklin, Bruce Bouton, Dan Dugmore, and Sonny Garrish. A few songs by my favorite band Ricochet actually got me into steel-all the songs featured steel player Teddy Carr, who had played on two of Ricochet's records and was actually Ricochet's road steeler. I'd never heard of Buddy Emmons until around the fall of 1998. I saw a steel up close for the first time in 1996 at a music store in Greenville, SC-a Fender 400, I think. and it amazed me so much, but at the time I was playin' piano by ear with one hand. I started playin' steel n '99 and I've been on steel now for eight years, this December it'll be nine years. I love the steel guitar!

Brett

Panama Red!

Buddy Cage and the New Riders of the Purple Sage got me hooked.

Lee, from South Texas

Buffalo Springfield: "Kind Woman" (Rusty Young, steel)

Poco: "Consequently So Long" (Rusty Young, steel)

John B. Sebastian: "Rainbows All Over Your Blues" (Buddy Emmons, steel)

Sweetheart of the Rodeo-
Lloyd Green & JD Maness

I thought they were the ones making all the big money,cause they were playing the best sounding
instrument.I also liked them over the top camera shots they used to do.They would zoom right in on the frett board.That had to be the reason everyone bought those big diamond horse shoe rings.If they would of only held off until zirconies came out.A woman can still spot a zirconie in a new york second.
QVC swears buy them.They say they are more apt to get to the person by mail than the regular rings.I wonder how a big D10 would fair out on QVC.

Had to be the Buck Owens Ranch Shows for me. Tom Brumley is still my favorite. Also, Buck Owens "Live in Japan" was the album that captivated me.

Greg

In order of when I heard them and noticed steel:
1-I'm Gonna' Miss Her- Brad Paisley (steel:Randel Currie)
2-Remember When-Alan J (Lloyd)
3-Evenng Gown- Mick Jagger (JD Maness)
Biggest Impact:
Swinging Doors- Merle (the fantastic, amazing,one-and-only Ralph Mooney!!)

Can't nail it down to just one,in the 40's and early 50's when I was a kid,hearing Eddy Arnold,Hank Sr.,George Morgan etc,But the record that set me on fire was I,m Moving On,by Hank Snow,he's still my hero.The first live steel player I ever saw was with Hank at the Rylander Theater in the small town of Americus Ga.I was maybe 11 or 12 years old.His name was Big Jim I believe[can't remember last name,sure some of you know who I mean]I have either played or seen hundreds of shows over the last 50 plus years,have forgotten most of them,But remember this one like it was yesterday.DYKBC.

The sound that changed my life in more ways than one
was Matthews Southern Comfort with Gordon Huntley on
steel playing "Woodstock" back in 1970.
Frank. Corfu

Buddy's Black album & Poco " you better think twice & that long jam tune

My story is a little different. Back in the old days (1977) we put together a country band. We all loved country music but we had no steelplayer near by. It was between me and the other guitar player, which one of us should buy a steel. We were tossing a coin and I lost. Here I am stuck with these gadgets after 30+ years. Keep pickin.

Bucky Baxter and Larry Campbell from Bob Dylans band.
Went to my first Dylan concert in 1995 didn`t even realice there was a pedal steel onstage, knew little about it. But the sound was better and different from most other bands I listened to at that time. little bit at a time I found out what I liked, it was the pedal steel! Love Bucky and Larry`s playing! Sure got me hooked!

Peter Nylund wrote:My story is a little different. Back in the old days (1977) we put together a country band. We all loved country music but we had no steelplayer near by. It was between me and the other guitar player, which one of us should buy a steel. We were tossing a coin and I lost. Here I am stuck with these gadgets after 30+ years. Keep pickin.

That's pretty similar to how I got into 'em as well. haha.

...on Commander Cody records, then seeing them/him.
And soon moving to the land of steel guitars, beautiful Hawaii. But it took 20 years to finally hunker down and get to it.

Nathan Fleming - Jesse Dayton's steel player. Stood and watched him at a gig from about 10 feet away. I was hooked after about 30 seconds.