WWVA Steel Player

Richard Aumiller · Post by **Richard Aumiller** » 15 Dec 2008 6:09 am

I was recently playing some old audio tapes I recorded many years ago from live WWVA Jamboree broadcasts. Many of the segments featured a Steel Player by the name of Joe Tippi (Tippy?). What a great player. Does anyone have any background on Joe?.

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 15 Dec 2008 6:49 am

Joe Tippy is one of the hottest steel players I ever met. I don't think he's playing anymore but he was "THE MAN" in Indy in the 60's & 70's. Jimmie Meisenheimer might have more recent info on Joe. Jim is a forum member so maybe he'll add to the post. I lost track of Joe some years back.
I remember him playing his old Marlen all around Indy while I was there in the 70's. Joe could switch necks and you couldn't tell if he was on E 9th or C 6th. He could play things the same on either neck. He always amazed me. He's a great guy too.

Russ Hicks · Post by **Russ Hicks** » 15 Dec 2008 9:07 am

From West Virginia ? Then he's got to be good.

Richard Aumiller · Post by **Richard Aumiller** » 15 Dec 2008 11:48 am

Thanks Ben..much appreciate the information.

Dick

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 15 Dec 2008 1:02 pm

Joe Tippy (sp?) was flat out awesome. He was hot, fast and jazzy and a great backup player and recording artist. I only know him from comments made by promoter Al Cox and many of the promo records he cut that made it to Tommy Edward's record shop in Cleveland, OH where my dad bought records at. Joe had to be a pretty hot player because when I asked Doc Williams about him, Doc said he was "too jazzy". It sounded like Joe's playing on Roy Scott's version of the Color Song and Highway Man. Joe had the best palm blocking I've ever heard. He also did great imitations of things like a tape recorder in rewind mode. I'd post some of his recordings but I didn't save any of them cuz they were all wore out from trying to get the needle in the same groove over and over and slowing them down to try and figure out how the heck he did some of that stuff.

Greg

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 16 Dec 2008 3:57 am

Russ, finally you are right
Hook

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 16 Dec 2008 5:32 am

My wife is from W.VA. and she picked a steel picker from PA.

Jimmie Misenheimer · Post by **Jimmie Misenheimer** » 17 Dec 2008 7:17 pm

Richard - just saw this post. Joe Tippie left Indianapolis some years back. He moved to either "Rockville", or "Rockport", Indiana. He called me sometime back about something. I asked if he was still playing, and he said "Nope - I gave 'er up!" I said "You gotta be kidding - why?" He said "I'm too old, and this thing is too damn heavy to carry around anymore!" Like my friend Ben said, he could play it all, and he was an absolute "bottemless pit" of jokes. He said that all he wants to do now is play golf!!! Take care all, Jimmie...

Lance Schnur · Post by **Lance Schnur** » 21 Dec 2008 6:03 pm

It is really nice to see a post about Joe here on the forum. I do not post much, but when I saw this, it brought back some good memories. Back in the late 60's/early 70's, my family first met Joe when he was playing in the Western PA area, north of Pittsburgh. We would go see him playing with Frankie Grill at the Saxonburg Firehall club. Joe was (is?) a great player, and just as much at ease on the C6th as E9th. As stated before, he had an older Marlen (even at that time) that just sounded great (even without its nameplate, which either had fallen off or was lost). My dad did some work for him on that guitar - I don't remember exactly what - but I had the priviledge to watch him up close several times when I was just learning to play. Super picker, very tasteful, and fast and clean, as I recall. I have often wondered what happened to him.